Swearing (In) Day

Happy Inauguration Day. Or, as the wags inform us, welcome to the Worst Day in Infamy Since Pearl Harbor.  Swear your hearts out at the Swearing-In as Teflon Don desecrates Honest Abe's Bible with his short nuclear-itchy fingers.

That swearing is good for you has long been one of the indispensable truths of folk wisdom. And according to yet another earth-shattering study, dropping the F-bomb on a regular basis also proves that you are an honest butthead as well as a damned healthy one.

Despite all the elite angst over Donald Trump's lack of respect for "norms," and his propensity to loosen his tongue and uncontrollably tap out his tweets, one group of scientists shockingly concludes that at least he is way more honest than your average slimy politician speaking with glib forked tongue.

Then again, say another group of scientists, his habitual use of foul language is also an indication of the "dark triad of personality traits" --  psychopathy,  narcissism and Machiavellianism.

Therefore, he has the best of both theories: he is an honest, healthy and dangerous sonuvabitch all wrapped up into one package. It's the winning political triad in this age of terminal capitalism and societal collapse.

Trump exhibits two specific levels of danger: one is directed toward the ruling class, and the other is directed toward the rest of us. His danger to the ruling class is healthy for the rest of us, and his danger to the rest of us is healthy for the ruling class. This has proven to be very successful political strategy for him,  as he effectively cancels out his two constituencies and rewards himself and his family empire with what promises to be a record windfall.

Here's just one recent example of the extreme danger that Honest Don presents to the ruling class. From his pre-inaugural speech to a group of Washington bigwigs this week:

"Rex Tillerson—and these lights are bright, but he’s around here someplace. Where’s our Rex? Wow. What a job. And, Renda, thank you very much. Thanks, Rex. I think it’s tougher than he thought. Again, he’s led this charmed life. He goes into a country, takes the oil, goes into another country. It’s tough dealing with these politicians, right? He’s going to be so incredible, and I’m very proud of him."

Trump is brutally honest in publicly admitting that the Secretary of State-designate is a rich asshole and unabashed plunderer who invades other countries and steals their natural resources by bribing corrupt leaders. In one fell swoop, Honest Don has let the cat out of the bag about the true purpose of American diplomacy. And that purpose is greasing the skids for multinational corporations. Rather than do the usual presidential theater of praising American exceptionalism for bringing peace and joy and democracy to the rest of the suffering world, Trump only brays that greed is good. He has just exposed the oligarchy in all its pathological greediness and ignominy. He has sent a warning to the rest of the world at the same time that he has made a full and honest confession to all the victims of the world. Sleepers awake, and let the protests begin!

And then there's the flip side, the danger that Donald Trump presents to the rest of us. This danger is not so much exhibited in his words, but in his deeds. And his only deeds thus far have been the cabinet appointments of people who can only be described as economic terrorists. Through the nominations of such miscreants as Tom Price, Betsy DeVos and Steve Mnuchin, Trump telegraphs his utter disdain for the health and welfare and education of the public and the environment and the world at large. He symbolically rubs our noses in the biggest steaming pile of oligarchic shit ever excreted in American history. (Writing that feels so beneficial to my health!)

And so for as long as he lasts in office, he will continue just being his own honest, psychopathic self. We'll cheer in spite of ourselves whenever he embarrasses and exposes his own rich cohort, and we'll hate him when his rich cohort inevitably robs all of us.

But now that millions of people are finally taking to the streets in unified protests, Honest Don might end up being a gift to democracy in spite of his own spiteful self. Stay tuned. And don't forget to swear up a storm as you try to maintain both your physical and mental health!