THE LAST TRUMP

    Admittedly, trying to generate any enthusiasm to discourse on the 2016 US President Election is difficult. But necessity dictates it, because one party now has its nominee, while for the other, the drama continues.

    And that's exactly what it all amounts to---all drama. That's why celebrities, and not thinkers get nominations. If we had an electorate that wanted men of ability to lead them, the 2016 Election would have been between Ben Carson and Jim Webb. They were the only Republican and Democratic candidates who were talking about solutions.

      But solutions are not what the American public wants to hear; because solving problems involves efforts and sacrifices. Not that they mind making others exert effort and make sacrifices, of course; and this is why we get the kinds of candidates we do. Trump, Clinton, and Sanders are simply (like most other recent candidates) blank screens upon which the Ameroboobs project their own hopes and fears. And the reason we have these types of candidates is because of a truth no one dares want to utter: It is because the majority of Americans have chosen to abdicate their responsibility of self-government.

        It was formerly an established legal principle in the United States that ultimate sovereignty rested with the people themselves. There were Checks and Balances built into the system and the ability to change things was sometimes frustratingly slow. But because Instant Gratification and avoidance of responsibility are the highest virtues of Americans today; it simply becomes easier for them to find a candidate who shares their feelings (i.e. tells them what they want to hear). They don't have to propose solutions for anything. It's enough to share mutual resentments and go on from there. Essentially, it's all about wish-fulfillment. The Ameroboob wishes the economy was better, so we build a Border Wall or raise the Minimum Wage. Those things sound good; in spite of the fact that they will accomplish nothing. How about the American people getting off their butts and putting pressure on the government to strengthen the Dollar, so that money actually had value again? Or repealing restrictive laws holding down employment? Or diverting wasted billions of dollars on to rebuilding national infrastructure?

        "No" the Ameroboob would answer, "That is what we elect representatives to do."

      Then don't complain that, after delegating all of your power to people at the top, that you're being oppressed later on. As Abraham Lincoln said, "In America, a man is a citizen-king or he is nothing." The American people today have chosen to be nothing, and want their elected officials to rule like kings: and somehow expect from that arrangement to reap the benefits of Liberty. Hence, they get political leaders who constantly pander to the lowest common denominator while, at the same time, expanding their power: and, when they use these expanded powers, are unable to accomplish anything with them.

        Before we have any beneficial changes in our country, the American people are to start facing reality for a change. But no candidate will say that. And as long as they don't say it, we'll continue on our downward course.