When Reagan won the presidential election I remember thinking that things were going to get worse. I was amazed that some people (a majority of voters apparently) were willing to anoint such a dismal example of humanity as their "leader".
Thirty years later, there is no doubt that this country has been in a downward spiral. A very interesting
article appears to confirm this....using graphs. Worth a read if you don't mind getting spooked and disheartened. What is even more astonishing to me is that things have become so bizarre that Reagan now looks like a moderate compared to the yahoos ending up in elected positions.
Those of old enough to remember the "
credibility gap" are now treated to instances of lies treated as examples of knowledge that "everybody knows" on a routine and ongoing basis.
One of the things I overheard the other day from some college students was that social security would be non-existent for them by the time they reached retirement age. This is simply a lie and rather easily
refuted (thanks to Old Feminist and Wild-Eyed Liberal). I am always astonished also when this particular stupidity is voiced that the person(s) saying it seem to be oblivious to the fact that whether social security is extant or not is up to the citizens. Rather this canard is repeated as if such a thing was a law of nature or something rather than a situation entirely under the control of the voters of this country.
Over at
rc3.org I ran across a quote that I tend to mostly agree with: "We live in times that demand that we rise to the occasion, and yet as a country we are mired in apathy, delusion, and impotent anger. I really wish I could just stand at a distance and laugh."
I think I might be more prone to cry than laugh, at least part of the time.
