I haven't posted much about politics over the past year. Odd, perhaps, in light of the incredible surprises, and the changes to our country those surprises portend. I've been more voluble on Facebook, but I'm trying to cut back there, as well.
Why? Because logical argument generally works only when you're talking to those whose minds are not firmly set. If anything distinguishes our age, it is that most minds today do appear set. In concrete. The famous "independent vote" now appears to be mainly a "don't want to be interviewed or polled" vote, not a swing vote.
A majority of the country voted for Hillary Clinton, but under our rules the voters for Trump prevailed. I like to feel that Clinton voters, like myself, are somewhat open to opposing arguments, but maybe I'm kidding myself. But I've become certain that Trump voters are not open to argument, they are not open to re-examining their decisions in light of new facts, they are not swayed by unexpected developments.
The typical Trump attitude seems to be, "We know all that stuff you're telling us, but we don't care. We don't care if Trump carries out his promised policies or if he completely flips. We don't care if you think he's an immature, ignorant boor. We don't care what experts say. We don't care what newspapers say. We don't care what professors say. We certainly don't care what you say. We're not concerned with the integrity of our democratic institutions, or at least not much. Actually, we just want to break things, to smash things up, and to spit at everyone we consider better off. Maybe we can't make things better for ourselves, but we can definitely make things worse for you.
"And that's something, right?"
It's going to be a difficult four years. Logic and facts aren't going to count for much. And it won't even begin for another month.
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