Saturday, September 23, 2017

Maybe It Will Take Actual Bread & Circuses?

Do you think that now, with 45 attacking the NFL & NBA, his supporters will finally start to see the light?

Personally, I doubt it. Even with the revelation that former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez suffered from an extreme case of CTE, after the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant passed on visiting the White House while Trump is in residence there, after Trump decried the NFL's efforts to decrease the incidence of concussions and brain damage among players, and complained about "disrespecting our flag" as more and more players are taking a knee during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner," none of this will change those people's minds. The only thing that might change their minds is if the NFL Players Association called for a general strike...and fat chance of that ever happening! Colin Kaepernick can't even get a job as a reliever, and player support for him is somewhat less than universal.

Unfortunately, it's going to take a lot more felt pain by everyone, and finding some way to return to a mutually-shared reality, before we see real change. As long as people can watch Fox and ESPN all day without hearing any mention of the Russia probe, or go about their lives knowing the starting lineup of their local football franchise but not know who Robert Mueller is, or who represents them in Congress, nothing will change.

I don't know what could be the solution; maybe add cheerleaders and physical contact in the Senate? Have legislators really fight it out with sword and spear, rather than with words? Trump has turned serious politics into reality tv, maybe nothing is too absurd to consider now.