Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Sinecure
“A position requiring little or no work but giving the holder status or financial benefit.” This is today’s Word Daily. While I have known a few people in such positions, the first one to pop into my head is 45. I won’t write his name out but if you’re wondering, he was our 45th president. Jan told me once that his security detail called his golf games “kick ball” because he would kick the golf ball into a better position on the course. Anyone who has to do that in this traditional, gentleperson’s game, is insecure and greatly in need of admiration for his ersatz accomplishments.
It was a fateful day when, before he became 45, he descended a gold escalator and announced his intention. At the time, I only knew him as a reality TV guy starring in a mediocre show. (I must confess that Jan, and sometimes me, watched the show. From the first episode I watched, my instinct told me he was a flimflam guy, engaged in a swindle, or a confidence game.) Anyway, I was incredulous when he said he would be running as the Republican candidate in the next Presidential election. I think I even laughed out loud at the time. It’s not a damn bit funny now.
For four years he occupied the White House, which he called “a dump”. Even his wife had little or no respect for the place, given that she tore up the rose garden and had a sidewalk laid where trees used to live. For me, the most telling observation of her was when she was headed to the border wearing a coat with the words, “I don’t care. Do You?” on the back. I don’t feel sorry for her, but I do wonder what it must be like to be married to 45. Perhaps they deserve each other.
Back to sinecure. He was busy in one way – he used his position to create wide fissures within our country. He did so through his inflammatory rhetoric, criticizing the media, people who disagreed with him, and even members of his own administration. It is estimated that he tweeted his bizarre thoughts some 26,000 times. He overtly admired dictators in other countries, especially Putin and Kim Jong Un, with whom he exchanged “love letters”. That this statement did not bother his Republican allies tells me something about the GOP. He was the source of so many offensive comments that after a while it became routine to hear them and be astonished.
There are some reports that he watched at least four hours of television each day, and sometimes up to eight hours. How the President of the United States, POTUS, has this kind of mindless time is beyond me. But, one thing he did well was to surround himself with people who would give him ideas for policy changes. I don’t think he is smart enough to have crafted them himself, but he knew who would listen to his bizarre ideas and try to implement them. I was especially horrified by Stephen Miller, a senior adviser and speechwriter for 45. One of his contributions to our immigration dilemma was to craft the policy of separating migrant children from their parents. He is a classic white supremacist. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists him as an extremist right-winger. He represents the kind of person that 45 recruited to do his dirty work for him.
To me, the thought that 45 wants to become 47 is terrifying. While my Democratic party needs improvement in broadcasting the positive changes in the economy, I also believe that we do not emphasize strong Democratic candidates enough. While the GOP is trumpeting so many MAGA beliefs and conservative promises, we should be making sure that a progressive agenda is laid out clearly. I believe it is possible to continue taking the high road while educating the public on the benefits of a Democratic administration.
Whatever your political persuasion, please vote in 2024. It is our only option left for supporting our political beliefs and supporting our Democracy.