Our country seems ready to "BLOW ITS STACK."
There are stories in the media daily of a fight or an attack breaking out in a store somewhere. In just one day, here's an incomplete list:
Oregon:Â Woman crawls through McDonald's drive-thru window demanding DoorDash order;
Texas:Â Grocery store worker sent bomb threat to co-workers with a note reading "I hope you all die;"
Georgia: Woman jabs Walmart shopper in the neck with a needle full of a "foreign substance;"
Michigan: Woman in a Kroger store used a bag of ice to knock a clerk unconscious.
Wherever we live, there are short fuses ready to blow. Just a cross word can send some folks off the deep end. Stories of personal attacks - even attacks on authority figures like cops - are everywhere.
I've got to admit. I, too, have a short fuse. I can feel something simmering just below the surface. Especially when I'm driving. Just one wrong move - cut me off just one more time - and WHAM! I've pounded the dashboard more than once.
What is it that's brought on this anger all of a sudden? Why so many people walking around just seemingly spoiling for a fight? Who's to blame?
We've been subjected to a great deal of bad news for a very long time. Wars, rumors of wars, businesses failing, city/state/federal tax increases, dangerous weather, bad politics and bad performers. All this and more. And, it's every day, every day, every damned day!
I don't think you can usually pin it all on one 'some one' or one event or another. Seems to me to be a compilation of many 'some one's' and many 'events.'
I can tell you the name of one 'some one' who's triggered an outburst or two from me. Donald Trump! Yep, him! The 'orange man.' Donald John Trump.
The guy's already been officially charged with felony crimes in four different federal jurisdictions. If you count only what's hanging out at the moment, there's an estimated 91 charges with more coming.
Do you realize this guy's been 'page one' national and international news for more than eight years now? Eight years! If you're reading this in New York State, it's been more like 40-50 years of Trump 'news.' There are literally millions of teenagers that have lived with 'Trump news' all their young lives.
The guy's become a news "fixture" we see every day. And, with the first of many court appearances starting shortly, we're going to be even more inundated with gory details, whether electronic or in print.
I really do think Trump's to blame for much of the angry nature present in our national life. He's been an on-going presence for so long - the subject of so much negative press for years - the lying and publicity-seeking cretin in our daily routines - that we've all become wrapped up in his story. We may not be conscious of such a thing. But, it can happen.
We're told by insiders that he's raging with all the legal pressures weighing so heavily. Throwing things. Breaking things. Nearly out of control at times. Yelling and angry. ANGRY!
I wish we could take two aspirin, go to bed and wake up when it's all over. That's not possible. So, we're going to be subjected to Trump - and whatever happens to him - as he's processed through our legal system for the next several years.
That can't happen without some affect on our national psyche. It'll be up to each one of us to deal with those affects. We can't "tune out." We can't make believe it's not happening.
We didn't make this situation. But, we've got to learn to deal with it.