The Toaists say that you could learn a lot by observing nature. I very much believe that’s true. I was surprised the other day when I looked in my greenhouse, and I saw some red Russian kale, my favorite, popping up. I remember that I put the seeds in the ground months ago, but nothing happened until now.
Then I was thinking about todays political situation. People think that Donald Trump is the problem. If we get rid of him, everything will be OK. I don’t agree. Here is my thinking. I think when I put those seeds in the ground, months ago, it was too warm. Kale likes cool weather. Now that the weather is cooling down , they sprout and grow. I think the same thing is happening with Donald Trump. The Donald Trumps of the world are always around. He’s been around a long time, but now, like the cool weather, the time is right. The general atmosphere is such that whatever he’s selling finds a receptive audience.
So why is this taking place now? I think that there is a collective emotional state which is now receptive to all this craziness. World War II was quite a shocker. People were scared. People sobered up. The Nazis were the ones that were the obvious enemy. American propaganda laid it on heavy. People became interested in politics because they knew it would affect their lives in a direct way. People were not so complacent and fearful of engaging to stop evil and craziness when they saw it. With all the violence they realize that life is violent. If you put it off over and over again, it just gets worse. You have to confront evil when it starts.
Now those people are pretty much dead or dying. A new generation is in control. They have none of the emotions that drove people to try to act morally and care about their community. The era of greed is good is reaching, I think, it’s final extreme. Unfortunately, I think we need another catastrophe to awaken people; to sober up; to get real.