Where there’s smoke there’s fire,” they say. Whoever they are. I think “they” were really smart folks who figured something out a long time ago – something incredibly wise to help mankind throughout the ages. You know, like a bellwether of some kind; a buoy near the jagged rocks on Lookout Becareful Bay. And for 70 fairly satisfactory years now, I’ve been paying very close attention to all that “smoke” and I think it’s worked to my advantage.
I’m not alone. All sorts of other people are hip – college graduates, suburban white women, people of color, farmers in Iowa, school teachers in Skokie, Presbyterians, savants, people who answer poll questions, and even voters. “Where there’s smoke there’s fire.”
Of course… wait for it… not everyone gets it. Sure, it’s only my opinion, but a great many Republicans do not appear to avail themselves of that wisdom at all. Republicans aren’t stupid. They can handle concepts and be perceptive, so perhaps some rare strain of smoke is simply invisible… to them. Kind of like color blindness – some smoke; not a problem. Other smoke; can’t see it. And I gotta say, I’ve never noticed anyone bring so much smoke with him than our current Republican President.
For instance, disagreement means you hate the president. All the news is fake. Democrats are out to get him because our so-called criminal, traitorous ways are not good for America. But, we actually like immigrants. Even immigrants from Norway are acceptable to us. We don’t soil our armor knowing a Muslim is in the vicinity. We would probably never think of separating families at our border or caging children. That’s not even a good script idea, unless it’s about some other country. And yet, I hear that we do not have America’s best interest at heart.
I mean, we don’t even blame Hillary for everything. Something must be wrong with us. The way it seems to me, basically anything that goes wrong is someone else’s fault. It’s not the current President or his crew. It’s everyone else who is wrong. Proof of scandals are deranged lies; until they’re not, of course. By that time, scandals have been spun into acceptability. Our current President is the best at everything, and whatever he does is the biggest ever. He’s the smartest, most capable, greatest President ever – bar none. Our very own dear leader sent from God. In fact, I hear he feels that he’s done more for Christianity than Jesus. Didn’t he say he was the “chosen one?” Not my words, you know, and incredibly blasphemous.
And of course, I’m only scratching the surface here. Remember the smoke? Fire? POTUS is a smoke machine, baby. It’s only the truth if he says it, even though he provably lies with astounding regularity. Those who think differently are haters or just bad people. Political opponents are scum, criminals, or Satan’s spawn. Our allies are taking advantage of us. Yeah, there’s more smoke around this guy than I personally could have conceived possible. And the whole Putin thing? Who trades Boardwalk and Park Place for Baltic Avenue? Who admits to exchanging “love letters” with Kim Jung Un? Who wants to? He makes fun of literally everyone sooner or later. And the hits keep coming too! Racism, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia…
That’s a whole lot of smoke guys. What else has he done worth mentioning? I know he’s destroyed quite a few things while supposedly accomplishing so much, but for a real estate mogul, he only shows up for the demolition and he’s not very good on the flip. It truly is easier to destroy than to build, “they” say.. And with all of this horrible, smothering, throat choking smoke, most Republicans just aren’t bothered by any of it. And I don’t understand why, because I think it’s time to get as far from that smoke as possible. A fire is definitely somewhere close by.
“Okay, but where is this fire, old man?” Well, it’s burning right now. All around us – in cities and farms, in the lobbies of small businesses, in the quality of education… It burns a little stronger when clean water regulations are relaxed and the people of Flint still can’t drink the water. It burns a little brighter every time a child is caged. It intensifies with every mass shooting aimed at a school, synagog or Mosque… The fire rages when someone is falsely smeared. Every time innocent people are even harmed by the smoke, the fire spreads closer to home.
Republicans, you’re missing all this smoke; this horrible, divisive, unnecessary smoke. It smells atrocious too, right? You can’t see it, I know – it’s invisible. Can’t smell it either? Wow! I can’t imagine electing you to public office while the country is burning. And you won’t get rid of the arsonist? You know, a lot us are gonna blame you for all of this, and it may not matter much now, but it will. Remember, there’s never a free lunch in America – someone always pays. That’s just capitalism, baby, and you’ll have to help clean up this mess when the pyromaniac is gone.
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