Sometimes, I am not sure if our current President knows he is lying anymore or if he believes what he is saying. I am fairly certain he knows he lost the election fair and square and is simply lying about it in desperate hope that somehow he can stay in the White House. I think he is one of those folks at ease with telling falsehoods on a continual basis, and who never admits to it. Ever. But now and then, I think he has enough screws loose in that addled brain to let him believe the myths he's made about himself.
It's not unheard of, and I've known people in my life who seem to believe equally in made up gobbly gook.
It must be so tiring to be around that guy.
Well, after tomorrow, he will be far less in the public eye. And that is just fine with me. There are so many things we all have to content with, and I am certain that a world without a daily "what did he do now" will be much more productive. We have the Economy; Global Warming; the Pandemic; and all our own personal problems to fix.
So, as far as Trump and his lies or delusions, good luck and good bye. But what about our friends and family who have bought those lies hook, line, and sinker? What do we do with people we care about who spout muddled conspiracy theories, reject reality, and won't listen to reason? Are they truly cult members, who need to be either given up as lost or rescued? And if it's the latter, how do we go about that?
And what do we do with people we know, but aren't as close to, who also drank the Kool-Aid? What if there's that guy at work who you never liked all that much to begin with who insists the election was stolen and that Trump was the greatest? Do we just tell them to STFU?
I think telling them off would be fun, but not very productive in the long run.
And after the sacking of the Capitol, the desire to be kind has lessened.
But I do think we have to find a way to communicate with the delusional.
Don't get me wrong. Some folks are just racist assholes, and need to be told as such. Sadly, there is no shortage of nasty, cruel, selfish bigots.
But all these people, those we love and those we can't stand, have bought the Big Lie. Do we just keep telling them the truth? I have heard that fact checking people who have bought into this bullshit actually dig in deeper when you do that.
Which seems nuts to me. If someone points out, calmly and reasonably, with facts and figures, that I'm wrong about something, I may not like being wrong, but I certainly won't continue down that misguided path.
Some folks just don't want to hear anything other than what they want to believe.
Long ago, there was a mini-series based on James Michner's book Centennial. I loved it. It was this epic tale of America. I watched it many times, thanks to our old VCR recording of it. Sally Kellerman played this woman who was forward thinking in the 1800s. She was in love with a Frenchmen played by Robert Conrad, who was best known to me as Agent Jim West on the TV show The Wild, Wild West. At one point in the series, Kellerman's character was talking about Conrad's character and infidelity and putting up with people's bullshit, and she said "Sometimes, people believe what they want to believe".
It shocked me. Not because it was an immoral stance, or foolish. But because it was true, and I knew it was true, and I hated that truth.
I still hate it.
And it's still true.
I have no moral today, no words of wisdom on how to deal with this. I just point it out, as it's something I am dealing with.
Here's a song. It's Journey's Don't Stop Believing, as used in the Sopranos finale. Enjoy.
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