Jumping the Shark

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This nation jumped the shark long before the rise of Donald Trump on the political scene. If we hadn’t, his rise would have been an annoying pimple that would have been popped long ago. Instead, he honed in on the ignorance of younger male voters while tapping into angry whites who have no recall of their participation in the last decent social and political revolution we had, the 1960s.

Think back to the early part of this century, a time when there was the rise of “reality” garbage on TV, social media exploding, and a growing ignorance as a result of an education system more centered on producing high test scores rather than well rounded humans. When test scores mattered more than developing responsibility, respect, and the importance of getting along with people, we ended up with a generation of ignorant voters who were raised to believe History and Government were not as important as the Three R’s.

To be fair, our emphasis on testing was really ushered in at the beginning of the 1990s. Twelve-year-olds then are now approaching AARP membership. They have raised children who were left alone a lot because both parents needed to work far more than middle-class parents from the 70’s had to. Consequently, schools took on more parenting duties; breakfast, lunch, and after school snacks along with free tutoring services which kids embraced about as much as the left embraced Diaper Don. Along the way, they were stripped of any discipline process because district leaders believed school suspensions posed a threat to higher test scores.

We have gone from sporadic school shootings to an epidemic of mass shootings across all levels of society. This is no surprise given that kids left alone at home to play violent video games never learned to play with and respect others. Hate, anger, and on-line bullying replaced going out to play. At the same time, parents insisted every child be a winner and our schools obliged mainly because it kept mom sand dads off the backs of educators.

Now, toss in several recessions where the further from the top of the economic ladder you sat, the harder you were hit while the richest were bailed out and allowed to gobble up mom and pop stores. When a sick man like Trump comes along and profits off of this, he schemes to find more ways to stick it to the gullible while taking advantage of bankruptcy laws. He has mastered the PT Barnum school of thought that there is not only a sucker born every minute, there are millions out there ready to become his legion of supporters.

It’s not a matter of will we survive another four years of Trump in office nearly as much as will we cease shooting ourselves in the foot? Politics can no longer be civil because society stopped acting that way long ago. Civility is seen as a weakness and Trump exploits that to the max. He also exploits the idea that nothing is ever the fault of the individual because we are all victims who draw fingers to point at others that we hate the way gunslingers once did with their six shooters.

Speaking of guns. No one has yet to come after our guns, but we continue using them for murderous purposes more than ever. Not surprisingly, we not only have seen a horrific rise of guns in the hands of private citizens, but at the same time, we have also witnessed the rise of mental illness. Many of those who suffer from it just so happen to own guns or have easy access to them. If that is not enough, let’s ensure that 3D printers are able to produce ghost guns because who can be bothered to buy one legally? Simple solutions like making it illegal for the mentally ill to purchase or own guns have done nothing to curb gun violence.

It seems the only people who listen to Trump talk are the left because they hate his guts. If they listened to the guy, the right would reject him. You can add “Christians to that list,” not to be confused with people who actually practice Christianity. I am pretty sure Trump breaks all of the ten commandments repeatedly only because there are not twenty commandments. Law and order only applies to the poor people big business wants to legally enslave for cheap labor. Why bother rounding up “illegals” when in their minds, the right knows full well that by incarcerating them, they can be forced to work for less money than they make already.

I know you think I am full of shit, but if you actually study American History and our system of economics, you will see it has always been built on the backs of cheap labor. That’s never going to change, even if there are no longer people living here illegally. Let’s see, natives were killed off, so we used slaves. Slaves were freed in part, so the north had access to cheaper labor. Immigrants from Europe and China were next up for cheap labor, followed by kids, women, and now the imprisoned. I see a future very soon where the LGBTQ community, as well as other disenfranchised, are forced to work as cheap labor for this sick system of economics.

This did not begin in 2016. It has taken decades to manufacture a society that thinks freedom means having access to the internet. An all-volunteer army has turned our youth into brats who have no worries because they won’t have a DI to make a man out of them. No, now even if they volunteer, the enlisted can tap out, find a safe space, and know they are still a winner.

If Billy Joel wanted to write a hit song today, I would suggest he sing, “We Didn’t Jump The Shark. It was already jumped and it’s not my fault.”

Like all older generations, mine laments how soft and spoiled kids are today. Perhaps. Then again, who spoiled them? Who turned them into human Pillsbury dough boys and girls? Who created a nation where increasingly more people are less prepared to face hardship? If you don’t believe me, just think back to what COVID did. Unlike the older generations before us, mine has morphed into a bunch of whiners who feel entitled to destroy the world handed to them from what is referred to as The Greatest Generation Ever. I am ashamed to say, boomers are the greatest disappointment and our legacy is leaning toward creating future generations who follow our lead.

No, we did not jump the shark with Trump. However, what we are guilty of is failing to hunt it down and destroy it like we cheered back in the day watching Jaws. But then the shark’s killers were not Baby Boomers and they sure as hell did not whine about the task at hand or how unfair it was. It needed doing and they did it.

Sadly, boomers would rather argue over what women do with their bodies than how to improve the nation so more people have a real shot at the American Dream. No. Boomers loved the dream so much that they became so selfish and greedy, they killed it for the rest. Too many cling to a festering pile of garbage for a leader who reminds them this dumpster fire of a nation is not their doing. While it may not be their doing, their actions will surely be the undoing for generations to come.

James Moore

Jim is a life long resident of California and retired school teacher with 30 years in public education. Jim earned his BA in History from CSU Chico in 1981 and his MA in Education from Azusa Pacific University in 1994. He is also the author of Teaching The Teacher: Lessons Learned From Teaching. Jim considers himself an equal opportunity pain in the ass to any political party, group, or individual who looks to profit off of hypocrisy. When he is not pointing out the conflicting words and actions of our leaders, the NFL commissioner, or humans in general, he can be found riding his bike for hours on end while pondering his next article. Jim recently moved to Camarillo, CA after being convinced to join the witness protection program.