Auchter's Art

Unless you listen to the likes of Stephen Miller (and nobody should), you know that people are essentially the same all over the world. We are all human and susceptible to the worst human inclinations: hate, fear, willful ignorance, bigotry, racism, toxic ideology, etc. And, unfortunately, a common consequence is violence.

It wouldn't be a very Michigander thing to say that Michiganders are better than anybody else. After all, modesty is one of our more endearing traits. But it's not wrong to say that there is a special practicality about us.

My hope is that I only picked this idea because it was the simplest one. I hope I didn't let the ominous threats to free speech that have swept our nation in the past week influence my decision. Kinda makes me feel even sicker, but I can't say for sure.

If you've ever wondered why people who aren't Trump supporters get so infuriated with him and his administration, well — let's be honest — it's a laundry list. But consistently never taking personal responsibility (particularly when things go badly) is definitely near the top.

Our state government is designed to work best when voters are encouraged and engaged. When politicians operate in a "the end justifies the means" mode or when politicians make promises and don't keep them, that feeds cynicism and negativity among the voters. Which in turn attracts politicians that feed off that cynicism and negativity. Rinse and repeat.

Now that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has actually been defunded, many of the consequences that experts warned us about are, in fact, becoming reality.

"I was thinking about that guy when I saw the news the other day about President Donald Trump's desire for the U.S. government to own a piece of troubled chipmaker, Intel. What would he think about that? How would he reconcile his steadfast ideology with a President (who I'm guessing he voted for) actively violating it?"

I feel this party-first approach to government has gotten considerably worse in the past few decades. The Gingriching, the McConnellizing of American politics.

Scientists and climate experts uniformly tell us that climate change brought about by fossil fuel usage is a root cause of the Canadian wildfires. Many people — including those in leadership positions in the federal government — find this inconvenient, unacceptable, or (by their own declaration) fake news. But that doesn't stop it from being true.

The whole tariff and trade situation, particularly with the automobile industry, is so volatile and so complex, it really doesn't lend itself to a hot take. But I do feel safe in saying that the only folks I imagine being happy about the situation are the ones receiving payments on those $1,000-per-month-for-84-months auto loans.