I’ve got two sentences buzzing around in my head. One is a line from a Paul Simon song, ‘The Boxer.’ The other is a comment from Ayn Rand, of all people. Here, let me put them side by side for you:
‘A man hears what he wants to hear and he disregards the rest…’ (Simon)
‘You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.’ (Rand)

I think those two sentences go together quite well to form a near-perfect warning. We’re about to enter what will likely be an ugly period brought on by people who chose to hear what they wanted to hear while disregarding the rest. Then, and only then, everyone will get to see, feel, and live the consequences of avoiding reality. There won’t be anything anyone can do about it.

MAGA is openly gleeful about it. They’re about to win and they know it. If I was excited about the end of our country, I’d probably be gleeful, too. But I’m not. History has already shown those of us who were paying attention where we’re headed. Most of MAGAS excitement is based on a reality that never existed and never will. They’ve been living in a world of illusion, brought to them by internet-based MAGA media that never hesitates to lie to them.

Do you know they think the LEFT has been responsible for the rise in violent rhetoric and actions in this country? The LEFT! It’s easy, see, if one just ignores, well, reality. Only one presidential candidate told his followers to “Knock the crap out of protestors,” promising to pay their legal bills (until he withdrew that promise). That was Trump during his 2016 campaign and political violence has been increasing steadily ever since, according to people who study such things.

The right planned to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer. The right made jokes when Paul Pelosi was smashed in the head with a hammer. One of theirs intentionally crashed his car into a crowd, killing one and injuring several at Charlottesville, the ‘Unite the Right’ rally. We all watch whenever there is some headline grabbing shooting, waiting to hear which team THIS crazy comes from. By a wide margin, the crazies come from the right. So? The right lies. ‘When the truth doesn’t work for you, ignore the truth.’ What a stupid mantra.

Oh, yeah. J6. The right pretends it was just an unauthorized tour, a peaceful gathering so they simply don’t count it as political violence. The rest of us saw the video and believe in reality. According to Reuters, since the documented violence of J6, “Of the 14 fatal political attacks since the Capitol riot in which the perpetrator or suspect had a clear partisan leaning, 13 were right-wing assailants. One was on the left.”

You know what? This is stupid. I could keep noting political crime after political crime, each attributable to right-wing ideology for a long time. The list is long. But thinking Americans already know the right is lying about who is responsible for the upsurge in these types of crimes and MAGA doesn’t care. I mean, they know, too. They just won’t admit it. And when they feel like they’re in a “safe space,” they’ll even make jokes about it.

I’ll tell you this: The right promoting and engaging in violence but pointing the finger at the left? Why, that’s classic MAGA. All they ever have to work with is lies. Ever. That’s okay with them. They’ll lie. The part that bothers me so much is how easily they’ve been deceived – and what it’s about to cost us all…

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OMG, have you SEEN the bandage? Look, I know Trump got hit by a bullet, but he wasn’t “shot” in the sense most Americans think about when thinking about “shot.” Trump is among the LEAST “shot” people who have been shot by crazies with guns. He was “grazed.” Yeah, his ear got cut. I’ve seen worse injuries from shaving nicks.

But Trump is playing it for all he’s worth. (I don’t blame him, mind you. He’s a politician.) He’s got a bandage on about the size of a postcard. It looks dumb as hell but the point of it is to BE seen. “Ooh, remember when he got shot?” Now MAGA is wearing similar bandages in “solidarity.”

I’m sure there was a smaller, less intrusive covering that could have been put over his owie. That’s what a man would do. He wouldn’t go looking for sympathy by highlighting the injury. I’m surprised Trump didn’t put on a florescent bandage that glows in the dark with blinking lights that spell out “shot.” I guess he couldn’t find one in time…