Francesco Bartolozzi: April [Aprile] (18th century)

Attempting To Go It Alone
Following George McGovern's presidential campaign, self-described 'gonzo journalist' Hunter S. Thompson published a collection of his Rolling Stone campaign dispatches into a book titled Fear and Loathing On The Campaign Trail '72. I cut my teeth on Thompson's writing. For years, I carted around my Rolling Stones collection as one of my most prized possessions. Even with Richard Nixon involved, what constituted Fear and Loathing in 1972 would hardly spark a disinterested retch today. Our current incumbent's shenanigans have reset the bar for fear and loathing. Our closest neighbor now considers the United States to be a rogue state, the source of illegal guns, drugs, and every manner of contraband, rather than a trusted ally. We offer them lax border security.

I can't seem to help feeling as though my reputation has also been tarnished, even though I in no way supported any of this clown's initiatives. I don't get it. I have not yet seen what I could consider anything like a plan or an explanation of what all the economic devastation is intended to gain us. I hear vague rumors about a manufacturing economy in a world where nobody really wants to labor in factories anymore. That's so Retro Social Realist now. Now, people want to provide higher leverage services and work in an office environment from home. Should we end up with a manufacturing economy once we've rudely deported every possible worker, who, precisely, will populate those factory jobs? Who will agree to be our willing customers after we've waged economic blitzkrieg on them? And what of comparative advantage? Today, made in America has a slightly worse caché than Made in Japan in had the 1950s.

I've been waking up more embarrassed each morning, a terrible context within which to write. I cannot seem to separate my sense of well-being from the new, improved Fear and Loathing our incumbent and his utterly incompetent quislings bring. I feel under occupation, infected, profoundly and perhaps irreversibly affected. This CHope Series, where I attempt to ressurect Hope as a means of Coping, has proven daunting given the continuously broken breaking news. Still, I'm satisfied that I once again chose precisely the proper 'theme' to explore during this time. The only thing worse than this new fear and loathing would be attempting to go it alone.

——

Weekly Writing Summary

This CHope Story recounts the recently mustered War On DEIcency, which I characterize as an InDEIcency. This tussle will continue until decency wins.

Hendrick Goltzius: Those who litigate must be shameless, patient and rich (1597)" … we pride ourselves on being a decent people …"
" … we pride ourselves on being a decent people …"
—
This CHope Story, TheBlues, finds me sitting in Heaven enjoying a cup of curious soup. When the world seems to be heading toward Hell, it's damned handy to live in proximity to even a thin slice of Heaven; Amen!

Dodge Macknight: Blue Sky (19th-20th century)
"I had TheBlues so bad one time it turned my face into a permanent frown …"
—

This CHope Story finds me acknowledging how youthful dabbling in lawbreaking might mature into a clear threat to Habeas Corpus privileges. It's a long slide that started when morality tried to engage in legislating and ended up ensconcing our Constitution in our bedrooms. A little illegal might mutate into WhollyUnlawful.

Jean François Janinet: M. de Lafayette Arrests a Man for the Unlawful Hanging of a Thief (24 May 1790) - Book Title: Gravures Historiques des principaux événements depuis l'ouverture des Etats - [Historical Engravings of the main events since the opening of the States] (1789?)
"Keep our Constitution out of the bedroom and the … board room out of our legislature … "
—

This Chope Story finds me and everybody else in this world trying to cope with Insanity infecting a leader. We hope we can respond with some semblance of congruity and resolve.

Adolph von Menzel: Studies in the Insane Asylum (1844)
"We never know how to respond congruently."
—

This CHope Story considers our so-called strongman as an example of Weakman. His forcefulness teeters on ego irrelevance.

Unknown Artist: Man of Sorrows (1465/70)
"Good riddance to another so deluded he couldn't recognize his own weaknesses when they manifested."
—

This CHope Story finds me humbled, recognizing how often I find myself clueless. I've outgrown my Smugness after repeatedly displaying my cluelessness. Our incumbent has yet to learn this lesson.

Ewald Dülberg: Self-Portrait (1917)
" … he sure seems clueless about how transparently he exposes his inner urges."
—

This was another odd writing week. Each morning, I'd peer into previously untrodden territory, unsure of the ramifications but confident of my foreboding feelings. The slow-motion train wreck metaphor was over-used decades ago. Now, it seems to heap further injury upon an ongoing terror. It does not require a trained economist to foresee what happened. The War on Decency has metastasized into a concerted effort all together to do away with DEIcency, one of the more shameless episodes in this nation's disconcerting history. I fled from the battle line to find further respite in a conversation with an old and very dear friend with a drive through the most remarkable territory that sits immediately adjacent to the Center Of The Universe our Villa overlooks. I watched WhollyUnlawful behavior from a man sworn to uphold this country's laws. I finally concluded that I was not observing mere inanity but actual Insanity. I do not for a second revel in this acknowledgment. I concluded that our Strongman personifies a Weakman. I ended this writing week with a decomposition of Smugness, a suddenly common behavior exhibited by our incumbent. His behavior reliably discloses his internal neuroses. I grow weary of these petty, incredibly juvenile games. We have an incumbent with a frighteningly inflated self-esteem. He's poisonous, and I fear that his insanity might be communicable, and no vaccine exists to inoculate us against this. Thank you for following along with me as we wander into probable infamy.

©2025 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

Tags: #CHope , #PureSchmaltz