Overcoming Handicaps, Here and Abroad

The financial wizard who only weeks ago did not recognize the term Brexit was wicked quick to recognize the opportunity for self congratulation brought on by the Leave, even more wickedly quick to recognize the opportunity for personal profit at the expense of, well, just about everybody.

As markets plunged and Scotland contemplated their own Scexit, he snipped ribbons and touted the sprinkler system and the other world class amenities at his Scottish links, congratulating the Brits on the disuniting of their kingdom -- both from within and without. If there is a silver lining to turmoil, it  can be found in Trump's pockets.

Tearing myself away from the latest apocalyptic news cycle -- in and of itself bad enough, made worse as it morphed, like everything else does, into a publicity stunt for Trump -- I went for a bike ride. I needed to put me first, take my sanity back.

About ten minutes in, I passed a one-legged rider.  He pedaled by as if nothing was amiss, propelled with perfect speed and balance by a spandex-clad muscular right leg and a phantom left. I hoped he didn't notice the somewhat impolite stare that  accompanied my standard polite nod.

I glanced back as he glided past, and, not surprisingly, I veered off the path. I fought with every fiber of my being -- which is essentially intact except for a bunch of brain cells I never used anyway -- to stay upright. I have yet to master the art of unclipping from the pedal in time to prevent a bruising fall. Somehow, I didn't go down.

I thought about the one-legged rider, who must compensate, always. In his deficit he has found strength and determination, not to mention balance and grace. He has made the best of what some might see as a bad situation. Kind of like Trump and Brexit. Not.

Well, I suppose there's some similarity. The buffoon who could very well become our next president has a few deficiencies, not the least of which is a complete absence of principles. Unless we consider self-aggrandizement to be a principle. And racism. And xenophobia. And stuff like that. It's not surprising that he was able to express great faith in the ill advised referendum, and take full credit for, if not predicting the outcome, not getting it wrong like his "pathetic" opponent did. He has compensated, yet again, for his phantom principles with remarkable bombast. His ignorance is his bliss. And everybody's loss is his profit. He is, come to think of it, the paragon of overcoming adversity.

I don't pretend to be a graceful bike rider; nor do I pretend to understand international currencies. Conversion factors and devaluation confuse me, and, ultimately, one more country without euros won't affect my behavior. As far as I'm concerned, if it's not a green back, it's Monopoly money. Kudos to Trump for his acute understanding of how all this can benefit him.

And, I suppose, kudos to Trump for giving full faith to and taking full credit for what appears to be a global campaign for hatred and exclusion and the dismantling of mosaics and the return to a bunch of warring master races. Kudos to over-compensating for a phantom moral core.