A post for February

We are almost to the end of February, and we're not yet at war, so I suppose that's good. Hey, I'm trying to find a silver lining somewhere.

The bad news is that Trump is still president. I've been (somewhat jokingly) hoping he'd find an excuse to resign, but that hasn't happened. Oh well, since Steve Bannon is doing all the heavy lifting, there is no need for Trump to resign. He probably has plenty of time to play golf at Mar-A-Lago and angrily tweet at all hours of the day, while maintaining the illusion of being president. What more could he ask for?

Music is about the only thing getting me through this political nightmare. Number one on my playlist has been the album American Band by Drive-By Truckers. I mentioned this record in my "favorites of 2016" post, but since the election American Band has taken on even more importance. The two songwriters and vocalists Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood practically play tag team, with songs that look at American politics and culture, race relations, and Southern identity. Now, that might make the album sound too didactic, and it just might have been if the songwriting wasn't so damned good and the supporting musicians not such a crackling spitfire of a band.

I've liked Drive-by Truckers since I first heard their brilliant 2001 album Southern Rock Opera a few years ago, but American Band has led me down the rabbit hole in a big way.

***

Today I was thinking of how much more politically sophisticated my 15-year-old son is compared to what I was like at the same age. I'd venture to guess he is more well-versed on current events than at least 95 percent of the American electorate, but it's not simply that he knows more facts, he has the ability to analyze this information and has a distinctly left-wing viewpoint. I suppose that at least some of this comes from growing up with lefties, but most of it seems to be of his own creation.

I feel bad that my kids have to live through this shit show of a political landscape, and suffer through climate change, an eroding environment and an uncertain future overall. It makes me feel a bit selfish for having kids. It's like, "welcome to the world, boys. Sorry you didn't ask to be here. Oh, and sorry that the world we're leaving you is such a clusterfuck. Have fun trying to fix it." If I spend too much time dwelling on it, I become depressed.

I don't know how to conclude this post, so I guess I'll just leave it at that.