Some observations on the State of the Union:

Whatever else you can say about Trump he meets the opposition head on. True, sometimes he does it like a 5th grader out on the playground – one who never met an opponent too insignificant with which to do battle. But in this venue, in the midst of impeachment, he seemed more like the lone guard dog standing against jackals.

I didn’t pay too much attention to the surprise registered about the lack of a handshake. It seemed a little like wanting the condemned to congratulate his executioner. I didn’t fault him given the nature of his would-be executioner. While on the other hand, tearing up the speech at the end - Nancy looked like a petulant adolescent making a face at the back of her departing parent after being put in time-out.

Unfortunately, as I watched those white dresses clumped together like sheep resentful of the grown-up guard dog placing limits on pastures deemed safe to inhibit, I thought to myself, ‘what a set-back for the image of Women-in-leadership’. For those embarrassed by their support of Trump they could find no better image to juxtapose against their own discomfort. And in defense of Women-in-leadership there were those less conspicuously dressed on the other side of the isle who were not clumped like sheep and who stand for issues dear to my heart at least.

Among the obvious hyperbole characteristic of presidential claims during State of the Union, especially so for Trump, he had some iconic moments doing what Trump does best, which is to come out of his corner swinging for the vulnerable spots and exposing his whacko opponents with each delivered punch.

Now, keep in mind, Americans on social media, nearly all of us, live in an echo-chamber to some extent. But Trump put several things in the spotlight from which in this moment mainstream media as well as social media echo-chambers cannot hide. He used this moment to put a few things out there where they belong front and center, where everyone has to look at the results of policies and in the case of our historical revisionists, his point was plain. For instance:

1. California Sanctuary policies and the repercussions for families who have lost loved ones as a result of those policies.
2. Same for New York as he calls them out for similar tragic results via their refusal to cooperate with ICE.
3. Calling out the Pennsylvania Governor for his veto of the expansion of school choice.
4. Elevating Support for the 2nd Amendment to the Office of the Presidency.
5. And at the conclusion, the iteration of American history full of justifiable national pride.

He may have well called out names for ridicule, linking not just hopes and dreams but the lives of murdered people to their policies.

During that rendition of history we older people are familiar with Trump omitted some unfortunate detours taken by our countrymen - but who could blame him as revisionist make those detours the sum total of our history. And too, I would rather he have spoken of our “duty”, given the sacrifice of our forefathers, to live up to our history rather than just proclaim the best is yet to come. Why? Well, quite obviously the very existence let alone the ascendancy of those sheep on the left do anything but assure the best is yet to come… but I didn’t write the speech.

Of course the glaring omission from the State of the Union was our National Debt. At the risk of diluting the main purpose of this post I’ll say something about that elephant. At our age, we should be as alarmed as anyone. Our Social Security and our Pensions which often rely on the health of the US Economy are at grave risk. Not all Americans understand that the mere service-charge annually on that debt currently is roughly equal to our annual expenditure on National Defense. Can you imagine any sustainability wherein your household Credit Card interest annually equals your home and truck payment? And keep in mind our rate of debt continues even under Trump’s economy. Meaning our tank is empty for the next downturn. Even Keynesian economists should be alarmed.

And yet the truth here is that any politician entering office or wanting to stay in office long enough to oversee policy is in a catch-22. Americans would toss anyone out on their ear who announced that he or she was going to do what was necessary to remedy this. We have let the debt get to a proportion that digging out would be difficult - but worse, having the political will is irrelevant! You wouldn’t live a political life to long enough to exercise that will. Quite the contrary is happening in fact. Nearly all the candidates today promise programs like free College, free healthcare, minimum national income, even reparations which would only accelerate that debt and send the economy into a spiral at the same time.

I can’t stand Glen Beck but his words echo in my ear. “These are Interesting Times”.