I like(d) Obama.

I’m reading a book called, “The Republic of the Imagination,” and the author who is Iranian compares the value of books in Iran where western literature was forbidden to in the US where so much good literature is at the tip of our fingers. It’s scary how literature is at jeopardy more in a free country like the US, than in a dictatorship because here in the US, we don’t value it.

Ray Bradbury says, “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

The irony of human nature is that if you burn books/forbid them, it might actually make people want to read them more. (But maybe not in the US because everyone has instagram/fb/twitter. Would people notice?)

Have you read, “Amusing Ourselves to Death” by Neil Postman? He talks about how the advent of tv has drastically transformed the way we do education/politics/live life. I would add that American pragmatism also plays a part. People just want to get rich. Everyone wants a job, so they major in business, but no one cares about the humanities any more. People don’t understand we need critical thinking skills because business men must make ethical decisions. Education should never be taught in a vacuum devoid of the humanities.

But like I said in the article, I’m not trying to diss American society. I’m trying to bring attention to the fact that we might be caring about things(Presidential Candidates) that really don’t matter.

I’m pretty sure that Trump is a je__, a__hole, belligerent, arrogant, condescending, rude, “high-minded,” “high-nosed,” selfish, hypocritical, populist sort of leader. But for reasons that you and others have stated, he obviously has some sort of likability, appeal, street smarts and genius, which is obviously highly annoying to those who really dislike him. He reminds me of one of my favorite villains of all time: The Joker, played excellently by the late Heath Ledger.

Trump may indeed make a horrible President, according to the Huffington Post article. But has his last few predecessors, both Democrat and Republican, really done a good job by “playing according to the present rules”??

His appeal also likely represents the (perhaps false) hope that since he is obviously different, is not political, and is successful in his own right (which might not translate to being President), he might just pull it off where others have clearly failed in the minds of many.

Those who dislike him obviously conclude, “Absolutely no way can he ever make a good president!”

But to those who do like him, they’ll optimistically think, “Why not? No one else has shown that they can do a good job with all the bickering, posturing and political grid-lock that is going on.”

If only Pope Francis could be President!

Yep. It seems that is what we Americans are good at :( We enable shitty people to do shitty things. Why else would UBFism have gained some traction here? We let anyone create any kind of group.

There’s also a confluence of factors, one of them being that he plays into people’s fears and ignorance, particularly about immigration and Muslims. Fear is a great motivator, in general. And another factor is his anti-establishmentism. He’s not afraid to speak out against the government and threaten breaking away from the republican party if he doesn’t get their nomination. He’s also boycotting Fox News, the media arm of conservatives. All of this is carefully designed to play on people’s distrust and disdain for the current political landscape as well as their deep-seated fears. All in all, he’s presented as a tornado of whimsy and intrigue, but to me he’s just an idiot with tons of money. Our shitty political system and apathetic populace made his rise possible.