1461 Days to Go

Hegel says somewhere that that great historic facts and personages recur twice. He forgot to add: "Once as tragedy, and again as farce." - Karl Marx

I gave myself two hours to write this, but my preceding business made it 75 minutes or so.

What are we here for?

It already feels like the administration have been there for years, and yet we haven't seen the first of it.

I think the most disparaging thing about the last few weeks has been the pure capitulation of both the business and the Democratic opposition, whose empty words and gestures along with wrong-headed conciliatory acts pervades the foreboding dread like the ashes over Los Angeles.

It wasn't a domination by any means. Election was close and the coalition Trump has amassed is even looser than what he had at his first term. The House is hanging on a knife edge and the Senate, while Republican, seems largely disfavored towards Trump (although they will confirm most if not all the nominees anyway). In some sense, Trump starts with a worse hand than the start of his first term.

And yet why does people in power act like all hope is lost?

The dominating news of the last few days was the shutdown stunt of the TikTok.

When Vine was shut down around the start of Trump's first term, there was a sense of tragedy. Vine was a social media that tried to be worth something, and in that empowered so many under-privileged groups that it was a little miracle.

In contrast, TikTok's shutdown was a farce. And it was a farce from the beginning - the purest example of performative action - action that only makes sense in the barest of context and even then, useless.

It was always the case, but now it has been twisted into something even worse.

The ban of TikTok became law and is still law, but backroom dealing made the law all but a laughingstock. In this case, the act is symbol of what is very likely to come - Trump ignores the law.

I really wish TikTok is not our Reichstag.