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History has reliably demonstrated even in the greatest of Empires, the most dire and existential danger is that which is posed internally. In this context, it is our view, that the most toxic vulnerability of our established Democratic Republic is posed by the ideation of groups of deluded citizens engaged in and dedicated to the phantasmagorial belief that the American Nation was intended by the Founders, as guided by the Deity, to be white and Christian. Were this clap-trap to merely occupy an erroneous derangement of personally held beliefs, it might be dismissed as ignorant or neurotic; however, exemplified by the present degree of armed and insurrectional menace, together with the perverse support of the unhinged former President, Donald J. Trump, comprises an existential menace to existing, democratic society.

The least cogent defense to such reductionist ignorance is the historically evident fact that America was philosophically and properly created as a secular polity by “Diest” (Non-Christian) Founders who, mindful of the misery occasioned by centuries of rule by an absolute Monarch or Established Church, dedicated themselves to excluding any reference or concept of a Devine diety from their radical experiment regarding their radical aspiration for a Nation, by and for the People.” The Founders expressly articulated the principle that, were a Deity put in the constitution of the new governmental entity, “it would put Man out.” (see Federalist Papers), Accordingly, they wisely and intentionally omitted any reference to a Deity from the extensive language of the American Constitution; such historical facts, are universally overlooked, or perhaps, tactically ignored, by the White, Christian Nationalists. In sum, objective American history unfailingly attests to the secular, non-Christian nature of the intended Nation.

It is our perception that the underlying intention, overtly articulated among “Christian White Nationalists” and advanced by their undemocratic evangelical militias is predominantly founded in racial and religious bigotry. Such paranoid ideation is that America was dedicated by the Founders, acting according to Divine direction, who compliantly and appropriately created not only a Christian Nation but moreover, a “White” as well as a “Christian” entity; despite said historically disproven, avowed religious intention. The neurotically, adamant unacceptability of the express secular intentions of the Founders is matched, perhaps with more credibility bigoty that the asserted intention that the new Nation would be “white.” The prevailing neurotic ideation and consequent militant mission are founded upon the delusional phobia that authentic Americans (viz,. white and Christian) would be replaced by “others” who are not white and/ or non-Christian.

As an interesting aside, it might be observed that the historically prominent and influential Founder, Alexander Hamilton, was not “White,” by racial criteria, since his mother was West Indian.

The existence of such un-American, ideologically and militarily dangerous groups must be recognized and publically identified as enemies of our democratic notably diverse Nation, sporting the foundational emblem, “E Pluribus Unum.”

It is notable as well as enlightening that objective American history indicates that the New Testament, specifically identifies Jesus (“Yeshua Ben Yosef”) as a Gallillian (brown-skinned) Palestinian of Jewish parentage.

-p.

Our nuanced use of the contemporaneous phrase, “Climate Change,” has no relation to the subject of the Planet’s extant meteorological challenges. We have chosen to exploit the expression for its popularity, but, in an entirely different context, viz., to signify the traditional American’s current all-pervading mood or general state of mind.

The exponential increase in support and power garnered by the populist cult of the malevolent persona of Donald J. Trump (see earlier writings) nightmarishly led to the virtual surrender to him of the Republican Party, and the moral disintegration of SCOTUS; the latter,resulting in itss atavistic, religious banning of abortion and other personal rights as well as a public revelation of its previously undisclosed corruption, the functional immasculation of the House of Representatives, the empowerment of the right-wing (MGA) interference with the American voting franchise, to Trump’s conspiritorial befriending of Putin and the Nation’s other autocratic enemies, the Trump sponsored insurrection, the latter’s denigration of truth and the promotion of divisiveness and bigotry, book banning, paranoid conspiracy ideations, editing of the scope of education and general denigration of enlightenment, promotion of xenophobia, increase in guns and gun violence, particularly against minority citizens and schoolchildren, uncontrollable due to the extant, NRA-MAGA partnership, the shocking MAGA reprise of hateful and propagandic Nazi slogans, such as “Blood and Soil,” and Pollution of Blood,” Trump’s declared intention, if elected, to be a dictator, amount to an unmistakabke reprise of the horrific nightmare of Adolph Hitler’s 1933 Munich Germany.

The described events, ineluctably, and understandably, led the traditional American citizen to an overriding sense of foreboding of inevitable gloom; a sense of hapless tragedy accompanied by a felt, frustrating inability to arrest the exponential downward tumble to fascism.

A much-needed ray of hope, fortuitously arrived to disturb the apparent impenetrable darkness of despair, upon Joseph Biden’s unselfish and patriotic act of stepping down as the incumbent Presidential candidate and the selection of his younger, more energetic, dramatically persuasive, Vice-President, Kamala Hattis. The ray of light grew yet brighter, seemingly dispelling the desperate-former gloom of citizen despondency, with her cogent selection of Minnesota Governor, Tim Waltz, as her candidate for the Vice-Presidency. Like Harris, Walz has popular appeal, and as necessary in Presidential politics, a compelling and confident voice, positively redolent of mid-western good sense, candor, and unmistakeable humanism. The ensuing veritable, National change of climate, to the historic public optimism and confidence in the endurance of our unique Republican Democracy, in the face of the “jackboots” MAGA-TRUMP authoritarian tactics, is now publically evident, and empirically undeniable.

We celebrate the return of a virtually palpable confidence in victory on behalf of America and its traditional, bedrock values.

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In the fairytale, “Snow White,” the egotistic, evil Queen, having received the word from her Magic Mirror that Snow White is more beautiful than she, takes steps to eliminate her from society. In an esoteric way, we see the age-old tale as having notable utilitarian reference, in the context of politics, to a democratic government such as the United States. More specifically, the symbolic dynamics of such a venerable (magic) mirror have an analogous resonance with our Nation’s Presidential campaign.

Our chosen analogy specifically relates to the empirical property of mirrors to reflect the true, albeit, a reversed, image of reality. It is our view that it is the (voting) public, as reflected therein, that dynamically determines the future nature of the Nation, rather than, as represented in the (reversely) stereotypical campaign, the chosen candidate, In short, the Nation, ultimately, selects a candidate, reflective of the temporal state of the Nation rather than the winning candidate.

The fundamental aspiration for a true democracy, as intended by our (then) radically philosophical Founders, clearly enunciated by them in the Federalist Papers, and inscribed in our Constitution, was for a Nation, ” By and for the People.” It was the dynamics of the will of the Nation, freely, intentionally, and dynamically expressed by the vote of the people that is the governing North Star of democratic governance. This foundational principle is diametrically opposite to autocratic governance, where the will of the tyrant, arbitrary or otherwise, is the sole determinant. In this context, it may be observed that the political philosopher Rousseau, although in a different context, observed, “Always the governed are more powerful than the governors.” Relative to the principle that in a democratic polity, it is the expressed, composite will of the people that is determinative of the nature and style of governance. Thus, Thomas Jefferson famously admonished, “For a democracy to endure, what is needed is an educated and informed society.” Benjamin Franklin described the Founders” newly created Nation, as “A Republic, if you can keep it.” The thoughtful combination of the two admonitions endures and notably relates to the extant state of our Republic, in which the character of so many of its citizens invites cautious circumspection.

In contrast to a republican-democratic “rule, by and for the people,” there has been a toxic, historical reprise on the part of a sizeable segment of the American voting population, marching in lock-step, to the autocratic, atavistic, and pervasive drumbeat of a felonious criminal who has declared his intention to be dictator,” under the grossly distorted, banner of “Make America Great Again “(“MAGA”). The contemporaneous enemies of democracy, it is observed, now loyally sport red Trump baseball caps, instead of the more historically, identifiable (Nazi) black shirts, reprise

It has been in the context of the existential quality of our participant democracy, as articulated by Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, that we have eternally emphasized as the theme of this blog space: the promotion of education, personal, and societal advancement, and intellectual growth through liberal education, and participation in the arts and sciences, the enduring pillars of our Republican Democracy. The program of “alternative facts ” promotion of divisiveness, bigotry, disrespect for the rule of law, and social immorality, signify the atavistic evil of Trump-style, “Dark Ages, ” governance. Human enlightenment and advancement are, by contrast, the enduring ingredients of personal responsibility, moral self-image, mature perspective, and proper valuation of justice and humanistic empathy.

The Presidential election next November will predictably be the litmus paper test of the existential nature and quality of our Nation. We are greatly encouraged by the positive reception accorded to the new Democratic ticket of Harris and Walz (see # M.106, “THE KAMALA WALZ”) nevertheless, it will be the determinative quality of our voters that will be reflected in the resultant mirror; not so much the candidates, however acceptable.

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Like many Americans, we were immensely delighted and newly encouraged to share the fundamental joy and enthusiasm evident in the Philadelphia event where Vice-President (and November Presidential nominee) Kamala Harris, introduced Minnesota’s affable Governor, Tim Walz, as her choice for Vice-President, if elected next November.

We found ourselves transfixed by the dynamic extent of joyous excitement, notably, by the profuse expression of newly resurrected hope, generated in the audience of no less than, as reported, 14,000 exuberant attendees at the official event..The extent of the virtual transmogrification of enlightened hope from the formerly extant, MAGA-created atmosphere of despair and retribution was inarguably evident and singularly welcome; a phenomenon that inarguably overrides all other pragmatic considerations of political doctrine and platform.

Kamala Harris ‘s enthusiasm and masterful presentation of future success in her presentation of Tim Walz, (farmer, military reservist, teacher, football coach, Congressman, and Governor) as a relatable person and “man of the people,” was reinforced by Walz’s passionate remarks and positive appearance, as well as his life record. His presentation, consistent with his personal history made evident his universal acceptability by all categories of American voters. The Democratic Party evinced a quality of needed and overdue exuberance, rarely demonstrated in the past.

Walz’s moderate-progressive) record speaks of his compassionate-liberal agenda, including fair pay, paid sick and maternity leave, universal health programs, free meals for indigent schoolchildren, the restoration of women’s personal right of determination as to their own body, (stating that “others should mind their own damn business”). regulations ensuring. clean air, food and medicine, sensible gun control, anti-censorship, small business assistance, public and military service. Plain speaker, farmer, teacher, high school football coach, hunter (but advocate for gun regulation), army reservist (25 years), neighbor, congressman, and governor, his major appeal does not find its source so much in his political policy as in his referable humanity as a fellow American citizen,

By contrast, Trump seems to be well along on his steadily turret-syndromic-style of downward journey to complete mental deterioration, stridently emitting threats of retribution and revenge, His unsurprising vice-Presidential pick would require reams of journalistic paper to adequately describe his fun-house mirror distortion of reality and warped sense of rectitude. Darkness, revenge, “cat-ladies” and general misogyny, authoritarianism, and arrogant pig-headedness seem to qualify as his thumbnail sketch.

This November, the American voter has the discreet choice of an optimistic and enlightened future in the style of the traditional continuance of its valued and singular traditional democracy versus an atavistic, Dark-Ages crypt of ignorance, bigotry, and retributive inquisition. The sane choice is evident and irrefutable. We are confident that the voting public will choose the “Kamala Walz” to the” Trump-Vance Dance Macabre.”*

[N.B. In our view, it might have been appropriate for the Kamala team to publically recognize the past record of excellent service and patriotic sacrifice of President Joseph Biden].

-p.

• Dance Macabre, Saint-Saens

The customary description of poetry runs approximately as follows: “Poetry is the writing of poems, which invoke the projection of experience in a way that stirs the same feelings. For us, such definitions of poetry are artistically and aesthetically far from sufficient and lack the art form’s metaphysical purpose and unique aesthetics.

We have been happily, and fulfillingly, indulged in the literary art form and are desirous of expressing our views on the criteria of its legitimacy by appropriate literary standards, as distinguished from its pretenders, or “faux,’ deceitfully. purported poetics. We have agonized over the eternal publication of ersatz writings, presented as poetry, surprisingly, at times, in recognized scholastic journals.

It may be initially useful, to briefly express our views, on what “poetry” is not, The latter statement has reference to an accumulation of disappointing experiences relative to the”ersatz” pretensions referenced in the prior paragraph, Poetry is not the presentation of eye-catching, irregularly situated lines of words, nor the tactical use of obscure, idiosyncratic or anachronistic language; the latter, purposed to induce the populist reader to accept the writing as erudite and metaphysically poetic. Such literary “snake oil” and arrogantly manipulative misrepresentations, ultimately constituted the catalysis for the present expression of our long-held, agonized critique.

Poetry is the aesthetic expression of the foundational basis of our emotional experience, a distillation of our innermost aesthetic or cognitive feelings, from the residue of general perception, or the mundane. It is, effectively, panning for the bits of precious, emotionally aesthetic gold ore from the heavier earthly sludge of everyday perceived reality.

Our numerous exhortations on the singular impact and emotionally sought perception advanced by the employment of sensitively chosen words,, have no less than existential application in the contextual existence and impact of legitimate poetry, where the projected causation of image and causation of aesthetic feeling is consistent with the poet’s artistic intention.

The successful creation of poetry mandates the principled economy of speech and word imagery, eternally aided by the employment of metaphor and simile, for the artistic abstraction of relevant characteristics. As an illustration of the latter concept, we will take the liberty of reciting an earlier example of the genre of such poetic technique. Instead of a wordy prosaic description of the great beauty of a young daughter, one might, poetically state that” she was a red rosebud on a clump of newly fallen snow.”

The desired rapidity with which the poet requires for his aesthetic image is dynamically controlled by his creation of “meter.” or beat. The most illustrative example of this dynamic technique is demonstrated in Longfellow’s “Hiawatha.” The mere reading of the flow of words invokes the sound of indigenous drumming. Applicable meter may be selected for the appropriately intended mood and message of the verses.

We would invite the reader to illustratively, revisit the scores of poems published by us in this blogspace; perhaps with the suggestion of the well-received seasonal poems for Spring and Autumn, which, notably, are on perennial display in the regular seasonal montage located in the lobby of the Columbia School of Nursing. We hope that we are not overly presumptuous in noting that the display for the intervening season of Summer, features a poem by Walt Whitman,

-p.

Despite the bizarre and impolitic remarks of the presumptive Republican Party candidate for the American Vice-Presidency, the Stanford University educated, but emotionally and rationally stultified, Trump- selected, J.D, Vance, articulated a bizarrely dystopic and mysogenic epithet for non-child-bearing women viz,, “Cat Ladies.” We, entirely lacking knowledge of the eerie state of Vance’s mental state, nor possessing the professional training and relevant experience required for accurate diagnosis, will limit ourselves to the defamatory, and uncalled-for nature of his adjectival, bizarre epithet about the innocent and cherished friend of mankind, (the “felis domesticus”).

We have, albeit, in an entirely different context, previously written of the contextual furry friend, as a desirable and comforting addition to the household (see: “Litterate Cats”);; nevertheless, in light of their undeserved defamatory degradation by Trump’s unstrung new political apostle, some rehabilitative, factual and relevant remarks would be appropriate.

Pet owners in American households love and cherish their resident cats, to the extent of the common attribution to them, more than any other household pet, of perceived (projected) human emotion and intention (termed, “anthropomorphism”). Cats give the impression of being admirably self-sufficient, and dedicatedly clean, requiring only a litterbox ( N.B.:”litterate”) instead of the time-consuming chore of regular outdoor walking as is required with pet dogs, They similarly, however, crave affectionate attention, which is singularly and simultaneously, rewarded by grateful, gentle, or deep-throated purring.

Because of their unfair mythical treatment in literature, especially that written for children, cats, (usually black), are portrayed as witches’ confederates, especially at Holloween; in truth, domestic cats are peaceful, submissive, affectionate, and desirable company, especially for the elderly and disabled. They are cherished by children, since, unlike inanimate dolls, they are affectionately responsive.

In Islamic venues, including in Istanbul, Turkey, cats are respected, even revered, we are informed, founded upon an apocryphal tale, recited in the Koran in which a beloved cat is, lovingly left to sleep undisturbed, by the Prophet Mohammad, on his full sleeve, We have personally observed instances in which in Turkey, citizens generously feed and very kindly treat cats; (as opposed to dogs, which are not considered clean),

Over the decades, our household can happily boast, the successive enjoyment, of the company of no less than two resident cats, and, for those unfamiliar with the warm and inviting experience, we heartedly recommend the practice.

The uninformed and reductive use of the innocent and loving cat for use in the neurotic adjectival description of the misogynous bigotry by J.D, Vance is inexorably cruel and distorted, as empirically expected of a true Trump apostle.

We, hereby, derivatively and sincerely, apologize to our beloved “Gelato,” and “Bela.” for the receipt of such undeserved, neurotic, and undeserved slander.

-p.

The titled short story, written by John Stockton in 1882, presents the reader with a hapless protagonist’s dilemma of an impulsive choice between two doors, one giving desired access to his desired and beautiful lover, the other to a ferocious and predatory tiger.

Being constrained to choose one of two options portending contrasting results is a dilemma that requires an insecure exercise of impulse, which, one would presume is rare among prudent and contemplative individuals. Nevertheless, certain choices, despite careful consideration, intrinsically, pose the conundrum of. unknown, or uncertain, outcomes. The choice of a life partner, friendships, business location, career, strategic policy and its timing, investment, political candidate, the route to an unfamiliar destination, and even menu choices, are among the plethora of such individual choices; albeit not as dramatically impactful as the stark choice presented in the Stockton short story. In such enumerated choices, the individual, hopeful of the desired outcome, has merely the facility of the exercise and reliance upon perceived relevant past experience,

In our view, it is typically misleading and potentially harmful to rely on the recited experience of others, except when needed and appropriate, that of qualified sources, like doctors, lawyers, and engineers. In matters of emotion, such as love, trust, and many other subjective determinations, it would be pragmatically wise, considering our contemporary divisive community, to rely solely upon oneself; this is especially true in choices relevant to politics and social acceptability.

Some philosophically contemplative individuals, not without arguable validity, would seek to question the principled existence of “free will,” citing the empirical limitations of familial, ethnic, and religious-based predisposition, nuanced life experience, societal expectations, mental and physical health, ambient environmental factors, economics, race, education, and nuanced persona; nonetheless, the risk in the outcome, of arbitrary or principled choice, is similarly, universal.

The final general category of voluntary choice, at times, is referred to in common parlance, as a “no-brainer.” The choice of sunny as opposed to rainy weather, smooth, versus rough surfaces, sweet, savory taste over bland, vacation rather than work, mellifluous sound over cacophonous, assets rather than debts, flowers as opposed to invasive weeds, and the like. The choices in this non-problematic category are facilely based on prior relevant experience.,

In the coming November Presidential election, the voter is unremittingly faced with a hybrid choice, combining the “no-brainer” choice of a suitable candidate, dedicated to the perpetuation of America’s constitutionally based, Democratic Republic and on principle, an Orange predator, like the tiger, bent on rapacious destruction. (see, early writing, ” Hazmat, Agent Orange.”)

We are supremely confident of the voters’ facile (“no-brainer”) exercise of judgment and the determined rejection of the threatening and dangerous non-fictional orange predator.

-p.

After the publication of upwards of one thousand posts (mini-essays and poetry) over the past four, or so, years, we feel entitled to take this brief, “Time Out,” to discuss the metaphysical phenomena of words, themselves, and their nuanced and unlimited resonance. Words, orally delivered or written, symbolize and inter-actively communicate Man’s intended meaning. It is especially appropriate for us, at plinyblog, to do so, given our eternal predilection for the painstaking choice of vocabulary most representative of the writer’s or speaker’s feelings and intentions.

Not being formally educated in the disciplines of anthropology or neuroscience, we can only deduce the dynamics of the development of spoken forms of communication in the early Paleolithic Age. It is our assumption that when Homo sapiens began living in groups, common experiences and emotions,, i.e., fear, pleasure, attraction, love, anger, and the like were expressed in recognizable signals, together with common observations (like a tree, stone, water, food) were ultimately expressed in personally recognizable utterances; the latter ultimately advancing to the mutual facility for the transmission of personal thought or observation. It is our presumption that the commonly used and recognizable utterances were the precursors to communicated words. Cave symbols and art, likewise, functioned as individual expressions and perceptions of the artist’s environment, but were not socially interactive

It is our further presumption that each developing colony or tribe mutually came to share and beneficially use, commonly recognizable forms of oral expression, and with the progressive intermix of independent societies, the joint acknowledgment and use of such popularly used, ” spoken word symbols” in time, empirically and usefully, evolved into the respective local language.

Words, both oral and written, afforded Man, the unique franchise of transmission of thought, and led to his ubiquitous progress in empirical advancement as well as his available avenue of emotional and aesthetic expression, humanistic and otherwise.

We are confident in our declaration that there exists no phenomenon on Planet Earth, more empirically effective than the written or orally communicated word. It is notably relevant that private thought dynamically, amounts to an inner conversation with oneself. Externally, the universal use of language (words) historically bears out the historically authenticated expression, “The pen is mightier than the sword,” an experiential declaration that the written word is perforce more effective than violence in effecting social or political change, The abstract or metaphysical status of the thematic, ubiquitous, “word” is unlimited in its potential for empirical impact.

The unlimited, ubiquity of words, oral or written, is empirically demonstrated by their utilitarian potential ranging from expressions of warm, tender love to a newborn baby, to the ominous and despicable declaration of hatred or war. Words, (so much more communicative and effective than grunts) are invaluable tools, if precisely used and tactically employed, that can create or change human relationships. Words have the demonstrated potential to express and persuade others to change feelings or intentions, to effect business or commercial transactions, to instruct, to direct, to greet, to chastise, to praise, to inform, to criticize, to summon attention, including the distressful cry for help, to record events, for aesthetic expression, to make declarations of fact, for criticism, as a helpful guide and, most significantly, to express emotions, including love and hate.

For effective communication, words used as expressions of mundane intention must be respectfully and sensitively selected and employed for clarity, but notably, evaluated before their employment for their predictable impact on the listener or reader.

By sheer contrast, the uniquely aesthetic miracle of true poetry is singular and distinguishable from our thematic discussion of thought or opinion, but nonetheless, attains the level of true magistery in its nuanced employment of words in its intended singular mission, We see poetics as the unique, artistic distillation of reality, into its metaphysical components for aesthetic observation and thoughtful contemplation. This ethereal goal, in our view, is unlike the dynamics of general communication, is singularly accomplished by the poet’s use of an economy of words and word imagery. By illustration, a young girl’s beauty has been poetically described by us, in a past verse, as “a rosebud on a drift of snow.” Recent offerings, albeit, often in scholarly sources, would, in our view, unfortunately, rely for their questionable distinction as poetry, on the use of remote or obscure vocabulary, presented in exotic lengths of line.

Words, whether mundanely recorded on invoices and bills or employed as humanistic expressions of Man of his temporal environment, are meaningful, at times, empirically determinative, and are not, to be inappropriately or thoughtlessly employed. Misunderstandings, conceivably crucial and eventful, and opportunities, often singular and valuable, should not be the hapless victim of unexpressed or inartfully transmitted intent, but rather, be represented by meaningful and selected words

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We assume that the reader, is sufficiently aware of the many and varied instances certifying the unfit and inappropriate nature of the impending nomination of Donald Trump to stand for a second attempt at American governance. The former President’s four-year, twice impeached term, as publically known, was exemplified by the irrefutable demonstration of his incapability, ignorance, egocentric world perception, perverse lack of morality or scintilla of societal moral compass, and miscreant behavior, resulting in 91 criminal indictments to date with thirty-four adjudications of guilt, including bribery to criminally obtain the secrecy of his brisk commerce with call girls. He has been shown to conspire with autocratic heads of State, the latter being enemies of the United States, purloining of top secret documents, voter interference, including his denial of his loss in the Biden election and orchestrating a violent insurrection against the government, voter interference, tax fraud, and ubiquitous deceit, unconstitutionally and illegally profiting from the Presidential Office and other miscreant acts.

However, the empirical absurdity of yet, again, entrusting to Trump the piloting of the American Ship of State, in addition to the rational consideration of his unuitability, is totally and empirically absurd. Would the reader choose to engage the professional services of Whitehall’s “Jack the Ripper,” for his daughter’s surgical procedure? Of John Dillinger to be employed as a bank guard? Of a diagnosed pyromaniac to be Fire Marshal?

It is a matter of public record that Donald Trump has declared his intention to scrap the United States Constitution, terminate all present public service employees and replace them with Trump acolytes, halt immigration, dispense with government health, welfare, and safety regulations, eliminate the Education Department, control the Justice Department, eliminate immigration, employ the military in his quest for revenge and “retribution” against his political opponents; make permanent the criminality of abortion, and promote book and curriculum censorship.

Most striking and nightmarish, is his declaration, if elected, to end our Nation’s constitutional form of government, and absurdly end the office of citizen-elected Presidency, (for which he is neurotically desirous of attainment) consistent with his public declarations of his intention to be a “dictator,” The latter statement of such outrageous intention, in addition to being shocking, and determinative of any voter’s choice, may well be the singular instance in which this miscreant, typified by his serial mendacity has spoken reliably. The patent absurdity of this egomaniac to promise the elimination of the Presidency, to which office he passionsately aspires, is patently and bizarrely, absurd.

In the possibly, horrificragic event that this orange, ego-inspired, pathological ogre is somehow elected, in keeping with the absurdity of that reality, we would consistent with such absurdity, undertake to mandate, for the period of his four-year term, a lunch consisting of a garlic bread sandwich, with grape jelly, liverwurst, blue cheese, and chunky peanut butter.

-p.

We may be counted among the millions of American citizens who are ecstatic with the choice of Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee in the next Presidential election. We are grateful to Joseph Biden for his sacrificial and patriotic act of withdrawal from the race and designation of his Vice President as the replacement. Mrs. Harris is, without doubt, a worthy successor to a Chief Executive to whom all American citizens are, or should be, indebted for a half-century of notably fine political performance dating from the time he qualified on record as the youngest Senator through his designation as the oldest American Chief of State. An excellent performance exemplified the past three years of his last term regarding the dire subject of the pandemic to infrastructure, the economy and employment, debt relief and assistance to the elderly in purchasing medicine, reduction of onerous student debt, support of NATO and Ukraine, and many humanistic accomplishments. 

Unhappily, Biden’s bright star performance lost public celebrity because of his disappointing performance at the Presidential debates at which he appeared tired and lackluster leading many to the summary conclusion that he was no longer fit to oppose the boisterous, aggressively neurotic, and demagogic Donald Trump. His sacrificial and patriotic selection of Kamala Harris as the successor nominee for President was enthusiastically celebrated by Democratic voters, including ourselves. This writing thematically concerns our perception of the human dynamics involved in such change.

We include ourselves among the millions of mainstream American citizens, who have become more pragmatically confident of Mrs. Harris’s ability to defeat the anti-American, would-be autocrat, the felonious Donald J. Trump.

It would not be radical to declare that American citizens, universally, are regular consumers of televised and cinematic presentations of the human persona. To be theatrically effective, fictional characters are presented in familiar stereotypical roles. Heroic, assertive executives and lawyers, devout and taciturn men of faith, stern Captains of ships, wide-eyed romantic teenage girls, narrow-eyed tightlipped, cigarette-smoking criminals, devout face-lined farmers, cigar-smoking crooked politicians, heroic, startlingly handsome leading men, grieving widows, and on it goes. The casting directors, recognized in the final credits, perform an important role in assuring that each actor selected for his respective role, complies visually and otherwise, with the traditional representation of his assigned category of role.

Unfortunately, these familiarized “cinematic” stereotypes seem ubiquitously applicable and often judgmentally determinative in actual life. Dedicated people, charged with the selection of suitable applicants for such matters as executive promotion, hiring sales public representatives, and other public roles, are thus, unjustly prejudged to the extent of the interviewer’s previously acquired theatrical stereotypes. Manifest harm is created by such artificial standards, leading to erroneous outcomes. In truth, there is no archetypical visual, physical, or other concomitant (viz., height, voice pattern, style of dress) reliably predictable of character or capability.

It may be instructive to chronic Bible readers to recall the apocryphal words of Moses (Exodus), “I am not a man of words, for I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue.” It is a matter of universal agreement that Moses represents the paradigm for all subsequent prophets to follow. One wonders at the nature of his public perception would be in today’s Hollywood-Roku-tainted America.

Until the moment of his painful and disconcerting flub at the publicly eventful debate, President Biden was deservedly recognized for a cornucopia of significant accomplishments as a sitting President. In our view, he likely maintained the same capabilities irrespective of his disappointing television appearance.

In any event, Kamala we love you; knock the block off that orange ogre!

-p.