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)