A Gift Horse in the Mouth

Having been gob-smacked by reality many times over the course of the last quarter century I would have thought that I was immune to unbridled exuberance when it comes to political happenings.  But I fully confess that for the last week or so I’ve been ridiculously upbeat whenever I look at the news.  And I get the same story from others I talk to on the Right.

Sure, I know not that much has changed.  And not that much will change even after they cart Joe Biden’s corpse off to the glue factory.  But there’s just something cheerful about knowing that Trump somehow defied all the odds and managed to win back the White House and poked a thumb in the eye of all our worst enemies.

I know it’s ridiculous to say but it’s like that moment in the Return of the King when the Ring sinks below the surface of the molten lava inside Mount Doom and Barad-dur comes crashing down.  And it’s not so much that all things will go well for you but rather that your enemy is annihilated utterly.  You can finally let out an exhausted sigh, drop your weary arms and catch your breath while the Dark Lord and all his engines of destruction and plans crumble to dust before your eyes.  MSNBC and the View are like the orcs and trolls at that moment running randomly for their lives.  So good.

Well, that’s a bit much.  Let’s just say it feels pretty good to see the Democrats in disarray and Trump trolling them for all their worth.  Canada, Greenland, Panama Canal?  Oh, come on!

But it sort of feels that way.  After 2020 I thought I’d never feel enthusiastic about American politics again.  It was obvious that the other side would go to any lengths to rig an election; George Floyd riots, COVID, the sky’s the limit.  But somehow, we get this remarkable moment.  It’s almost like the Universe was saying sorry for abusing us as badly as we’d been.  It was like some cosmic do-over was decided upon and things were going to be corrected after some horrible mistake.  It’s as if the referees looked at the game video and reversed a bad call on the field and the play has been called back and we have another chance to win the game.

Now I know all of this is an exaggeration and really there’s nothing all that extraordinary going on.  After all, the Republicans have won plenty of elections and that never stopped them from screwing things up worse than if they had lost that election in the first place.  Think of Bush after winning 2004.  Think of Bush after winning in 1988.  For all I know Trump and company will screw things up so badly that 2028 will be an extinction event for the Right.

Sure, maybe.  But right now, I am experiencing elation, optimism, enthusiasm and I’m walking around with a smile in my heart.  And that’s in the midst of a cold snap here in Dunwich the likes of which we haven’t seen in a few years.  I can’t say how long it will last or whether Trump’s inauguration will affect it or not.  I only know it’s an unexpected gift and you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.