Readers: this blog is set in the future (sometime after the year 2020). Each entry assumes there has been a 5th revolution in the US — the Revenge Revolution. More about the Revenge Revolution and author, Entry #1. Most entries are formatted as conversations. Characters appear in a number of entries, with many entries building on previous conversations.
Occasionally I break from the normal formatting and do a “sense check.” Auditing one’s own work is problematic but I try to be objective. Entries #300 and #301 are the most recent “sense checks.” Your thoughts are welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for your time and interest…and comments, please.
Scene: Jordan’s office, Washington, DC. Jordan having coffee with Walt, a friend from college days. They just returned from getting a coffee refill. Conversation begins entry #302.
Walt: “I’ll tell you another event that penetrated the brainwashing cap. In fact, I still shake my head when thinking about it.”
Jordan: “Which was?”
Walt: “Remember when Rudy Giuliani, then Trump’s attack dog, stated on ‘Meet the Press’ that ‘truth isn’t truth’?”
Jordan: “Remember it well. I did not see the live broadcast…think I was doing something important like playing golf…but saw the video several times.”
Walt: “Did you see the look on the host’s face? What’s the guy’s name?”
Jordan: “Chuck Todd.”
Walt: “That’s it. Todd looked more dumbfounded than a deer in headlights. Then he tried to let Giuliani correct his mistake. But Giuliani in true Trump fashion, refused to admit an error and proceeded to straight-jacket himself.”
Jordan: “You know Giuliani was right…if you add just one word.”
Walt: “Not sure what you mean.”
Jordan: “Giuliani’s right if you state it as, ‘Trump’s truth isn’t truth.’”
Walt: “Hadn’t thought of it exactly like you phrased it but Giuliani’s comment was so stupid an alarm bell went off in my head.”
Jordan: “So you had two Trump-related brain-penetrating epiphanies in a couple of weeks.”
Walt: “Like I said before we went to get more coffee, after Trump’s order to revoke security clearances for high-level people who could protect the country, I began asking myself, ’Self, what have I been thinking?’ Then other Trump actions started to migrate from logical to questionable.”
Jordan: “You think Giuliani’s ‘truth isn’t truth’ could have accelerated the questioning?”
Walt: “Probably. But I’m still embarrassed to talk about my brainwashed state. I mean, when I was brainwashed, Kellyanne Conway’s claim about ‘alternative facts’ never caused me to pause.”
Jordan: “Not to press too much but didn’t you think Conway’s statements were pure BS?”
Walt: “No. I even repeated her stuff in discussions about Trump. One time while having coffee with a friend of mine the conversation turned to Trump. He made an assertion and I responded that you have your facts and I have mine.”
Jordan: “How’d he respond?”
Walt: “After I repeated the claim about alternative facts, he said I was brainwashed, then left the restaurant.”
Jordan: “Ever get back together for coffee?”
Walt: “The next time he asked me to provide a data source supporting some Conway-like claim I’d made.”
Jordan: “And…?”
Walt: “I asked him if he was calling me a liar. He asked again for the source of information. I repeated my claim he was calling me a liar…then I left.”
Jordan: “Seen him again?”
Walt: “No. Maybe I should call him. He was right all along. But see, that’s another example of being so embarrassed about past behavior. I mean, what do I say?”
Jordan: “Why not call him for coffee and let the conversation take its course.”
Walt: “Good idea.”
Jordan: “Were there any other what you might call epiphanic events that caused you to think you might have been brainwashed?”
Walt: “The incident might not qualify as an epiphany but one that I still find humorous.”
Jordan: “There was humor in the Trump fiasco?”
Walt: “Well, guys probably think it’s funny. Not sure about women. Most guys never progress beyond sophomoric humor.”
Jordan: “I’m game. What was the event?”
Walt: “Remember when Trump’s so-called confidants started to flip?”
Jordan: “Started with Michael Cohen. What’s so funny about Cohen flipping?”
Walt: “Nothing. What still makes me smile was when the owner of the National Enquirer was granted immunity.”
Jordan: “You mean…?”
Walt: “Yep. Who ever thought a Pecker could be granted immunity? Had we known a pecker could be immune from prosecution our college life could have been a lot more fun!”
Jordan: “That is pretty funny…and so sophomoric. Seriously, anything else stand out?”
Walt: “Once the brainwashing cap got penetrated, I started to look at the flood of Trump’s tweets a lot more critically. What I noticed was that virtually every tweet laid the blame for a problem on someone else or on some Federal agency. Trump seemed to forget he was in charge.”
Jordan: “So, now you’re beginning to view Trump a bit more objectively. What happened to your political position? Did you start to shift left? If so, how far?”
Walt: “I shifted to probably right center. Still basic conservative values but with a social conscience.”
Jordan: “Reminds me of how Bush43 tried to position himself – compassionate conservative. Then he got steamrolled by the neocons and lost focus.”
Walt: “Guess my ‘right center’ is more like pre-Reagan Republicans. That was before the party got pushed way right and eventually just refused to work across the aisle. I know the Democrats seemed to shift to but at one time the Republicans and Democrats actually worked together to get things done.”
Jordan: “OK, now we’re in a new era. Trump is gone and the country has gone through the Revenge Revolution. And you’re more open to crossing party lines. What about other former Trumpsters?”
Walt: “Some will never get it. Remember after Nixon resigned, there was what, 20-25% of the populace still supported him? So those people will stay in their Trump cave. But the rest of us need to start working together to avoid becoming a banana republic. People don’t think the US can slip that far but it can.”
Jordan: “I’m delighted you want to make the government work again. Now, what’s next?”
(Continued)
Jordan: “Just asking a question if you knew the logic stream of people who have been brainwashed.”
Walt: “OK, you’re right. I was brainwashed by Trump. It’s embarrassing to talk about it.”
Jordan: “What about Trump yanking the security clearances made you take pause?”
Walt: “Not all at once. I bounced back and forth. It was as if I was playing ping-pong by myself. One day a conspiracy theory; the next day no conspiracy.”
Walt: “Once I got though the conspiracy analysis, then like the baby who now knows how to walk, the pace picked up considerably. And finally, Trump became more like Humpty Dumpty.”
Walt: “As I looked in the mirror, I just couldn’t believe what I’d been doing. I needed to find out why. What had made me act that way?”
Walt: “Well, I poured through a couple of his books. Then I decided to see a psychiatrist.”
Jordan: “Walk me through how you guys worked together.”
Jordan: “You became your own case study.”
Walt: “Look, I’m no brainwashing expert but as was explained to me, there are ‘holes’ in most brainwashing caps. If reaction to an event or an idea goes through one of those holes, it accesses the pre-brainwashed mind. Think of it as a being on either side of a wall or maybe as separate partitions on a computer hard drive.”
Jordan: “This discussion is absolutely fascinating…but I need a break bad.”
Walt: “Great! Where’d you get it? Don’t tell me. It’s from that liberal bastion, Starbucks.”
Jordan: “C’mon. Stop me from banging my head against the wall. I admit I find your logic fascinating, even humorous at times…but your logic is also incredibly frustrating.”
Jordan: “If the FBI was trying to get Hillary elected, then why did Comey hold a press conference a few days before the election effectively reopening an investigation about Clinton that found no laws were broken?”
Walt: “Same thing with Obama. He knew the Russians had hacked the Democratic National Committee HQ and were releasing emails to the public. But he didn’t do anything about it. Why not?”
Jordan: “Just for fun, please tell me, in Trump world, does the sun come up in the east or west?”
Walt: “A thorough investigation. Why should the FBI allow a foreign country, especially a known enemy of the US, try to influence the outcome of a presidential election? If the FBI didn’t investigate, it would be dereliction of duty. All of them should be fired…and some tried for treason.”
Jordan: “Yet, when the FBI had very credible evidence that the Russians had infiltrated the Trump campaign and the campaign was likely conspiring with the Russians, you supported the Republicans in Congress who objected. Those same Republicans thought the investigation should be stopped. Why did you support them when you just said there should be an investigation?”
Walt: “Not likely fake, it was fake. At least now you’re starting to understand.”
Gelly: “Nice to be back. Had lots of fun but sorta, kinda missed the office.”
Jordan: “Right. Walt’s coming over sometime late morning.”
Walt: “We had a great time and the fireworks at the club were sensational.”
Walt: “I thought Trump was a blowhard. More of a flake real-estate salesman than a conservative Republican.”
Walt: “Guess I never really considered the experience. Was more intrigued with the idea of change than the quality of the people involved or what they had to do to implement change. Sort of the ends justifying the means.”
Walt: “We’ll talk about troubling later. As I said, I did my own studying trying to understand if Trump was real or not. I spent lots of time watching Fox – mostly Hannity and O’Reilly before he got unfairly railroaded out – and I’d catch Limbaugh on the radio a couple of times a week. The more I listened to these guys the more convinced I was Trump was on the right track.”
Jordan: “Did your studying include reading newspapers – let’s say the Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post, Washington Post, NY Times?”
Jordan: “If I understand correctly, your primary sources of info were Trump, Trump’s tweets, probably the White House press secretary – Sarah Huckabee – and a couple of commentators on Fox. No print media other than an occasional read of the Journal. And no other networks such as PBS, CBS, and say MSNBC.”
Walt: “OK, but you have to buy coffee…and I want a bagel, too.”