Flower Bulbs–finally ordered them in the right season
Well, it’s been an interesting week here in the final leg of this election cycle. That curse again, “may you live in interesting times.” Donald Trump and his campaign seem to be imploding. As horrifying as his continued statements are, as disgusting but not shocking as the accusations of inappropriate behavior and sexual assault are, he’s still here, still in the news, still the person the Republican Party chose to have represent and lead them in the 2016 election. I have friends on the left who are beginning to breathe a sigh of relief as his poll numbers drop. Me? I’m holding my breath.
The calendar may say it’s fall, I may be watching my freckles fade and wearing a sweater on the terrace, but I feel like it’s spring, and those sprouts in the soil aren’t going to produce prized flowers. Instead, the invasive roots that have been busy under the surface choking out desired vegetables will yield blooms that release a putrid stench, cloying and spreading so it overlays our gardens, our streets, our dinner tables. How’s that for purple prose? Drama or melodrama, I can’t yet say, but I think my concerns are real enough.
Yesterday, when I opened the box of bulbs I had ordered online, I read the instructions. Add bulb fertilizer. Who knew there was such a thing? Needless to say, by the time I went to the local store to find and purchase bulb fertilizer, it negated the whole purpose of ordering online to minimize cost. Trump is the fertilizer. Overpriced, surely unnecessary but for those who don’t know what they’re doing and can’t be bothered to do adequate research, they buy it–just in case. So now, he’s done his job by supporting and feeding all of the hate and fear that was at least nominally underground, strengthened the roots so the stench will spread and linger, in the form of his supporters and the politicians who endorse equivalent messages of hate but are just polished enough not to use the naughty words that cause sensible souls to clutch their pearls.
So what’s going to happen now that all of this hate has been fed, engorged with new life? Where will these people take their message and what will they do with it? How will America recover, when our response to the one of the most brilliant, successful, scandal-free Presidents (and families, thank you Michelle Obama!) was to elevate a greedy, gilded, spoiled sociopath to a position where he has freely insulted everyone–within our borders and worldwide? I’ve heard whispers of maybe the moderate Republicans will step up once more. Really? Because I don’t see any, haven’t seen any in a long, long time. A precedent has been set, long before Trump was given the nod. A precedent was set when this obstructionist congress took their resistance to all things Obama so far they have ignored his nomination for the Supreme Court, and left the seat vacant instead. I’ll be honest here, since they’ve carried it this far, I hope they’re forced to eat it with fava beans and a nice chianti, if Hillary Clinton would be so kind as to nominate someone who doesn’t lean so far right as Obama’s pick. A precedent was set when the Tea Party movement became mainstream, took seats in Congress.
As for Donald Trump himself, there’s only one thing I’m sure of, much like his declared loss of $916 million dollars, he’s already figured out how to make this shitshow a personal gain and win.
If we are to remain–or maybe that’s return to–the land of the free, we can’t pretend this anger and hatred spouted from Trump’s coif and grabby hands, and we certainly can’t engage in magical thinking that this will all disappear with a Clinton win.
Do poppies grow from bulbs? Because maybe my analogy shouldn’t be weeds, but heroin. Cheap, easy, insidious, deadly. The damage is done.
mrsfringe 
But you can’t irradicate a problem until you *see* it, sitting fat and ugly in front of your face, tentacles reaching and groping and dripping noxious, toxic waste; choking all that is good and right and just.
To me, Trump and company resemble an invasive species: non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration, and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. It’s interesting to note that the USDA says human actions are the primary means of invasive species introductions.
( https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/whatis.shtml )
Except . . . this particular invasive species isn’t alien; in fact, it’s been here–growing and flourishing–for a long, long time. In many ways, I think we’re all to blame. And yes, damage has been done, but it’s not too late to do something about it. As with any invasive species, we need to learn everything we can about how it got here and why it’s taken hold before we can figure out how best to eradicate it. And eradication–when and if that happens–must target the source. The roots, like you say.
No longer can we allow ourselves to believe that the problems facing a large percentage of our population isn’t real and doesn’t affect our nation as a whole; that divisiveness, bigotry and hate isn’t harmful to each of us and all of us. And even if Trump and company self-destruct, choke on their own vitriol, the underlying issues that allowed them to flourish in the first place won’t magically go away, not until we come together and admit our mistakes, our weaknesses, our polarization.
November 8th is Step One. And after that?
The National Wildlife Federation offers a plan for eradication of invasive species, including thoughtful legislation, new policies, education, and advocating for robust restoration funding to repair the damage already done. And, I might add, the willingness to put aside our differences and engage in honest dialogue because–like it or not–every one of us is a citizen of this nation. And happens to some of us, happens to all of us.
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Beautifully stated. Perhaps a petition is needed to fill Congress with employees of the National Wildlife Federation. 😀
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Indeed, Mrs. F.
On a totally unrelated aide note, relative to your ‘Beautifully stated’ comment (which kk appreciates): Believe it or not,, kk understands the concept of subject-verb agreement. Apparently, she’s still learning the concept of measure twice, cut once.
🙂
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Case in point: wtf is an ‘aide note’?
:p
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😀
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My red pen is safely capped and in the drawer, have no fear 😉
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Thank god, Mrs Fringe, because I just noticed those double commas and that missing ‘what.’ Quitting whilst I’m a head, err…
🙂
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My brain is officially off duty for the evening. Yours too? 😉
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In a strange way, the hard core supporters of Donald Trump and the hard core supporters of Bernie Sanders share a similar profound discontentment toward both parties.
It seems that many of Bernie Sanders’s supporters, although disappointed that he stopped his campaign, will vote for Hillary Clinton.
But others could also cast their ballot with neither Clinton nor Trump.
If this ugly presidential campaign has had one benefit it is to show how the need for a third party is real.
There are huge issues to address in our country, and my sincere hope is for our next president to be brave enough to speak up. It will be a daunting job, but considering the extraordinary effort from both sides to kill the other the job seems too prestigious to give up.
Love the song you picked to illustrate your meaningful post.
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I agree, I’ve seen/heard too many hard core supporters who seem equally delusional with their romanticized visions of revolution. The difference is Bernie Sanders is a human being, and Trump is whatever he imagines himself to be. I too, hope that we will see positive changes over the next four years, but suspect too much time will be spent putting out fires, just trying to control the ugliness that’s now out there. A viable and active third party could be a very interesting option, I’m just not sure who/what that third party would be in today’s climate. And thanks, this song has always been a favorite ❤
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I’m with you on what you wrote!
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I agree. Trump’s candidacy has drawn every sewer rat in America into the streets. I’m afraid that long after he is obliterated (I fervently hope) in November, we’ll be dealing with all those rats.
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Onto the streets and generous servings of fertility drugs. 😦 Sigh. I guess for the moment all we can do is one step at a time, and hope enough people say no, this is unacceptable.
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“Hold your breath,” I say. I can’t believe that with everything Donald Trump has done, the polling among likely voters is still Clinton 47%, Trump 43%. That is truly pathetic! I think there is almost literally nothing he could do that would make his supporters consider him unfit for office. At this point, such an attitude is dangerously wilful ignorance. The situation goes way beyond partisan politics. He is a danger to the United States and to the world. I genuinely think he’s capable of becoming a tyrant, destroying global trade or blundering into a nuclear war. Indeed, I think he’s capable of doing all three at the same time.
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I completely agree. The sad part is how predictable this all has been. How many novels and films have written this scenario in the past 50 years?
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That’s very true. Well, let’s just hope for a happy ending.
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Here’s hoping 🙂
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