I am noodling here… So, if this is not coherent… I warned you.
Below is a picture of a google image search for “animated trump image” or something like that.
Anyone who knows me… Knows that my political alliances lie with neither major party, and I generally stay out of the fray when it comes to complaining about the morons who run this country. (That indie streak has me signed up as a card carrying Libertarian right now, more on that at the end.) That said… I have a indie streak that runs all the way back to the 80’s and I am loving this newfound vitriol for government officials. This rage at the current administration has been splattered all over the internet in Instagram, Twitter and Facebook in the form of memes and animated GIF’s. Some of them are awesome and you have to admire the level of skill it takes to make them.
But is it this kind of artistry newfound? Looking back over my High School days… I remember very similar work. All done in analog. The digital age makes it easy for anyone to whip up a meme… But we have been doing this for decades. You just forgot! Instead of photoshop or imageflip… We used collages and ‘zines done on a xerox. 
Were you seeing stuff like the picture above in HS? Probably not unless you were hanging with the indie crowd. My friends and I were as anti-establishment as Midwest kids could reasonably get… Even if we didn’t have a clue what that meant. We would stop at Mother Murphy’s and grab weird magazines. We would read the liners of all our Dead Kennedy albums and subscribe to the latest Alternative Tentacles ‘zine. Its so similar. I almost believe that everything used against Reagan is now being spun on Trump. It didnt really work back then… It got the ground troops riled up. But, as we should know by now… It didn’t stop anyone’s political careers or aspirations. “There is no such thing as bad publicity” is the new mantra. It keeps you relevant and in front of peoples faces. Thus I wonder if Trump’s people even care about all these caricatures.
Maybe… Just maybe… If you have a problem with this guy… Or the other guys… Or those gals over there… (The guys in the bushes look evil too) You might decide to do something yourself starting at the local level??? Really… The old adage that change begins within yourself… Is completely relevant. How can you really sit there and post Twittervism’s or Facebook posts complaining… When all you do is accept the clowns that are paraded onto your ballot?
Turn the TV off. Stop reading political news online. Get out and talk to other human beings. Try to talk to folks with opinions other than yours and you might find that most of us want the same thing. You just dont vote that way! You wont allow it. You have been brainwashed into thinking that a complete win is the only acceptable outcome. Compromise is failure.
Here is a good site for you: https://www.congressforkids.net/Constitution_threebranches.htm
The Three Branches of Government
Delegates at the Constitutional Convention also wanted to divide power within the federal government. They did not want these powers to be controlled by just one man or one group. The delegates were afraid that if a small group received too much power, the United States would wind up under the rule of another dictator or tyrant.
We teach our kids that one party or individual with too much power is a tyrant or a dictator. But, when we elect our executive leaders… Both sides… Want to have absolute rule of law.
Our system of government really only works with compromise. Flipping switches on executive orders is nonsense. That is not how the Founding fathers wanted our people ruled. I believe that they did see the evil that can come from lopsided power and laid out a plan to negate that behavior. Equal power distribution with checks and balances serves a valuable role in keeping our country from tilting too far in either direction.
Its naive to think that the Reagan and Tip O’Neil working relationship can come back… Hell, I thought Obama and the Boehner (Was that his name) might have been on to something when they had their beer. But, that all went sideways as well. Somebody wasn’t “winning”, and it ended up in deadlock.
It sure would be nice to think that all parties, R, D and Independents could see past differences to knock out what I consider moral subjects like war or government waste.
Until we start looking hard at what we expect from our officials, or start looking hard at who is greasing their wheels… I think we are in for lots more years of gridlock.
Oh… Speaking of my indie guys. I have been putting my efforts behind the local Libertarian Party groups in Central Illinois. Yes, I called out anyone who complains about not doing anything… And I back that up by getting out and helping make a change locally. My guys have a page now!!!
Its still a small movement… But as we learned from the last election… Big things can happen fast! Seems like every monthly meeting has new members showing up.
And, Tazewell County has a Libertarian group now… We meet… We talk about local issues and elections. We will make a difference!