A few readers asked me to provide updates on my quest to save the world, and since I have some breaking news regarding the blog, I thought I’d take care of things in one fell swoop.
First, I want to thank the millions of Americans responsible for making my quest a near-impossibility by replacing one senile old man in denial about his incompetence with another senile old man in denial about his incompetence . . . and about everything else that matters.
My official start date was November 15, but I received several phone calls from freaked-out future colleagues immediately after the election results came in. Every request began with “We know you don’t start work until next week but we’d like to pick your brain regarding the Americans” and I responded to every request with, “Okay, but you owe me a drink.” I wound up with eight IOUs that I intend to collect shortly.
They were all shocked by Trump’s resounding victory but I wasn’t surprised in the least. I explained that most Americans lack compassion for the disadvantaged and care only about themselves and their pocketbooks. Their orientation towards life emphasizes short-term results and instant gratification. Bidenomics may have wowed the economists but the majority of voters refused to accept the truth that economic recovery takes time and felt that the Democrats were doing nothing to alleviate the pain of high grocery bills and gas prices. Many American men are terribly insecure about losing their dominant role in society, blamed the Democrats for attempting to emasculate them through their “woke” ideology and flocked to the faux tough guy who would put women in their place. The majority of voters couldn’t have cared less about Trump’s felony convictions or his attempt to invalidate the 2020 election; all they cared about was the price of eggs and the need to rid the country of imaginary job-stealing, dog-eating immigrants.
I also drew their attention to a bit of commentary by Michaël Foessel that appeared in Le Monde:
Any nation remains democratic insofar as it is endowed with the ability to self-reflect. Nationalism blocks this self-reflexivity and freezes it. Its visceral opposition to “wokeism,” an attitude whose excesses can be noted, is a challenge to the reflexivity that democratic societies adopt about themselves. In society’s relationships with women, sexual minorities or formerly colonized populations, it’s a matter of asking questions about harm and injustice. Take the famous phrase “we can’t say anything anymore”: According to the far right, we used to be able to say things because we were surrounded by people like ourselves. “We” is used to mean men, mainly white ones; “anymore,” to mean that we once had a freedom of speech that particularly allowed to spread racist or sexist prejudice.
Americans rarely engage in self-reflection, as demonstrated by their denial of cause-and-effect regarding terrorist attacks and the failure to seriously address the epidemic of mass shootings. The vast majority believe that the USA is the greatest country in the world and anyone who disagrees better watch out. Nothing is ever America’s fault; there is never a reason to apologize for anything. Apologies are for wimps.
I shared my opinion that Trump is a danger to the EU due to his tariff fetish and disdain for NATO but will have little effect on the EU’s efforts in the field of human rights. I also expressed my firm belief that the incoming administration shares none of our values, cannot be considered a reliable partner in any endeavors and that Europe should reduce its dependence on that relationship. Over the next four years, Trump and his cronies will create havoc all over the world and reverse any progress we have made in the fight against global warming—and though I doubt that Trump would intentionally start a war, he’s stupid enough to stumble into one and he certainly won’t stop Russia and Israel from adopting even more aggressive postures.
When one of my colleagues suggested that “this too shall pass” and eventually the Democrats will return to power, my response was, “I wouldn’t count on it,” and left it at that. The truth is that Trump’s victory was aided and abetted by the blatant incompetence of the Democratic Party. Biden hung on too long, making it difficult for any other candidate to put together a solid campaign plan. His endorsement of Kamala Harris—and the stunningly servile acceptance of that choice by other leading Democrats—left the party with a candidate closely tied to a decidedly unpopular president. Kamala didn’t help much by saying she wouldn’t change anything Biden had done and alienated her core constituency by bragging about owning a Glock and traipsing through the swing states with Liz Cheney. My dad is usually a pretty mellow guy but he was seriously pissed off by the election results and completely disgusted with the party he belonged to for fifty-odd years. In response, he finally joined his daughter in renouncing his U.S. citizenship, giving up on the dream he believed in for most of his adult life.
Lesson: If you lose people like Dad, you don’t have a chance in hell of coming back.
On the good news front, my work is quite interesting and our efforts are well-supported by our director. My first week was devoted to preparation for a parliamentary debate scheduled to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of
Violence against Women this coming Monday. The endgame involves pressuring the EU Council to get off their collective asses and make gender-based violence a crime in the EU. The Pelicot mass rape trial has given our efforts a boost and hopefully we can use that disgusting episode to give the matter greater urgency.
But godDAMN, it sure got cold in Paris this week! Before we arrived we arranged to lease an apartment in the 8th arrondissement so I could walk to work but I wasn’t expecting snow and ice to arrive so early and left my ice-friendly shoes and serious winter coat back in Ireland. A 15-minute stroll turned into an hour-long adventure, but I’m proud to say that I only fell on my ass once. Compared to what I felt when I forked over a bucket of Euros for a six-month lease on a one-bedroom furnished apartment in Paris, the sensation of my butt landing on concrete was much less painful.
*****
As far as the altrockchick is concerned, I’m getting some pushback from my parents and spouse about my decision to close up shop. I agreed to keep my options open but pointed out that I don’t have to make a final decision until next April and that right now I needed to concentrate on my new job (which also ends next April).
However, you will see some new stuff in the interim. As promised, I went through my pre-2016 reviews written in the “short and sweet” style and decided that the Jimi Hendrix classic Are You Experienced? and Admiral Fallow’s Tree Bursts in Snow deserved a more complete treatment. Following in my parents’ footsteps, Alicia would like to write a piece about her experience with me entitled “My Partner.” I’m not sure when these efforts will be completed, but they’re more likely to appear early next year. Call it our own Project 2025!
I would like to close by wishing the Americans in the audience a happy Thanksgiving but on the surface there doesn’t seem much for non-delusional Americans to be thankful for. Trump’s decision to fill key positions in government with a bunch of incompetent toadies tells me things are going to get very bad very quickly and I dread what will happen when he pardons all those Proud Boys. I hope you all have family, friends and loved ones who give you joy and if you don’t, there are plenty of other countries that are welcoming digital nomads and retirees.
In any case, please stay safe.