.The Man and the Mirror

Our president-elect reflects Americans at our worst

A season of evil clown sightings (apocryphal?) culminates in the election of the Ultimate Evil Clown as president, with a minority of the popular voteā€”or is this more fake news?

Alas, it’s far too facile to demonize the Donald, as he’s done to far too many others. Ironic, since we’re talking about a real estate developer when nobody is home. For, certainly, Trump is a media creation, a soul-sucking vacuum that somehow has found a way to channel the anti-matter from some bizarre black hole back into our dimension.

How has he achieved this? Trump’s only power is that he holds up a mirror and reflects back our contemporary culture. Trump isā€”and we areā€”materialistic, more concerned with appearances than reality. (If we’re not rich, we fake it. Isn’t Miley worth more than Trump?) Egotistic? Narcissistic!

Like Trump, we are in love with ourselves, and, self-promoters all, more than happy to share our love with the world. The dominion of technology in our lives has given every evil clown (or wounded clown, if you prefer) a pulpit. Everyone and anyone who wants to play with people’s heads is connected. Experts all!

You can’t tell me anything more than you can tell Trump! Yet somehow I remain oblivious to anything other than the little screen I hold in my hand as I walk out into traffic, or the little screen I watch as I’m driving and nearly hit the guy walking out into traffic watching his little screen. What was I saying?

The tweeting presidentā€”even the Donald is a poet. Just when you thought rap and hip-hop were really finally dead, now comes along the greatest white rapper in the valley. Eminem who? And like many other rappers, Trump has no problem claiming more for himself than is necessarily so. Like Bill Cosby, that paragon of moral virtue we once called “America’s Dad,” we now stand on the verge of calling Donald Trump president? Look at the person in the mirror and ask, is this the image I want to project out into the world?

Poet and novelist David Madgalene lives in Windsor.

Open Mic is a weekly feature in the ‘Bohemian.’ We welcome your contribution. To have your topical essay of 350 words considered for publication, write [email protected].

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