Invest In Asterisks
I’m not usually one to look to for investing advice, but I think this is a sure thing – there’s a great future in asterisks!1 They may not seem valuable now, but in the earliest post-pretentious presidency period, they’ll be in high demand, to explain the devaluation of a particular subject or object due to its association with the least presidential occupant of the nation’s highest office in history.
Any accolade, award, or commendation issued by one Donald J. Trump will come with a disclaimer, denoted with an asterisk. The same goes for any pardons or commutations of sentences signed by the man. His executive orders will require asterisks until they can be reversed by his successor or legislated away by Congress. Similarly, any edifices, thoroughfares, lands, or monuments bearing his name or image will require an asterisk until the offending reminder can be removed and they can be restored to their original condition. Likewise, any publications besmirched with his name will require the addition of asterisks until they can be revised or amended, reprinted, and replaced.
Any accolade, award, or commendation issued to the man causes prior and subsequent recipients to suffer from the honor’s immediate devaluation, much like a new car loses value as you drive it off the lot. The ridiculous regifting of Maria Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize has tarnished the award, but at least to the credit of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, they reduced the impact and pre-empted the charade by declaring, “Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others.” That doesn’t preclude asterisking.
The absurd FIFA peace prize (Peace Prize - Football Unites the World”), nakedly created for the purpose of feeding the gluttonous ego of the man, may need no asterisk. Perhaps after its first recipient is no longer relevant, FIFA can just retire it to the cheap seats at some remote stadium, never to be seen again.
The sad thing about the devaluation of honor is that real heroes are in short supply these days, and recognizing true accomplishments is both an acknowledgement and an incentive to those who deserve them. Reducing the value to that of a “Participation Trophy” or worse, effectively counterfeiting awards to assuage the fragile ego of a powerful pretender, will have the unintended consequence of stifling innovation and progress.
Until such time as we can reclaim our collective sanity and restore our destiny, invest in asterisks – you’ll be glad you did!
1 Borrowed from The Graduate, “There’s a great future in plastics.”
I read one comment (or heard it?) that tRump should NOT have accepted the Peace prize, but she was really stupid to offer it to him, and of course, he'll tell everyone he deserved it because you know he's "ended 8 or 9 wars" he sez.
Reading today's NPR news website, people in Copenhagen demonstrated against the US wanting to invade Greenland and just TAKE IT! One man was quoted as saying he hasn't heard any evidence that us Americans are protesting the policies of DJT! Good grief! We get THEIR news, why can't they get ours? We are protesting every single day and every week and next week should be another one (a scheduled event for Jan. 20th)! A friend told me, too, that people he knows in Europe think that all Americans are OK with DJT. And as such, WE are the "shit-hole" country that DJT called other countries.
On the No Kings protests events all across the nation--7 million people--isn't that news worthy of international mention?
Asterisks indeed! Bring 'em on!
“There’s a great future in asterisks.”. That’s a good one. “There’s a great future in plastics.” I didn’t pick up on that until the footnote at the end. Unfortunately, I don’t hope the irony of that original line from the movie, foretelling the wide use of plastic and its harmful effects on the planet translates to our time and tRumpf’s harmful impact on the planet.