As I walk this land of broken dreams, I see visions of many things.

  I've been avoiding the world today and trying to ignore everything because I'm not sure I can handle it anymore. We're still coming down from learning just how awful a damn fool the President is and Gov. Tate Reeves has rescinded the mask order for Mississippi. The Proud Boys have a fire under their ass, thanks to the guy who's supposed to represent the whole country, and they're harder than they've ever been in their lives, probably.

 Don't get it twisted. I am not a patriot by nature, at least not how it's usually defined. I don't think this is the "greatest country ever" nor do I see the Constitution as some sort of sacred thing or Democracy as some sort of precious jewel. And I definitely don't feel the Founding Fathers are worth too much attention outside of history class. I mean, I like Tom Paine, personally, but that's been a long time, and a well-built house moves from its foundations.

 At the very best, I see Democracy/Republic/Whatever as a pattern to follow like making a dress and the Constitution a set of rules for what the government can't do. Just because, for example, nationalized health care isn't in the Constitution doesn't mean it's out of bounds. I don't think Trump is "destroying democracy" because, to be quite honest, that was on shaky ground long before he came around. Hell, it's arguable it was all that healthy when Nixon came to town, but again, it's a journey and not a destination.

 So my problem isn't that some high ideals are being tarnished, it's that the players aren't playing by the rules of the game. Pure and simple. Trump's deal with Ukraine? That's against the rules. Same thing with cops being used as judge, jury, and executions, the country's leaders should be held to higher standards. Great power, great responsibility, that whole thing.

 I won't indulge in my darker thoughts about the health of the American Dream. I've referred to what I'm doing with all of this as "post-mortem" of it, riffing on Hunter Thompson's shtick from Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas. That should say something, though. Furthermore, my interest in and empathy with anarchism is very much influenced by my feelings on the health of the country and government. If I thought anything else would work with what we got now, I'd call myself something else, but here we are.

  I don't know if anything can be "saved" or if indeed anything is worth "saving." I do, however, see no reason to be an asshole about things and would rather spend my time doing stuff that leaves the world a little better place. I recognize my luck and privilege in life, and if I want to go through my days like that, I will. As far as the anarchism bit goes, what attracts me is the disdain for unearned hierarchy and authority in general. It's not so much "fuck you, I won't do what you tell me" so much as "who gave you the right and what have you done to earn it?" Again, riffing on the Good Doctor, the law changes but I don't see why I should because of it.

 Okay, so the Proud Boys. I know it's dangerous - and another example of that luck and privilege - but I have the hardest time taking these guys seriously. First I heard of them, they were an outgrowth of the GamerGate/"Star Wars is ruined" crowd and they're just a bunch of sad bastards. I remember seeing something that said one of the initiation rituals was naming five cereal brands while the other Boys punch the initiate in the arm. That may not be so, but it's funny as hell so I'm going to ride with it.

 Here in the last couple of years, though, they've become Trump's self-declared brownshirts and his "stand by" shout out gave them all blue-vein throbbers. It's nothing new, of course. They've been saying all they're waiting on was the green light from Trump to do whatever it is they think they're going to do. I for one won't be putting my faith in either the cops or the military to protect the citizenry from them, but I do wonder just what they think they've got going for them. They're not exactly a well-trained militia, so much as a bunch of cosplayers with small dicks.

 Yeah, I have nothing really interesting to say tonight. Been playing a lot of Darkest Dungeon as of late, and if I haven't recommended that already, let me do it now. It's a fun ride and since part of it is keeping your crew sane while fighting Lovecraftian horrors, it's got a little something extra. I don't know if I've got anything else but that, so that's enough for now, I suppose.