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I. Background
This series (Awe Topsy, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) could be considered along with (Will Elections Cure The Disease?, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) I suppose.
It has been taking us a long time to do the awe topsy following the 2024 election.
Let's consider the question "why are most of the news media now reporting things" that previously would have been laughed at because of the prevalent it can't happen here trance (Choose Your Trances Carefully, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8):
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Elon Musk says he and Trump are shutting down USAID
USAID staffers told to stay out of Washington headquarters after Musk said Trump agreed to close it
WHO chief asks countries to push Washington to reconsider its withdrawal
Trade War Heats Up After Trump Orders Tariffs and Canada Retaliates
Trump administration moving to fire FBI agents involved in investigations of Trump
McConnell: Trump pardons a ‘mistake,’ Jan. 6 ‘an insurrection’
Firings, freezes and layoffs: A look at Trump’s moves against federal employees and programs
I won't trouble you with the list of hundreds of other such headlines around the world.
II. Yeah But ...
I hope "Will Elections Cure The Disease?" in essence generates the question "cure which disease?"
Especially since an autopsy is used to determine the cause of death, and, among other things, is used to determine if the death was the result of a particular disease.
Because, if the patient dies then the disease impact was not cured, plus, there are incurable diseases which one need not concern themselves with int the sense of "why didn't the treatment work?"
Our current commercialized health care realm and our current commercialized political realm contain new concepts such as anti-vaccination, and one party against-the-other-period. which are, currently, essentially incurable.
We can say without overwhelming doubt, then, that elections will not cure incurable diseases.
Nor can anything else for that matter., but I digress.
So, we might do better to consider what diseases elections intend to cure.
I say that because if they intend to cure an incurable disease they won't cure it.
III. Who or What Has Elections?
That is answered easily in the sense that the answer can be "whomever or whatever engenders, and then allows, voters to vote".
But, that raises the specter of valid, fair, well done, or not, elections doesn't it?
Which is akin to treatments for diseases that don't work (Wikipedia, "List of diagnoses characterized as pseudoscience" ... did they include lobotomy?).
Anyway, there is some discussion of diagnoses and treatments which might help answer our awe topsy question of the day:
"The diagnosis of collective neuroses, moreover, will be confronted by a special difficulty. In the neurosis of an individual we can use as a starting point the contrast presented to us between the patient and his environment which we assume to be normal. No such background as this would be available for any society similarly affected; it would have to be supplied in some other way. And with regard to any therapeutic application of our knowledge, what would be the use of the most acute analysis of social neuroses, since no one possesses power to compel the community to adopt the therapy? In spite of all these difficulties, we may expect that one day someone will venture upon this research into the pathology of civilized communities."
(Beware of the Sycophant Epidemic). Oh well, we must do better "next time" because our cultural diagnoses seem to all be done out on Highway 61 (War is the Highway 61 of the 1%).
IV. Closing Comment
One awe topsy report is quite musical (see video below), but there are others that could be considered to be on point diagnoses too (The Shapeshifters of Bullshitistan, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25).
The previous post in this series is here.
Ode to MOMCOM:
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