Fifty years ago, Buzz Aldrin went to the moon.
He was hailed as an American hero.
History repeats: First as reality show, then as showy reality.
Credit: MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
I dont want to denigrate Aldrins achievements as an astronaut.
American astronauts will go back to space on American rockets, the president promised.
Can those rockets do something about our countrys soaring maternal death rate?
Or is that not pointlessly awesome enough?
Im a TV critic, so I hope youre going somewhere smarter for coherent political analysis.
The beaches at Normandy earned more airtime than the opioid epidemic.
Here is a president who is very ready to win World War II.
Trumps American history is a nostalgic history, shorn of political awareness, denying all context but triumph.
Easy enough to praise heroic soldiers who fought Nazis in Germany 75 years ago.
Trickier, of course, to take on actual Nazis today.
Last year, a domestic terrorist sent pipe bombs to multiple American citizens.
Say what you will about Cesar Altieri Sayoc, but his problem wasnt reading too much Marx.
But it was easy to meme-ify her deadpan microexpressions.
But Trump has no real vocabulary for optimism.
He is like one of those critics who only enjoy writing bad reviews.
This is not true, but you dont go to this president for clarity.
All children, born and unborn, are made in the holy image of God, he said.
And how does God feel about the children in detention camps?
Fun fact: The detention camps were mentioned less than the golden beaches of California.
Remember, this is a man whohasnt properly mastered spellcheck.
But thats part of the pitch, too.
Dont assume that Americas nostalgia problem is just a Trump thing.
Of course, some nostalgia is dumb and clickbait-ish and silly astronauts dancing badly on television for high ratings!
and then some nostalgia is a political force crushing liberty and separating actual children from their actual parents.
But this was a State of the Union that mentioned the railroads more than the student debt crisis.
Its hard to build a better future when you’re able to dream about a better past.
