Fantasyland

What used to be a title denoting a section of a Walt Disney amusement park, Fantasyland had now become synonymous with the portion of the American political demographic described as the “base” of trump’s support.

Comprised of scalawags & profiteers, religious fanatics, xenophobes, Nazi-sympathizers and other like-minded idiots, these folks are pinning their unrealistic hopes and dreams on the ad hoc utterances of a person for whom a promise is nothing more than a sound bite, a means of securing immediate approval and adulation. The fact that he will say anything if it gets him approval in the moment either doesn’t faze them, goes unnoticed, or isn’t regarded because of the magical thinking that goes hand in hand with a fantasy-based viewpoint. That is why trump was correct when he said he could shoot someone in Times Square and get away with it.

Whether it’s denying the extent of GOP losses in the recent election or maintaining a false narrative about the immigration problem, siding with the Saudis by condoning a heinous crime or rejecting his own government’s frightening analysis of the economic effects of climate change, the trump-suckered faithful will lap it up, no questions asked.

In the state of Mississippi, a fantasyland candidate has a reportedly good chance at winning a Senate seat in tomorrow’s runoff election, made more likely because that state was entertaining more than its share of fantasy-based ideas long before trump came along. Were it considered appropriate to apply DSM diagnoses to social groups, the Mississippi GOP would certainly qualify for distinction in the Axis II division.

By expanding the boundaries of Fantasyland, it is no longer necessary to leave home in order to indulge in mind-numbing distractions—now anyone with an incurious mind—and a strong stomach—can enjoy this benefit in the comfort, if not the safety, of their own home. But you’d best be quick about it; this window of opportunity, like a prolonged Bear market, won’t last forever.

It would be convenient to be able to summarily deny the existence of anything one might find objectionable, were it not for the annoying blowback one would receive from others in their orbit not similarly unburdened with reality. But the false equivalency of reality with alternative reality only works if everyone agrees with the ruse; if one party objects and insists on throwing facts into the mix, the whole construct falls apart.

In similar fashion, Fantasyland only works as long as enough people support the notion that trump is capable of leading the nation. Reality can be persistent, as anyone who’s ever had a guilty conscience can attest. Sooner or later, the truth (the real truth, in this case) will come out, and, when it does, we will be hearing many feeble and pathetic excuses for why this or that Republican lawmaker went over to the dark side.

When that day comes, it will be interesting to see what the likes of Sarah Huckabee Sanders or Lindsay Graham have to say for themselves. Interesting, that is, like having to go to the dentist can be interesting.

Tim Konrad

 

 

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