These are not normal times
Can I begin by wishing everyone Happy Martin Luther King Day. I can imagine MLK was dancing in heaven on the historic day, when Democrats won the two Georgia Senate seats in January. So it's fitting, we should dance to celebrate his legacy. Democracy is alive and kicking in Georgia today, because of the efforts of many dedicated Dems from around the country. I am honoured to have played just a small part in that victory.
As the world looks on, America finds itself in the Colosseum of political divide. The sun rises on another troubled day. With a little over 48 hours before Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, there are over 20,000 armed troops on the streets of Washington.
If ever you needed proof that something is broken, there it is. One man has placed a nation in fear for its life and his answer, is to call for a red carpet send off, with a 21 gun salute. The GOP, should hang its head in shame. It has taken a once great nation, sacrificed its reputation, its sense of decency and honour and flushed it down the toilet for some reckless deregulation, tax giveaways and so called ‘smaller government’.
Beyond the rhetoric of ‘we must heal our nation’, is a desert of grief, financial hardship, hunger and fear, imposed on a section of society that has done nothing wrong, but to put their trust in a man that has spit in their face and laughed at their misfortune with his rich friends. Republicans, instead of graciously accepting defeat, as has always been tradition, are instead, worshiping at the alter of Trump’s base, for fear of losing the finance it generates. They have effectively become the political whores of a seditious gun toting mob. Their continued deliberate flouting of public health messaging, at the expense of others, has become their badge of honour, as they continue in their attempts to to disrupt the political process.
Trump has reached the point where he's now having a garage sale on pardons. He is effectively offering an escape from justice for cash, Anyone with any semblance of decency, will find this repugnant. It speaks to the chasm that exists between white privilege, communities of colour and those left behind. I have a whole blog post in mind to discuss these disparities, but for now, let's just focus on 'cash for freedom', which is what this is and there is absolutely no attempt to hide it. The next 48 hours will tell us exactly the extent of Trump's corruption in this regard, but I fully expect it to be shocking. The disturbing thing is, that nobody is outraged anymore. He has effectively shifted the bar of decency to a new low and few people seem to care.
I think the horror decent people feel at Trump's behaviour, will be off the chart once the mountain of his malfeasance in office is uncovered.
For all those that think Trump is an idiot, think again. He is probably one of the most calculating, sociopaths ever to have walked the corridors of power in the US. When you consider the damage he has done, despite the guardrails of a modern democracy, he is right up there with Adolph Hitler. I am aware that some people think that this comparison is a step too far. However, I am absolutely unapologetic for my assessment. The final solution, was an abhorrent stain on history, which generations should NEVER forget. However, the mentality of Hitler was identical to that of Trump. He needed someone to blame and in his case, it was primarily the jews. He was prepared to go to any lengths to prove to his supporters, that he was ridding the world of evil. It was a calculated move to cement power even if the cost was genocide. I ask you this question. If the price of another four years in the White House was ten million dead Americans, would Trump have taken it? If you have to pause for even a second, you're delusional. He wanted to retain power so much, he was prepared to send a mob to storm the Capitol Building and murder law makers, that's how bad he wanted to retain his office. So the concept of being able to kill ten million Americans at a distance, to achieve the same goal would be a no brainer for him. That is how evil Donald J Trump is. You just have to look at the number of troops that have had to be deployed on the streets of the Capital, to protect the democratic handover of power.
Biden has a HUGE challenge ahead. As of Inauguration Day, the spotlight will shift to scrutinise his every move. The media will, having been let out of journalistic isolation, need to prove why they are journalists. I have no problem with a free press and their right to hold their leaders to account. However, I get the awful feeling that in stretching their new found legs, we will see some interesting reporting in his first one hundred days. It goes without saying, that the right wing media will want to get off to a flying start and House Republicans will immediately begin their campaign of resistance.and obstruction.
So against this background, President Joe Biden will begin his journey to heal America. It almost brings me to tears, to think of the problems he faces, without even considering the obstacles that will be put in his way by Republican lawmakers. Covid 19 has changed the world economic landscape and I think, accelerated what was already coming down the pipe from large businesses. Show me a business that doesn't adapt to a changing economic environment, transforming it into profit and I'll show you the door to a bankruptcy court. Business has realised as a result of the pandemic, that they have the potential with a little restructuring, to operate with less people and be more profitable. Even better, they can blame the restructuring on the pandemic, giving them cover for the required changes. The now receding job numbers, are an early indicator that this change is imminent. Any politician that thinks when the Covid crisis is over, job numbers will ever be the same again, are dreaming.
How do I begin to explore the economic apocalypse resulting from the pandemic and the abject failure of the government response, that was aided and abetted by Trumps trillions of dollars in earlier tax breaks to the rich.. It is an unimaginable economic scene of desolation at the bottom, that has caused a societal dislocation. During this global crisis, the US chose to create an environment in which, the rich could get even richer at the expense of an ever growing group at the bottom. The very people that looked after their kids, delivered food to their door, cleaned their homes and delivered their every need, have been left to drown in an ocean of despair and debt, as their meagre existence has quite literal fallen apart and exposed them to death from the virus. These workers, risked THEIR lives to serve those that had no intention of risking their own. It's the stuff of a Dickensian novel.
How do you begin to address this fiscal genocide? It's the challenge of the century and will take a steady hand, a focused united team and the support of every Democrat in the country. The magnitude of the problems left behind by the old administration, is biblical in its nature. No wonder Republicans like quoting scripture! It's hard to know where to start. Having said that, we have to start somewhere. The good news is the there is a disinformation firebreak now in place, as a result of Trump losing his social media platform access. Election disinformation is down by over 70% and the removal of over 70,000 QAnon and related accounts from the same platforms, has all adds to a de-escalation in the online insurrection space.
The key to the recovery phase, is to deal with Covid 19. I just can't begin to explain to you how difficult this challenge is. It is almost beyond comprehension. However, let me give it a try. Trump and his sycophants have created such an effective disinformation messaging machine, that it has poisoned the water supply that is public health messaging and literally distorted reality. Not only did it tell lies to facilitate the opening of states, it went on to cause mistrust of vaccines. It is a perfect way to create a humanitarian disaster. The removing of Trump and his cronies from social media is helpful. However, what needs to happen now, is to reseed the space that has been created, to get out a series of viral and media messaging, to rebuild confidence and provide a clear roadmap for the American people, demonstrating how the new administration will lead them back to a landscape of promise and a more equitable society.
OK Martin, all sounds very good, but how do we do that? Im going to take a moment to make a bold statement I CAN HELP. I understand the challenges and I understand messaging and how to grab an audience and make it cry. I've done it over and over again. Yes I have absolute disdain for Republicans and what they have done to a once great nation. I make no secret of being regarded as a progressive leaning democrat, but the messaging required is emotional NOT political. I've seen it time and time again, Dems have in my view, a significant messaging deficit. I am aware of the main players in this space and I have sent my work to each and every one of them. What do you think the response has been? Got it in one. NOTHING, not a peep, not even an inquisitive approach. That tells me, either they aren't interested, or they have a vested interest in making sure another player is not in their space. My reach is currently limited, although the Stomp video for the Georgia runoffs, in its iterations, reached over a quarter of a million views. I have a FANTASTIC group of followers who are unbelievable. When I joined Twitter in September 2020, a handful of followers took me under their wing and helped me grow. They saw the talent I had and slowly but surely, I have grown daily with nothing other than hard work and compelling content, to now have a small but I believe important footprint.
The key to any messaging is a unified approach to delivering it. Social media is a vital space but not the only one. The key to reaching people is NOT politics, it's reaching out on a human level. To do that, you have to create a delivery point that people are prepared to visit on a regular basis to get what they know to be reliable information that is free of political bias. Obviously not so for campaigning, for which separate channels can be delivered.
OK, rant over for the day, it's time to move onto my next video project, which is part of my Mask 100, 100 days to save 50,000 lives. Here's an exclusive though. On Wednesday' Ill be releasing an inspirational video to celebrate Joe and Kamala's inauguration, so stay tuned for that. Stay safe out there.