We are all traveling down the same highway. Some drive faster than others, and there is always that one aggressive a-hole who tailgates and cuts people off while weaving in and out of traffic, but we all generally try to do no harm. Most of us are motivated by the desire to keep ourselves and our passengers safe, but we all understand the social contract of safe driving. The worst possible outcome is a crash that causes a multi-vehicle pileup with casualties/loss of life…as well as a shutdown that can back up traffic for miles.

Stick with me: we are driving down the same highway and it starts to rain…not just rain but a huge thunderstorm with floods, high winds and hail. Everyone slows down and some even pull over to the side of the road for the storm to pass. Dangerous driving conditions mean we all slow down (a minor inconvenience) to prevent accidents, injuries and deaths.

This is where we are today. Slowing down (i.e., wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, keeping space indoors) is not oppressive or some grand conspiracy, it is common sense during uncertain and dangerous conditions. The highway is currently (at least partially) shut but if we all slow down, we can open. Instead, we have a group of a-holes flying flags and proudly honking their horns while causing wrecks/outbreaks and generally putting themselves and everyone around them in danger.

As we learn more about the current pandemic a few things are clear: this virus will never “go away” but has become a permanent fixture in our lives. The virus can never be fully controlled and will never be “over”. More hospitalizations (and deaths) are inevitable no matter what we do, but it can be slowed and contained. As discussed by those who study pandemics (remember when we listened to experts instead of cranks?) slowing down the spread is critical to prevent the medical system from being overwhelmed – a scenario which would increase the number of deaths from both virus and unrelated causes as hospitals reach maximum capacity. The so called “herd immunity” is a white whale…we contain the spread by slowing down, vaccinating and (yes) while a portion of us will get the virus and build up anti-bodies, letting the virus spread quickly through the population is folly born of ignorance. We can learn from past pandemics and the consensus number one lesson is to slow down the spread not speed up.

Best case scenario is with proper testing, tracing and effective vaccinations we can manage the spread and return to “normal” life. We will still have to “slow down” when and where flare-ups occur. There may also be future partial closures if we still have enough a-hole drivers, but that is 100% up to us.

Another analogy: when a tornado hits a populated area, it is common for some houses to be completely destroyed while others in the same neighborhood (even next door) remain standing. We are seeing a similar impact with this virus on different companies and industries. Some have been devastated (live music, hospitality and travel) while others (grocery stores, medical, delivery services such as Amazon and streaming services) have experienced a huge uplift. We should apportion federal and state aid accordingly, just as we would after a catastrophic storm that hits a specific region, to help those hit hardest – and continue to do so in the future if a partial shut down is necessary.

Our lives have changed and so should our policies. We need to take an unbiased and honest look at our healthcare system with input from all sides but with the common goal of providing affordable healthcare for all as a basic human right. The testing infrastructure should be permanent. We need to have funds/resources set aside and a permanent federal team within the CDC to address current and future global pandemics. This is not optional, to be dismantled when things are rosy. Such short-sighted thinking has made this pandemic much worse than it had to be.

Insulate these teams from politics by appointing a balanced board to make personnel decisions, determine strategy, handle logistics and formal communications. Do not leave these important functions to unqualified politicians and their sycophants or we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.

We need a change in mindset: when a person is sick or showing symptoms from any type of cold or virus that person is required to stay home from work or school and isolate/self-quarantine. This is a burden on many workers and parents so these issues need to be addressed with support and input from both private and public sectors (e.g., mandated sick leave policy).

Why, why, why do the freshly-elected “new wave” of progressives want to take down the only political party capable of evicting the current occupants of the WH? History keeps repeating itself: Democrats win a big victory against a corrupt GOP and immediately take steps to make sure the pendulum swings back in the next cycle.

The last election confirmed that moderates make up the vast majority of the electorate. If you break down issues and solutions properly, you can convince moderate voters to take reasonable action towards incrementally more progressive solutions. Propose radical changes that moderates do not understand or that trigger identity politics (stoked by the opposition) and you will quickly find yourself back in the minority watching ultra-conservative judges take life-long appointments that will set back your fight by decades.

Is capitalism the source of all evil in the world? Really? Or could it be that maybe it is crony capitalism (i.e. the actions of unethical/immoral capitalists and politicians) that is the real problem in this country?

We desperately need to address income inequality, health care and corruption. These are issues that can be addressed within the current framework for those with the will to fight…first by mitigating the influence of big money on our policy making with things like campaign finance reform (the root of many of these symptoms).

Any public discussion about replacing capitalism with socialism is political suicide and is far too nuanced to have any impact/meaning in front of the general public. Without a universally-accepted framework for terms like “capitalism” or “socialism” (in a world of bumper-sticker tweeting media) it is a debate that only exists in think tanks and college classrooms.

Capitalism has been in place since the birth of our nation and has accelerated growth during the Our economic system has served us well…disproportionately, but nevertheless has improved life for most Americans (and the world) over the past

Within our economic system, we have developed socialist programs (e.g., Social Security) to help those in need. Without the economic growth spurred by our economic system, these socialist programs would not have been possible.

Capitalism and socialism are broad terms that are not (necessarily) mutually exclusive…so why force this false dichotomy?

The most effective way to improve the quality of life for all is non-market reform socialism not revolution. To talk realistically about a socialist take-over of capitalism is not only foolish, it is dangerous. Barring a full-blown (and violent) revolution, it isn’t going to happen. We barely have enough wisdom and support to pull-off a market-based band aid reform of health-care…and you want the world and you want it now? Cue “Street Fighting Man” and protest all you want. It ain’t gonna happen. The wheels of democracy turn slowly. Patience and persistence are the virtues to follow.

The blocking of nominated Obama judges by the GOP did not start with Merrick Garland, but long before that…judges and other appointees were left stranded, their positions open indefinitely. And it started in Obama’s first term.  By 2010, there were almost 100 blocked appointees. Commerce, banking, wildlife, all levels of secretaries were blocked…even those that initially had bi-partisan approval. There were blanket objections, based on GOP agenda items prior to the person actually being nominated:(http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/us/politics/20nominate.html).

The GOP had a historically low number of confirmed justices in 2015 at 11 (low since before 1960). A fraction of what Democrats approved when W was in office, although the total number of justices was roughly equal (W vs Obama). The GOP decided to focus on blocking appellate court judges, many of which were filibustered. Obama could have rightfully made recess appointments, but he instead chose to respect the process. He technically could have even appointed Garland to the Supreme Court, the logic being that the Senate had sufficient time to consult and declined, but he chose to respect traditional process.

The point is not whether or not it is a good idea to pause the process in an election year. Given the fact that these justices have a lifetime appointment, it is actually not a terrible idea (so pass the law and be done with it). Instead, my issue is that there have been rules in place and the party that claims to honor the rules seems to twist them when it is to their benefit. They no longer can claim to be the party of the Constitution if they do not follow these basic rules.

The Democrats filibustered Neil Gorsuch (forever to be known as “judge with an asterisk”) but the GOP immediately changed the rules of the Senate (with little thought to future implications) to force Gorsuch through. They were well within their rights to do so, but if the situation had been reversed the outcry would have been thunderous. Instead they now accuse the Dems of doing what they themselves did for eight obstructionist years.

Which brings met to my last point…when it appeared Hillary Clinton (and not an unqualified Fox News parrot) was going to be president, the GOP had several “investigations” lined up, ready to go, because…you know…truth, Benghazi, emails, and other imaginary crimes. We now have the most corrupt POTUS since Nixon, with plenty of evidence of using his office for personal profit (not to mention solid connections with the Russians) but they sit on their hands.

An independent judiciary is enshrined in our constitution and yet both our president and our AG have put out statements that directly undercut our entire judicial process. A civics lesson is in order for the unqualified one but the AG should know better (he just doesn’t care).

The “law and order” party is now the “ends justify the means” party where expediency over-rides justice. The outrage has reverberated to every part of the nation and at some point a political price will be paid.

My modern update of a famous quote: “Better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to tweet and remove all doubt.”

The fool in this case is petty, petulant, incompetent, inarticulate, ignorant, inappropriate, impulsive, bigoted, sexist, undisciplined, caustic, insensitive, self-centered, immature, watches cable news all day and plays golf almost every weekend…but he is “rich & famous” so everything he says or does is accepted by those that follow the cult of personality or dismissed as being straightforward and politically “incorrect”.

The fool’s tweets show a fundamentally flawed understanding of things like: our legal justice system, our government, separation of powers, the federal budget process, our alliance with NATO, intelligence/surveillance tactics, nuclear weapons, basic US history, race relations, culture, healthcare, military strategy (& arms), diplomacy, energy policy, journalism, border control, environment, science in general, macroeconomics, international trade and puts that ignorance on display on a daily basis.

Already a national embarrassment , the fool continues to escalate ignorance while spreading ethnic nationalism and plutocratic propaganda (under the guise of populism) on an unprecedented level. He has absorbed the last decade of GOP hate-fueled rhetoric of Fox News and right-wing extremist media…and accepted every bit of it as truth…with Steve Bannon as his Grima Wormtongue. The fool is taking to Twitter to defend himself by declaring any accusations against him are fake news by the fake FBI/DOJ.

The fool’s followers love him because he is them: a fantastical and ego-driven view of a black-and-white simplistic world in which American prosperity is for the chosen few…and under constant threat from the “others”.

We are way past the point of mere politics. Politics is about debating policy and advocating for the well-being of constituents. Both sides in a political debate may manipulate the media and invoke emotional arguments but at the end of the day there is an acceptance of the over-riding need to implement actual policy which requires (with some notable exceptions) an objective baseline of data. There can be no compromise with persons who violently reject any information that does not comport to their world view.

The party of fools gained political power with these exact tactics: overwhelming base rhetoric and destructive ignorance. Tea party candidates, once in office, were revealed as either cynical non-believers riding a wave of bigotry-fueled opposition to glory or as truly (and purposefully) misinformed radicals who have no interest in governance. A new religion was born, and all the evidence historians need is to examine the rise of the birther movement, the use of the debt limit as a political chip in the budget process (which pushed the US to economic disaster), and the propagation of an opinion-based, non-factual, anti-science mindset.

At the risk of sounding alarmist: these are the origins of fascism. This is how tyrants are born. Those who know world history can point to the obvious parallels (racial/religious scapegoating, delegitimizing free press and other institutions, angry rhetoric). Representatives from both major parties know this. It must stop. It has to stop. The fool must be stopped.

We can now imagine life on other planets, and just 40 quick light years away!

Imagine for a moment if one of them (Planet X) had a vibrant and thriving culture with vast expanses of inhabitable land, a healthy economy and so many opportunities for jobs that they could not find people to fill them. A planet like Earth but many times larger. Plenty of clean water and air. So much room that most people on Planet X live in mansions with acres of land.

And what if us Earthlings screw up our planet through a combination of short-sighted environmental policy and use of nuclear weapons (not as far-fetched as it seems)? The skies grow dark, the surface temperature cools, the oceans rise and there is widespread famine. The air is so bad in places, that people have to stay indoors or wear special masks to prevent lung disease. Drinkable water becomes difficult to find and the price of bottled water increases 10 fold. There is a constant state of war as conflicts over the scraps of resources that are left escalate. It is a dark age for planet Earth.

But in the midst of all that, what if we figure out space travel? We are able to travel at (or near) the speed of light and perfect cryogenic sleep so that trips of 100s of light years are made possible.

A ray of hope: Earthlings work most of their lives and sell their possessions to scrape up enough money to buy a one way ticket to Planet X. Their entire life savings to get themselves and their family, their children, to a better place.

And what if the people of Planet X welcomed us with open arms? Or instead, they saw what a mess some of us had created on our home planet and decided to ban all Earthlings from landing on their planet, regardless of circumstances…and deported us back to our dumpster-fire of a planet.

What would that be like?

For those of you hoping for a quick impeachment, I have news for you…those that could possibly investigate allegations of coordination with Putin, conflicts of interests, etc…are now taking orders from the person you want them to investigate. These same investigators were not able to voice their findings during the Obama administration, so what makes you think that is going to come out now?

Investigative journalism? We live in a post-fact world where the “media” has been marginalized and even concrete evidence, such as the pussy-grabbing video, can be dismissed with the right amount of spin. Unless you have tape of him actually eating a baby…and even then I have my doubts.

No, we should count on dealing with our new POTUS for the next four rocky years. One concept that has not seem to hit home with him yet is that even though only 27% of the electorate voted for him, he is still president for the other 73%. You do not represent all Americans (or “the people” as he stated in his inauguration speech) by kicking 20 million people off insurance (his first act, signed within hours of the swearing in ceremony).

You do not represent the people (vs the rich) by appointing billionaires (and surprise! a few from Goldman/Sachs!), a group that exploits the working class…that would not lift a finger to help working Americans unless there was a chance for corporate profit.

We do not have a government of the people if large companies are able to pollute our water and air. He did not just change the official WH website section on climate change, he REMOVED it completely. All the BS rhetoric about “well, yes it is happening but we need to figure out a better way to resolve it that is more business-friendly” was just that. He has appointed cabinet members who want to destroy the EPA {and the Dept of Energy, Housing, Health & Human Services, Education, etc…). Because states have such a great track record when it comes to pollution…I am looking at you, Texas.

How do you represent the people by taking away education opportunities, housing and other critical services? Building a wall does nothing to help workers better their lives. Zero. All the trade deals in the world will not bring back jobs lost to automation. Coal workers need to be retrained to work in renewable energy space, and to promise them that their jobs are returning qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment. The coal industry can not possibly keep up with natural gas and other options.

An infrastructure plan? You mean like the one Obama proposed but Congress would not pass? Interesting to see how that works out this time…but how are you going to pay for that (and your stupid wall) while cutting taxes (mostly for the rich)? This isn’t one of your real estate deals where you can secure financing, default on your loan, declare bankruptcy and start over…we have a significant amount of debt already (in case you have not been listening to your own party).

You want to drill even MORE than what we already do? Fine…you do realize that China has doubled-down on renewable energy investments and has already passed us in several key areas. They looking at the future, while you are stuck in the past. The jobs are there, but you would rather exhaust finite resources first for the sake of short term profit? Short-sighted seems to be the theme of your administration.

Also removed from the WH website: LGBT rights section. You may not like these people, but they are still people and you are the president of LGBT people. To deny them equal rights means you do NOT represent “the people” in any fashion.

The Trump government is not for the people, but only for certain parts of America: the rich, the bigots, and I am struggling to come up with anyone else. Corporations will do very well the next four years, but how much better can they do? How much wealth do these billionaires need to feel good about themselves while poverty is on the rise? Time will take care of the bigots as old ideas fade away and die…but in the meantime, we need to protect those they would attack.

Our only chance to minimize the damage (which could be substantial as we turn back progress on so many issues) is to fight. Take back local and state governments so we can undo the gerry-meandering that runs rampant in GOP led states. Take back the House and (especially) the Senate. Pull out all the stops to oppose any proposal that does not help the people. Get money out of politics by threatening your representatives: vote for campaign finance reform or you are out next election cycle.

Enough is enough.

After the election, there were all kinds of explanations for how an unqualified, bigoted narcissist and mostly-failed businessman who was behind in the polls and lost the popular vote by 3 million ballots ascended to our highest office. We heard about racism and sexism. We heard it was the “white working class” so not really racism or sexism…but of course recent data indicates there was indeed a strong correlation between bigotry and votes for a bigot. Voter suppression was prevalent (especially in most of the states won by the GOP, whether the laws were struck down or not) and disproportionately impacted likely non-GOP voters in a textbook unconstitutional way.

We heard it was Hillary and the Democrats fault for how they treated Bernie. It was Bernie supporters who did not vote for Hillary (although a vast majority did). It was the damn third party candidates, who should have dropped out. It was the FBI director who broke standard protocol in an unprecedented action, which of course turned out to be nothing. It was most definitely the Russians, who hacked and leaked to help the bigot get elected (“you’re the puppet”). It was the national media, who failed to properly vet both candidates and seemed to be more concerned with creating a reality show, a voice for all platforms (no matter how insane or offensive), than getting actual policy details. It is all about ratings, truth be damned. And of course there was self-professed Hillary-hater Julian Assange, who seems to care more about his personal brand than the actual truth (sound familiar?). I wonder, does Wikileaks have anything on the GOP and when do you think that will come out?

The electoral college was a big one. Our entire constitution is in desperate need of modernizing, but one party thinks it is perfect “as is” and who cares that it was created during the pre-industrialized age of agriculture, slavery and sexism. Corporations did not exist then, but this same party thinks they should count as people…but I digress.

In a tight election (and this one was among the tightest) all of these things are, to a varying degree, valid factors. I even left out the most obvious: the GOP establishment candidates were so weak that an unqualified bully was able to crush them all. But all of these explanations ignore the root cause: our two party system.

Due in large part to the amount of corruption and money that is openly allowed to flow unchecked into our political system, we have only two viable political parties. If we did not have 95% of our political power consolidated in the GOP and Democrats, the presidential ballot (for one) would look very different. There would be more choices, more options and more opportunities for coalitions between groups. Bernie would have likely have been a candidate, for example, and the Green party may have thrown their support behind him instead of Stein. Libertarians would have probably stuck with Gary Johnson, but his supporters would have the opportunity to work with both the right and the left on a per-issue basis. Simply put: you would not have had the “forced” choice between two of the most unpopular candidates in American history…many voters cast ballots based on fear of the other candidate and not enthusiasm for their own. Too many just through their hands up and stayed home, which drastically altered House and Senate races that could/should have gone differently. We somehow ended up with the least popular candidate/party in charge of all three branches of government. A massive and unpredictable victory for the party that spent the last eight years with absolutely nothing to show on their resume. The GOP was so shocked they were not even ready for it. Chuck Schumer said it best: “they are like the dog that caught the bus”…they can not believe how quickly Americans forgot the eight corrupt years we experienced the last time the GOP was this large and in charge. It is like living in an alternate reality of a country where votes do not really count. Unless you are white, of course.

The way out is to get a populist uprising based on a single issue: get money out of politics. Our president-elect promised to take steps to implement new lobbyist rules (one of the few things he has ever said that I agree with) and that would be a start. We have to stop treating our democracy like it is up for auction every two years. Put a cap on all political contributions so that the rich can not have more influence than the rest of us. Ban all corporate contributions. Force complete campaign finance transparency for all political parties and everyone in public office. We currently have a set of non-rules that legalize bribery. When I explain to people (from both inside and outside our country) what campaign donations are allowed in the US they are shocked and amazed. The “independent” super-pacs allows candidates to completely circumvent any restrictions they may have on campaign contributions from rich corporate (and even foreign national) donors. We only recently (in 2012) passed laws against insider trading in congress…laws which were quietly rolled back under the radar.

Sidenote: if you are frustrated that certain companies seem to get away with slaps on the wrist following scandals, you can probably find most of them here: http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2015/11/08/the-25-most-commonly-held-stocks-by-members-of-con.aspx

Get rid of the out-of-control campaign spending and contributions by putting severe limits in place or, better yet, make all campaigns public-financed (i.e., tax payers voluntarily contribute to a fund that is dished out evenly to all candidates). Anyone who is going to serve must put all their assets into a blind trust. Period. Yes, they will lose many opportunities to make money while they serve…but do we really want a government that consists of people concerned with their personal wealth or do we want true public servants?

Without the mighty dollar, the GOP and Dems will fracture into smaller groups. Newly-formed parties will have a chance and a voice. All the other issues (i.e., symptoms of a sick system) will start to fade. Some will persist, but overall this is the direction we need to take. We cannot continue down our current path as it leads to a very dark future for a country that by all accounts should be a shining example of representative government for the rest of the world instead of the insane oligarchy we have become.

I can’t explain it. I can’t comprehend it. I have no idea how we got to this point. The easy answers (cheating, bigotry) seem too easy…any sense I have ever had about justice and public decency has been turned on it’s head.

A party that has acted horribly, shutting our government down to the brink of economic collapse, a party that has tacitly (and now directly) encouraged hostility & violence, a party that refused to follow the rubber-stamp process of confirming justices and appointees, a party that disenfranchised thousands of voters, a party that has put their own power over country time and time again was rewarded rather than punished for that behavior. They allowed the radical wing of their party to dictate their actions,  constituents who have no interest in improving our government, who just want a rabid lawyer to argue their case and take no prisoners regardless of the collateral damage to the nation and it’s people . There must be a right and wrong and my way or the highway. No compromise, no discussion. The past years have been an example of how NOT to govern a nation as there has been a complete breakdown and abuse of the checks and balances intended to force governance.

A candidate who said (and did) bigoted things that would have disqualified anyone running for any office in the last 50 years was able to get away with lying. And lying about his lies. And admission of his own lies. No one cares that he is in this for profit. and power. and blatant nepotism. and god-awful taste.

All that we value as Americans is now dust. No longer can we lead the free world towards  any sort of values. There are no more higher ideals once money becomes the number one and only priority. Our government is not for and by the people it is for and by the rich. This is something we have always complained about and yet we just elected the poster boy for this concept.

A leader should serve those he or she leads not the other way around. We know this. We know he is corrupt. We know he is a lying piece of shit who would step over his own grandmother for a better piece of real estate. We know this and accept it. He is a caricature of every negative stereotype that exists in the world for Americans. He represents the worst in us. The pinnacle of greed, ignorance, entitlement, unfounded conviction, narcissism, bigotry and sexism.

And yet somehow he is now our leader.

How I feel right now–is this how others felt when Obama was elected? Certainly there were those that believed he was a deceiver, a closet Muslim sympathetic to terrorists. I accept that those who live in their own bubble would think this (or worse). As our President stated anyone who watches nothing but Fox News is not going to like him. It makes sense now the hatred and loathing those people felt about Obama. I am hopeful that the opposition party, which needs to find it’s own soul, can obstruct our current leader as effectively as the GOP hamstrung Obama.

Big difference in bubbles: the beliefs about Obama were founded in things that were insinuated, implied, and flat out non-facts…our current leader has said and done things that prove who he is. You can choose to ignore them or rationalize them, but the statements are there, we can confirm that he said (or did) these things.  He has not released his tax forms. He has not had a press conference since July. Obama never said “I am going to take all your guns” but Trump has said many times he wants to build a wall, kick Muslims out, Mexicans are sending rapists, I just grab them by the pussy, etc…am I truly in a bubble if I can argue an air-tight case with the evidence presented?

I want to know if I am so deep in my own bubble that I am missing something. Because if not, then the only options I am left with is 1) the people of this country are a lot more tolerant of bigotry, of sexism, of racism, of homophobia, and anti-Islam then I could have ever imagined and/or 2) there has been some major fraud committed that would explain the difference between polls and results. The first is the probable answer but I am not sure which is more damaging to us as a nation.

Well America, you did it…rather, WE did it.

Americans are universally upset that our power-broker run government (mostly) serves large corporations instead of the people. Things are out of balance. Something has to give.

So (of course) we elect an anti-establishment candidate who is in no way qualified to serve as mayor of the smallest town in the world to the highest office in the nation. A thin-skinned billionaire narcissist who bullies others with school-yard level insults on twitter at 3 am but who has no grasp of world politics, economic policy or military strategy. Way to go. That will show them. If the purpose was “to send a message” for everyone to crap their collective pants around the world: mission accomplished and heck of a job, Brownie.

If the purpose is to start a program of change in this country…then we have just set ourselves back another 4+ years. Fail. Epic fail.

“WTF” doesn’t even begin to describe it. You can certainly blame the Democrats for nominating an establishment candidate at a time when voters are screaming for change. You can blame the bigots, who voted in record numbers. You can blame the younger and mostly minority voters, who stayed home in “protest”.

You can blame the hypocrisy of certain religious voters or the many conservatives who refused to point out that their emperor candidate had no clothes or those that decided to go with party over country. You can blame the GOP for silently accepting the hateful and racist rhetoric of the tea party for the past eight years ago that helped them win elections but laid the foundation to normalize bigoted and disrespectful language (including the birther movement).

You can especially blame the media for rejecting journalistic integrity for the sake of clicks and views. Ignoring the policy issues and tragically-flawed proposals, refusing to properly vet candidates (on both sides) and instead covering this election with a WWF-level of marketing and promotional tactics, covering a circus of personal attacks, scandals (both real and conjectured) and even actively encouraging punches to be thrown in the name of ratings by hiring pundits instead of reporters.

None of that shit matters now. We all did this. We own it. We own this mess. And we have to reverse it. Starting now. Politicians can’t make this change happen and we should stop expecting them to. The change we need starts with us. The current paradigm of politics is to divide and conquer us (so that those on top stay on top).

The lines of communication in this country have been severed by echo chambers that are fire-walled from reaching each other by algorithms. We only read “facts” and opinions that further cement our biases. What used to be a conversation between individuals and small groups of people, with all the natural empathy that occurs when two humans look each other in the eye is gone. Now we are segmented into data-driven demographics and fire words at each other on social media like severed heads coming out of a catapult.

Outside of shutting down social media (while expanding bars and coffee shops), I am not sure what the answer is. Maybe video posts? or better yet, video conferencing? Would that help as we actually see the pain, the fear, the concern in others instead of only the reactionary words on a page?

What will it take to regain the empathy and respect we need to actually communicate with each other to build consensus? To stop talking past each other. Reject labels. Refuse to demonize individuals, groups and movements. Respect the voices of others and try to understand why people are upset or angry instead of auto-rejecting them into a bucket of “those people”. Refuse to normalize the language of bigotry while attempting to understand the underlying causes instead of trying to control the language. There is no easy answer that exists in 140 characters and certainly not on a bumper sticker or campaign slogan…so enough of that.

Strike up a conversation with someone you don’t know (or don’t know well) and put your judgement of them aside so that you might actually learn something you did not know. Travel. Anywhere, but especially outside the US if you can afford it (or even if you can’t). Read something you would not normally even consider reading. Explore the “other side” or a different culture. Make human contact with someone that does not look like you, even if it is just a smile or a nod. Have hope that whatever we are facing, we will work it out in the end but it will take a lot of effort, a lot of talking, a lot of pushing ourselves outside of the tiny box that big data has pushed us into. We are much more alike than we are different and we want the same things for our families. Go find out what that is.

You want someone who is honest, transparent and trustworthy…so you nominate a pathological liar who has taken both sides of every issue and who refuses to release his tax forms.

You want someone to “shake up the system” and make government work for the common people…so you support a billionaire (born as an elite) who has abused both the political and court systems for decades, pays off elected officials and sues those who can’t afford court cases, all to make an extra few bucks…which he does not pay taxes on. Should we also put a mafia don in charge of the FBI?

You want someone who will fight large corporations and the rich…so nominate one of them? A man who does not even give to his own charity (and uses it to buy paintings of himself).

You want someone who can unite the nation…so nominate a man who insults groups and individuals 24/7. A man who takes every criticism or disagreement as a personal attack that must be defended. A man who will never apologize. Ever.

You want to make America “great” again…so you nominate a bigoted misogynistic narcissist who belongs on the set of “Mad Men” (this one actually makes sense if you are a white male with money).

You want someone who will keep us out of war, so let’s elect a man who would answer insults with military action, who wants to torture women and children and expand torture in general, a man who claims to know more than our generals but yet knows nothing about strategy or tactics (and throws out names like Patton and MacArthur with no idea of historic details), a man who wants to expand the availability of nuclear weapons, who casts doubt in the minds of our allies and joy in the hearts of our enemies, a man whose speeches are used to recruit terrorists, etc…I could go on for pages.

If you want someone to make life better for rich white men in this country, return us to a time when white males did not have to share power, a world where it is OK to make racist and sexist comments, a world where violence is an acceptable solution to use against those who disagree with you, a world where it is OK to cheat the system, a world where women were treated like cattle and sexual conquests, a world where America is feared (but not respected)…then Trump is your guy.