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A Heartbreaking Reality

PureX

Veteran Member
57393120_10216657444082496_7868902483144212480_n.jpg

“In my life, I have watched John Kennedy talk on television about missiles in Cuba. I saw Lyndon Johnson look Richard Russell squarely in the eye and and say, "And we shall overcome." I saw Richard Nixon resign and Gerald Ford tell the Congress that our long national nightmare was over. I saw Jimmy Carter talk about malaise and Ronald Reagan talk about a shining city on a hill. I saw George H.W. Bush deliver the eulogy for the Soviet bloc, and Bill Clinton comfort the survivors of Timothy McVeigh's madness in Oklahoma City. I saw George W. Bush struggle to make sense of it all on September 11, 2001, and I saw Barack Obama sing 'Amazing Grace' in the wounded sanctuary of Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

"These were the presidents of my lifetime. These were not perfect men. They were not perfect presidents, god knows. Not one of them was that. But they approached the job, and they took to the podium, with all the gravitas they could muster as appropriate to the job. They tried, at least, to reach for something in the presidency that was beyond their grasp as ordinary human beings. They were not all ennobled by the attempt, but they tried nonetheless.

"And comes now this hopeless, vicious buffoon, and the audience of equally hopeless and vicious buffoons who laughed and cheered when he made sport of a woman whose lasting memory of the trauma she suffered is the laughter of the perpetrators. Now he comes, a man swathed in scandal, with no interest beyond what he can put in his pocket and what he can put over on a universe of suckers, and he does something like this while occupying an office that we gave him, and while endowed with a public trust that he dishonors every day he wakes up in the White House.

"The scion of a multigenerational criminal enterprise, the parameters of which we are only now beginning to comprehend. A vessel for all the worst elements of the American condition. And a cheap, soulless bully besides. We never have had such a cheap counterfeit of a president as currently occupies the office. We never have had a president so completely deserving of scorn and yet so small in the office that it almost seems a waste of time and energy to summon up the requisite contempt.

"Watch how a republic dies in the empty eyes of an empty man who feels nothing but his own imaginary greatness, and who cannot find in himself the decency simply to shut up even when it is in his best interest to do so. Presidents don't have to be heroes to be good presidents. They just have to realize that their humanity is our common humanity, and that their political commonwealth is our political commonwealth, too. Watch him behind the seal of the President of the United States. Isn't he a funny man? Isn't what happened to that lady hilarious? Watch the assembled morons cheer. This is the only story now."

- Charles Pierce
 

England my lionheart

Rockerjahili Rebel
Premium Member
I also saw those presidents,maybe from afar but as far as presidents go he comes across as a jerk,what puzzles me is how he got elected and how he has managed to last this long.

PS we have politicians that are jreks too but not on his level imo.
 

Ellen Brown

Well-Known Member

“In my life, I have watched John Kennedy talk on television about missiles in Cuba. I saw Lyndon Johnson look Richard Russell squarely in the eye and and say, "And we shall overcome." I saw Richard Nixon resign and Gerald Ford tell the Congress that our long national nightmare was over. I saw Jimmy Carter talk about malaise and Ronald Reagan talk about a shining city on a hill. I saw George H.W. Bush deliver the eulogy for the Soviet bloc, and Bill Clinton comfort the survivors of Timothy McVeigh's madness in Oklahoma City. I saw George W. Bush struggle to make sense of it all on September 11, 2001, and I saw Barack Obama sing 'Amazing Grace' in the wounded sanctuary of Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

"These were the presidents of my lifetime. These were not perfect men. They were not perfect presidents, god knows. Not one of them was that. But they approached the job, and they took to the podium, with all the gravitas they could muster as appropriate to the job. They tried, at least, to reach for something in the presidency that was beyond their grasp as ordinary human beings. They were not all ennobled by the attempt, but they tried nonetheless.

"And comes now this hopeless, vicious buffoon, and the audience of equally hopeless and vicious buffoons who laughed and cheered when he made sport of a woman whose lasting memory of the trauma she suffered is the laughter of the perpetrators. Now he comes, a man swathed in scandal, with no interest beyond what he can put in his pocket and what he can put over on a universe of suckers, and he does something like this while occupying an office that we gave him, and while endowed with a public trust that he dishonors every day he wakes up in the White House.

"The scion of a multigenerational criminal enterprise, the parameters of which we are only now beginning to comprehend. A vessel for all the worst elements of the American condition. And a cheap, soulless bully besides. We never have had such a cheap counterfeit of a president as currently occupies the office. We never have had a president so completely deserving of scorn and yet so small in the office that it almost seems a waste of time and energy to summon up the requisite contempt.

"Watch how a republic dies in the empty eyes of an empty man who feels nothing but his own imaginary greatness, and who cannot find in himself the decency simply to shut up even when it is in his best interest to do so. Presidents don't have to be heroes to be good presidents. They just have to realize that their humanity is our common humanity, and that their political commonwealth is our political commonwealth, too. Watch him behind the seal of the President of the United States. Isn't he a funny man? Isn't what happened to that lady hilarious? Watch the assembled morons cheer. This is the only story now."

- Charles Pierce

I'm guessing that much of his conduct is due to unspeakable abuse when he was young. He STILL should not be president.
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member

“In my life, I have watched John Kennedy talk on television about missiles in Cuba. I saw Lyndon Johnson look Richard Russell squarely in the eye and and say, "And we shall overcome." I saw Richard Nixon resign and Gerald Ford tell the Congress that our long national nightmare was over. I saw Jimmy Carter talk about malaise and Ronald Reagan talk about a shining city on a hill. I saw George H.W. Bush deliver the eulogy for the Soviet bloc, and Bill Clinton comfort the survivors of Timothy McVeigh's madness in Oklahoma City. I saw George W. Bush struggle to make sense of it all on September 11, 2001, and I saw Barack Obama sing 'Amazing Grace' in the wounded sanctuary of Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

"These were the presidents of my lifetime. These were not perfect men. They were not perfect presidents, god knows. Not one of them was that. But they approached the job, and they took to the podium, with all the gravitas they could muster as appropriate to the job. They tried, at least, to reach for something in the presidency that was beyond their grasp as ordinary human beings. They were not all ennobled by the attempt, but they tried nonetheless.

"And comes now this hopeless, vicious buffoon, and the audience of equally hopeless and vicious buffoons who laughed and cheered when he made sport of a woman whose lasting memory of the trauma she suffered is the laughter of the perpetrators. Now he comes, a man swathed in scandal, with no interest beyond what he can put in his pocket and what he can put over on a universe of suckers, and he does something like this while occupying an office that we gave him, and while endowed with a public trust that he dishonors every day he wakes up in the White House.

"The scion of a multigenerational criminal enterprise, the parameters of which we are only now beginning to comprehend. A vessel for all the worst elements of the American condition. And a cheap, soulless bully besides. We never have had such a cheap counterfeit of a president as currently occupies the office. We never have had a president so completely deserving of scorn and yet so small in the office that it almost seems a waste of time and energy to summon up the requisite contempt.

"Watch how a republic dies in the empty eyes of an empty man who feels nothing but his own imaginary greatness, and who cannot find in himself the decency simply to shut up even when it is in his best interest to do so. Presidents don't have to be heroes to be good presidents. They just have to realize that their humanity is our common humanity, and that their political commonwealth is our political commonwealth, too. Watch him behind the seal of the President of the United States. Isn't he a funny man? Isn't what happened to that lady hilarious? Watch the assembled morons cheer. This is the only story now."

- Charles Pierce

I've never heard of Charles Pierce before.

America has survived bad presidents before. I don't necessarily disagree with the criticisms of Trump, but where they lose credibility is due to what is written in the first paragraph, detailing all the previous presidents as something different, while Trump is viewed as much, much worse. This illustrates to me that the author is more a part of the problem than any real solution.

If Trump has shattered people's illusions of America, then it may very well be heartbreaking. But the question still must be asked: Why did we ever latch on to those illusions in the first place?

I grew up under President Nixon, so my eyes were opened rather early in life. I refused to put on the blinders which everyone one else was putting on during the Reagan-Bush years. This author says "watch how a republic dies," I've been watching it throughout most of my life, but he's only noticing it just now?
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
I certainly agree with most of the OP. But to me a key question is why such people are now found all over the world, not just in the US. It seems to me that regressive and dark forces that have been hidden has come to the surface and are trying to pull humanity backwards. (I'm not personalizing these forces but some others might.)

I'm explicitly not referring to policies which are an entirely different question but of the acting out and appealing to the worst instincts and the worst behavior of humans. These include everything that the OP lists. And to these are joined by the clear evidence of those who for political or economic gain kowtow to the negative words and deeds.

From my understanding of history, every positive step, whether in science, culture or politics is always opposed by attempts to defeat the new and preserve the old. It's as if the new must prove itself by defeating the forces trying to defeat it.

What I disagree with is:
This is the only story now."
Instead what we saw in the last election was a record number of women being elected due, I think in large part, to reaction to Trump. I believe and hope this continues in 2020.

In the meantime his attempts to act as if he were an Emperor by denying the right of Congress to act as it is entitled to act must be opposed 100% "No surrender and no retreat".
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
I grew up under President Nixon, so my eyes were opened rather early in life. I refused to put on the blinders which everyone one else was putting on during the Reagan-Bush years. This author says "watch how a republic dies," I've been watching it throughout most of my life, but he's only noticing it just now?

I agree that Nixon's "enemies list" etc and Iran-Contra were examples of the problem. But I also think we're at a turning point because of who Trump is and his 10,000 lies and so forth.
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
I agree that Nixon's "enemies list" etc and Iran-Contra were examples of the problem. But I also think we're at a turning point because of who Trump is and his 10,000 lies and so forth.

Well, who knows? Maybe it's one of those cases where "worse is better," and Trump may be a wake-up call for the people to put better controls and oversight over our government. You may be right that this is a turning point. The revolution may be 50 years too late, but it may still yet be in store.
 

Ellen Brown

Well-Known Member
I've never heard of Charles Pierce before.

America has survived bad presidents before. I don't necessarily disagree with the criticisms of Trump, but where they lose credibility is due to what is written in the first paragraph, detailing all the previous presidents as something different, while Trump is viewed as much, much worse. This illustrates to me that the author is more a part of the problem than any real solution.

If Trump has shattered people's illusions of America, then it may very well be heartbreaking. But the question still must be asked: Why did we ever latch on to those illusions in the first place?

I grew up under President Nixon, so my eyes were opened rather early in life. I refused to put on the blinders which everyone one else was putting on during the Reagan-Bush years. This author says "watch how a republic dies," I've been watching it throughout most of my life, but he's only noticing it just now?

Truthfully, Trump looks like my stepfather, the man who almost killed me several times. He has a loud mouth, brags about abusing women, and is a jerk. Other than that, no problems at all...
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
I agree that Nixon's "enemies list" etc and Iran-Contra were examples of the problem. But I also think we're at a turning point because of who Trump is and his 10,000 lies and so forth.
Even if the dubious "10,000 lies" (based upon dishonest Wa Po presumptions) were
cromulent, they pale in comparison to some of the misdeeds of the Presidents so glowingly
feted in the first paragraph. I'm reminded of Dubya's devastating but useless wars.
And of Reagan's killing a million Iranians in the proxy war with WMDs against them.

Do not confuse personal loathing of Trump with actual presidential performance.
His record so far isn't as heinous as some of those who preceded him. I just hope
that his remaining time in office results in no disasters which trump those I just cited.
 
Last edited:

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
- Charles Pierce
I don't know who Charles Pierce is, but he's overly dramatic by saying this signals the death of the republic. By doing so he's playing into the hands of political opponents. To be sure someday the republic probably will end, but its had all kinds of presidents. Andrew Jackson used to duel his opponents, but that wasn't the end of the republic. If nobody got elected we'd stuff a dummy and use it, and the republic would still be here.
 

anna.

but mostly it's the same
I've never heard of Charles Pierce before.

America has survived bad presidents before. I don't necessarily disagree with the criticisms of Trump, but where they lose credibility is due to what is written in the first paragraph, detailing all the previous presidents as something different, while Trump is viewed as much, much worse.

Trump is much, much worse.

If Trump has shattered people's illusions of America, then it may very well be heartbreaking. But the question still must be asked: Why did we ever latch on to those illusions in the first place?

Shattered illusions of America, or the shattered illusion that our form of government could withstand the kind of president the founding fathers tried to protect us from?
 

anna.

but mostly it's the same
"The scion of a multigenerational criminal enterprise, the parameters of which we are only now beginning to comprehend. A vessel for all the worst elements of the American condition. And a cheap, soulless bully besides. We never have had such a cheap counterfeit of a president as currently occupies the office. We never have had a president so completely deserving of scorn and yet so small in the office that it almost seems a waste of time and energy to summon up the requisite contempt.

Charles Pierce is excellent. Here's more from him:

Charles P. Pierce
 

Evangelicalhumanist

"Truth" isn't a thing...
Premium Member
There is a lot for me to dislike about Trump, but my likes and dislikes don't define good or bad presidents or prime ministers. Tragically, since I'm so often right. :rolleyes:

But there is one thing that he harps upon that seems to me to be an absolute precursor to a shift toward totalitarian thinking, and that is his repeated reference to the press as "the enemy of the people." That was pretty good for Stalin, and for Mussolini, though they were on opposite sides of the left/right divide.

I do not think, if the United States begins to accept his assessment, that it will long retain its "leadership of the free world." Because if the US starts to believe that, it will itself no longer be free.
 
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