Today's Crisis De Jour

Well, on today's edition of 'Distract the voters from hating us peoples in charge', we see the magic of interchangeable crises.  Today's outrage De Jour is the Supreme Court getting diddled for a super-bias-charged draft opinion on abortion.

This is just one of the outrage-based trigger subjects politicians pass around to each other like poker chips.

Come on now... you can name most of them, I'm certain.  Just take the two or three things you get most cranked about, and add in the two or three things them OTHER folks get most cranked about.

I swear on the spirits in my liquor cabinet that I've seen politicians 'tag' each other for the microphone like they were at a steel cage match, each needing to get his crisis quote phrase on video for the hatchet press.

In no particular order...

• Free speech.... but only for our side.
• Gun control.... for everyone but us.
• Tax the rich.... because those poor peasants think we actually pay taxes like they do.
• Crime.  All the crime that exists, doesn't exist, might exist, but never our crime, or any crime where we are in charge, or crime committed by our tribe's priests.
• (Victim group of the day) rights.
• War!  HUH! What is it good for? Politicians!
• FOR THE CHILDREN DAMNIT.
• Government Schools.... and who gets to pick the indoctrination.
• Abortion YES, and abortion NO.  even I can't make fun of this.
• The war on.... (Drugs, Guns, Blight, Racism, Etc, you choose.)
• The climate... up, down, in, out, but don't you dare ask for data.
• The Other Side Are EVIL, and probably poopy heads.
• Voting rights! 

I think that could be the top ones for most people.  Add as you choose, but never subtract. No NO... never subtract a good crisis. It'll be needed again when the rubes forget in a few weeks.

I think it's pretty honest to say we as a nation cycle through these crises.  Like clockwork, when one outrage dies down... WHAM! Did YOU SEE what THEY did???  Hate them!  Hate them!  Love me!  Love me!

This sounds kind down on human society when you lay it out, but I don't feel that way.  I take it more as a marker of general human intelligence in our society.  The more stupid the average person, the easier they buy into the crises de jour, and the thicker their blind devotion to their tribe.

I recall being a young child in school when the teacher talked about Nixon pulling troops home by Christmas.  I have a clear memory of thinking to myself "Well ain't that damn convenient for that asshole running for president again".   

The teacher didn't want to discuss that.