The Path Unknown, Facts, Alternative Facts, or Just Smoke, Mirrors, and a Comedic Antidote?
By Barclay
In the months leading up to the U.S. election, many news agencies dug in and reported on both sides of the political wall. Hillary was the worst human on the planet, Trump didn’t deserve the candidacy, let alone the Presidency. The slings and arrows made the aisle between them a deeper chasm, with bricks added to reinforce the wall. The election again, was its own source of chasm, with the popular vote separated in reality from the electoral vote. Our perfectly imperfect voter system, shows that we can agree and disagree ad-nauseum and conclude what we want based upon which side of that chasm and wall we landed on. And just to make sure, we picked our new President electorally rather than by popular vote.
Now, post-election, daily news involves the parting members of the white house, a new career landed, new schedules, and new friends in other high places. The news involves new roles of little consequence by the losing candidate, at least for now. And the news is filled with targeted headlines of every move President Trump makes. It is an easy filler of media outlets whether print or digital, static or video. Our new President is a catalyst for controversy. We will question pretty much anything until us as a nation, or the world, can understand his rhetoric and nuances better. The fodder for every late night show, comedy stop, and political humorist is endless. One of the seemingly interesting reactions to President Trump’s actions, has been the slide of the chasm, and wall within our ranks. We have already watched a majority of Hillary supporters buy enough bricks to reach beyond our visibility range, but now the bricks are being brought in by those formerly seen as Trump supporters as well. A higher wall, a deeper chasm, a tougher road to the healing our country heard the candidate preach to us about.
There should be no surprise in some of President Trump’s actions thus far as they echo his brash off-the-cuff stance during his campaign. A race to build a Mexican-built wall between our countries (another wall in the life of Trump), followed by the race to default the healthcare system, leaving a very deep chasm between those covered and those not, and the quick-as-a pen on paper signing of the moratorium at our airports in letting specific groups into our country (yet another wall). While the principles of each may have merit, the approach is so swift and without the peoples’ comprehension, that it all feels like an acid bath, burning at our core values we at least we thought we believed in.
How will these actions play out? What other walls will be needed to build the castle in the clouds that our new President desires? In the rainbows that surround this new castle, will some colors be left swimming in the moat, fending for themselves against the pestilence dumped there in the building?
It will be worth getting the more specific explanations to these actions, the why’s, the timing, the plans unfolded as to the jump before the alternative is in place. Or it may just be for naught as we learn that the media isn’t the only crew that utilizes alternative facts as a way to manipulate a desired outcome.
What we do know, is we NEED to pay attention, we NEED to listen, and we NEED to find the right vine to listen to so our facts are as accurate as possible. As a country and a world, doing the right thing next is paramount to whether we can help make the U.S. work, or watch the chasm become deeper and the walls become so high, the sun can’t get a ray in to light the path.