written 23 March, 2025
published 30 March, 2025
Our Mad King in the White House is a master at self-promotion and capturing media attention. Most of his life has been a reality TV show, designed to increase his brand value and keep his fragile ego inflated. He now plays the role of an autocratic political bully, making up the script moment to moment. The more outrageous his actions, the better, as long as everyone is focused on him.
He has been described as a malignant narcissist, living in a bubble where only he is important, and everyone else is, at best, a prop, or an asset to be consumed and discarded, if he gives them any consideration at all. This is a destructive personality type, made more dangerous with power.
Naomi Klein's book, "Shock And Awe", describes how US interests helped overthrow the elected government of Chile in 1973. This play book is now on full display here in America. We already see wide spread destruction, dismantling the America we have known all our lives, building to an unknown crescendo. Some is planned, but more results from the unstable "genius" at the top being so lightly tethered to reality.
Despair and depression are on the rise, and little has been suggested for how to effectively respond to a force that has zero respect for honor, tradition, compassion, or the rule of law. Enrichment of the already very rich, domination, and fear are the goals of this regime.
Our culture has devolved down to an economy of distracting attention. The news media has always gone for the exciting and extreme to grab attention. Consumer capitalism is about the next new and shiny thing "out there", always promised to improve our lives. Online, the goal is to hold our attention on a particular site, and then pitch advertising to those drawn in. What we pay attention to shapes our view of the world, so capturing attention is a form of brain washing. Perhaps an effective response is to reclaim where we put our attention.
We experience despair and grief as we see what we once had, now being deliberately destroyed. But the past, incompletely remembered, is already gone, and the world is always in flux, so any expectation of certainty or continuity has always been at risk. We fear what worse disaster might be coming, but the future isn't really here yet, and our expectations are based on our past experiences projected forward.
Changing the past isn't possible, and the future is yet to be. When we look closely, reality is only what is happening in the present, this moment, right now. Each moment is unique, unlike any other moment, so change is inherent in the now. Because action can only take place in the present, not in the past or the future, everything you have ever done has always been in the present. But being present, living is full awareness of each moment, takes intention and practice, because our culture isn't inclined toward being in the moment. Consequently, our upbringing and life experience must be transcended.
Sit comfortably, and consider yourself in this moment. If you can read this, you are alive and relatively healthy, which means your heart, lungs, circulatory system, and all your senses are functioning. Put your attention there, notice and be grateful. You are likely warm, fed, clothed, housed, and relatively safe. Notice this good fortune. As you tune into the beneficial reality of your present situation, you will feel calmer, experiencing less stress in your body, which helps support your immune system.
In this state of present physical awareness, you might be able to watch the stories rolling through your mind, without having to obsessively identify with them. As each story comes to an end, there is a short break before the next one starts. By noticing the breaks, they extend in time. Embrace the experience of simply being. Notice the beauty of the natural world around you. This internal refuge is always available to us, by simply choosing to pay attention.
We have no idea how this will all play out, as we are in uncharted waters. However, as more of us practice being calm in the moment, we see more clearly what makes sense to do. At the very least, our part of the human collective feels better. Perhaps there is a tipping point in consciousness, a critical mass, beyond which a wave of awareness spreads globally.