Slightly lazy today by which I mean I’ve not been as crazy busy as I’ve been over the past few days. I’m hoping that things are settling down but it’s really never certain. Treating every day as it comes. All I do know is that I’ve not been getting the peace and quiet that I need to write anything longer than 1000 words so I’ve been drawing again. I do have a new piece is over yonder and is my take on what I think is become the standard take, that Republicans should probably shouldn’t scratch the itch that’s driving them crazy.
I sometimes wonder if I’ll miss Trump but the honest answer is that I’m frightened about what’s coming. For all the pretence that American politics is just politics, there’s something else that’s cultural and beyond the power of reason to unpack. It’s tribal. I was reminded of it today when Boris Johnson stood up in the Commons and seemed to praise British people for breaking the COVID rules because we’re a nation that believes in freedom. I don’t know about that. I wondered today if Trump tries to fix elections after the votes are in but in the UK elections are fixed before the votes are cast. I just think it’s hard to believe in this “freedom” given the degree to which people are led by the media to think what they think. What we’re seeing isn’t a love of freedom but cult-like devotion to certain symbols.
It’s why in the US the Supreme Court is now the big story. The Republicans just can’t say “no”, even though it’s probably going to hurt them in the election. Reminds me of the old parable of the frog and the scorpion which ends with the scorpion admitting it couldn’t help but be a scorpion. Republicans will always be Republicans, I guess… Stacking the highest court in the land is something they just can’t resist, even though they must surely know that a Democratic president would be under huge pressure to readdress it.
It’s all hugely fascinating for me but also a bit exhausting, trying to keep on top of every development. It’s one of the reason I enjoy drawing. It allows me to consume podcasts. Today I caught up with all my regulars but also to a break from constant politics. I listened to Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Show, which was really a two episode, two hour monologue with Malcolm McDowell. Highly recommended if you’re even remotely interested in films.
