In Paris, Yesterday's Date Looked Like This: 9/11/16

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Bill C. Davis

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'America is now officially busted as a failed experiment,' writes Davis. (Photo: trumptowerny.com)

In Connecticut on Tuesday morning (11/8/16) I voted. That night I got on a plane to Paris and slept believing I would wake up the next day to learn that America had elected its first woman president. Two stunned, stricken women at the baggage carousel broke the news to me. All we could say together was "No... no." One woman got sick to her stomach. 

To see the date in Paris—day first, month second—it is 9/11/16.  Those dust clouds charging down the canyons of NYC in 9/11/01—that’s what it feels like internally. Now we know half of Americans are mean and cruel—indifferent to the pain of others—hypocritical Christians—devoid of empathy. They all came out with vicious gusto to vote like a spit. Paris, city of light, is gray today.  I spoke to a waitress I know here who told me she cried all day yesterday. A world view lost.

Everybody here is sympathetic and horrified and bracing for Le Pen.

Nightmare. Coup. The worst people are about to take the reins. This is collective suicide. How?

There is no journalism in America. Just programming. There's no reason any camera or microphone should have ever been aimed in Trump's direction. America is now officially busted as a failed experiment. When they go low going high is a silly bromide. They don't all of a sudden feel embarrassed because Barack and Michelle are acting noble.

 

In 2008 Obama had to go after the decision-makers who brought us to war. Had to!  Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Fleisher, Powell.  Those are the emails that mattered. He did not go after them as justice called out for him to do. And now they are back. Same personality types. Impunity is their license. Their license was being renewed for eight years while Barack went high. 

 

This is the land of hucksters and infomercials and toxic products. Half of the population love all three. And now we have all three in this oil slick of a human being. He is now the face of America. Feeling proud to be an American?

 

All the celebrity journalists are useless—making sure we acknowledge all of "Hillary’s shortcomings" in pursuit of some false equivalency. Yes—Trump is a sociopath but she—"People don’t like her... people don’t trust her.” Facts—not polls. Research—not giving percentages as if that's a grade on a report card.

"I was hoping not to hear his rude coarse ignorant voice anymore. Now his voice is the voice of America."

 

I call you all out as useless incompetent journalists with an eye on ratings instead of journalism: Andrea Mitchell, Dana Bash, Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, Erin Burnett, Mark Halpern, Joe and Mika (please)—Useless.  HRC is at least sane and add to that, intelligent. She has policies. Talk about that. Talk about policies instead of some manufactured perception that helps some suspense personality narrative. She has Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, Corey Booker, Bloomberg, Howard Dean, Jerry Brown, Al Gore with her. On other side, Christie, Giulliani, Newt, Ted Nugent, Don King. 

 

You CNN executives paid Corey Lewandowski to be a contributor. Contributing what? Anderson Cooper had this crazed blonde cheerleader on every night who did nothing but spew staccato slander and nonsense. Scottie Nell "Mazel Tov cocktail" Hughes was on all the time. Why were they booked? Who thought this was balanced democracy? What did they offer? An adrenaline rush? Journalists failed not just America—but humanity. They put on a show that had nothing to do with a humane future. This is the fault line of American Capitalism—keep people watching—not thinking. "You watch—we pause—we sell." Nothing learned—no consciousness moved forward. 

 

Saturday Night Live also useless—big hug fest at the end of its last little skit. Not funny to me then or now. He is not worthy of parody. He IS parody wrapped in barbed wire. Jimmy Fallon messing up his hair—hahaha. Not funny—nothing makes him cozy or "what a cool guy." But Fallon has a show. News programs with its theme music and graphics, they have a show. The country? World view? Evolution? Hey, we got a bottom line—we got to "pay the bills" as they say every time they cut to a commercial to sell some disease so they can sell a drug or a reverse mortgage or life insurance or whatever else is paying their bills. While they pay their bills we pay the price.

 

Debates were not moderated. They were stage managed by careerists. He should have been stopped in his tracks with his non debate personal lunges. Questions should have been asked about where we’re going—what they were thinking which would have shown that only one was genuinely capable of doing so.

 

The lesson, which did not to be learned from this—it was known before: when they go low—step on them. Step on them with facts, research and questions they have no answers to—while they’re low and close to the ground step on these ridiculous men and women every day. That’s how you go high. Stop them before they pull us down.

I was hoping not to hear his rude coarse ignorant voice anymore. Now his voice is the voice of America. He is the logical conclusion of the American dream. 

An approximation of something—a set piece with no anchor or moral code—a cruel ambition with no aspiration or vision. This is not funny. This is tragedy. George W. was an eight year blood soaked embarrassment. This is catastrophe.

I quote the line from the film Reds: "in America, voting is the opiate of the masses." As suggested, don’t boo—vote. People did vote. Hillary got the most votes. Trump is president. Occupation afoot. Now the boos. Now the protests. 11/9... 9/11—the new post-9/11 begins.

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Bill C. Davis is a playwright.  Archive of his Common Dreams' articles here. His personal website here.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/10/paris-yesterdays-date-looked-91116