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| Kotor-izing the Wound |
My four-hour layover at O'Hare is close to over, and I have about 25 minutes before I board the flight to Brussels ... from whence to Istanbul ... from whence to Podgorica. I flew in from Kansas City this morning. This will be a long trip. But that's ok — I'm not stressed about it.
Overall, though, my feelings are profoundly mixed about going to Montenegro now. I had been anticipating it and was, I thought, psychologically prepared to learn my visa application had been denied and I would need to retreat to some none-EU and non-Schengen Zone jurisdiction for a while. (Either until my appeal of that denial is granted, or until I can qualify for a new Schengen Zone tourist visa in late May, whichever comes sooner). But it turns out ... not so much. I'm resigned to it, certainly, but far from excited about it, and there's obvious disappointment.
On the other hand, if you have to live in exile, you could do far worse than Montenegro, which I visited with my father in 2017 on his last-ever trip overseas, and really enjoy.
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| Good memories at the Bay of Kotor |
On the third hand, I don't really know anybody there except for some of the lawyers I got to know through CEE Legal Matters, and while I'm hoping to connect with them, it should be a relatively solitary few months.
On the fourth hand, except for Liesel, who promises to come visit at least once, if not more, and ... who knows? Maybe I can even make some friends. 😎
We'll see. It's a lot of hands, certainly. For now, I'm about to board my overnight flight to Brussels, and we'll take it all as it comes.
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On a political note, I thought I'd share one of us libtards' favorite past-times for those of you who haven't yet participated in the fun: The What-Exactly-is-Trump's-Deal-and-How-Did-He-Get-Elected game! Here are the theories I've heard. What's your favorite?
1. Vacuum at the Top: Trump is a narcissististic child and psychopath whose only goal is popularity and who is therefore easily manipulated by his advisors into endorsing consistently hard-line conservative policies regardless of how popular they actually are (my favorite); but
2. Spinning Wheel: He is also a charismatic con-man who speaks in a stream-of-consciousness way that allows him to move on quickly from subjects that don't resonate with his followers (multi-flush toilets) to those subjects that do ("lock her up!"); and either way
3. Control Through Chaos: He and his team regularly flood the media with any number of silly ideas designed to overwhelm our ability to process and respond quickly to the serious ones which are therefore allowed to slip under the radar; plus
4. The Only Issue: His supporters know exactly who he is and don't care at all about his sillier ideas as long as he'll get them the Supreme Court and abolish abortion rights; because
5. The Fear Factor: His followers are easily manipulated into believing their lives/incomes/happiness/opportunities/liberties are being unjustly and deliberately limited by liberal elites either purposefully or ignorantly pursuing policies ("wokeness," open borders, lax policies on crime, etc.) guaranteed to drive the country into anarchy and ruin; because after all
6. Matrushka or Marionette: Down deep, the strings are being pulled by Russians and their devious bots, successfully pushing Trump into policies designed to sow chaos in the West while allowing (or facilitating) Russian expansion; and either way
7. Cruelty is the Point: Trump supporters believe that society/civilization depends on a comprehensive system of punishments for anti-social behavior, and only if the consequences for deviation are severe enough will people stay on the right path, allowing society to continue and avoiding complete social breakdown. So when it comes to putting immigrant children in cages, or forcing sexually active women to carry fetuses to term, or enforcing extreme mandatory minimum penalties for otherwise unimportant drug violations ... cruelty is the point. They don't care about the actual effects of immigration on the United States (though they'll come up with arguments if you force them), or about the circumstances by which a young woman becomes pregnant, or whether or not the drug that was used is actually worse than legal alternatives. They don't. They only worry that the consequences be severe, because in their minds, allowing people to get away with what they consider anti-social conduct (primarily breaking laws or social mores, regardless of their morality or wisdom) is an absolute invitation to chaos. Everything breaks down if society doesn't enforce its own rules -- and better to be too severe than not severe enough; though, of course
8. Liberty Means No: Trump and his administration are committed to "liberty" — to ensuring that nobody has to pay for programs designed for other people. Taxes should only go to the military and maybe the police — if even that! — and while things like public education, medical care, environmental protection, Head Start programs, and anything else designed to help other people are nice, sure, and those people who want to pay for those things certainly can, people should not be forced to subsidize those programs (via taxes, of course) against their will.
Roll the dice and see what you get! Play with your friends! Fun for the whole family!
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Greetings from Brussels. Now off to my gate to prepare to board my flight to Istanbul. Been a long day!
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