Part of The Petting Zoo Bourgeoisie series.

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” 
– Isaac Asimov
***

World, my country has a fascism problem.

The USA also has a stupidity problem, as the Twitter screengrab proves. While I don’t like word-snobs, if MAGA-Nazis go MAGA-Nazi and pound their chests all alpha-male-manly-man, I will ridicule their misspellings, goddammit.

Comparing Nazis to modern times, I believe that if an outbreak like Covid hit 1930s’ Germany, Adolf Hitler would have worn a mask and urged the German population to protect themselves. Hitler may have been a monster, but Agolf Twitler is also a moron, on top of being a monster. (That could be the title for a new series about these times: “Monsters & Morons.”)

Metaphorically speaking, nuclear war doesn’t feel like a threat with the Trump SignalGate crew in charge. But the possibility of a Chernobyl-type of accident seems like it could happen. Easily. As they trumpet their ugly intentions, I worry that Team Don will unintentionally blow everything up.

His voters suck, too. During the Trump 1 years, I started this Petting Zoo Bourgeoisie series after learning that MAGA wasn’t as destitute and left behind as the corporate-owned media narrative said. JD Vance had just written his hillbilly-book and was working the talk show circuit, yelling about liberals hurting white peoples’ feelings. The media backed up his viewpoint, stating that Trump voters were the country’s most victimized and disrespected citizens.

Thing is, as a block of voters, MAGA had well-paying jobs, retirement plans, health insurance, money for extra investments—more than the median income, by far. They weren’t rich, but plenty of their fellow citizens had it a lot worse.

Looking at this upper-middle-class crowd further, I noticed that they seemed to pride themselves on not reading books or learning about the world around them. They lead with their cluelessness because doing so prompts others to compensate. Dim bulbs, they are. Trash with money. Willful ignorance is their superpower and the lack of curiosity is a sight to behold.

If 19th-century Europe had a social class called the Petty Bourgeoisie, the 21st-century USA’s social class is the Petting Zoo Bourgeoisie. Identical in social class, yes, but not nearly as classy. The petty bourgeoisie dined at local bistros and cafes while the petting zoo bourgeoisie patronizes corporate chain restaurants where they mistreat the waitstaff and undertip out of spite.

Though I am not a parent, I penned thoughts for a parenting guide to help the PZB raise boys who respect wealth more than they respect themselves, since trickle-down economics seems to be a core value. I made both posts easy to read, too, since I know PZB-folks don’t like to stress their brain cells.

When a PZB starts to complain about an issue, sometimes you have to stifle your giggles as they demonstrate a lack of comprehension while kvetching so passionately. The “Back to the Future” character Biff Tannen was inspired by Donald Trump, in case you weren’t aware. Yup, that line in Don’s inauguration speech “Hey, Democracy: make like a tree and get out of here” wasn’t a coincidence.

World: the Vietnam War ruined modern conservatism, The Powell Manifesto manifested. Rush Limbaugh and Ronald Reagan are smiling up from the Beyond.

Treat my country like it is a person whose brain has atrophied. Because that is what you are dealing with. You’re smarter than we are. And that is your superpower.

Earlier posts:
• Bros: America’s New Jews 
• The Intersection of Memory Lane and Flashback Avenue.
• NYC vacay. May, 2003.
• World events since I released my first book.
• Open letter to a selfie of my drunk-ass self, taken on August 11th, 2001.

I write fiction and have two dark comedies available, Fearkiller (Volume 1) and Notes from Trillionaire Island: Fearkiller (Volume 2), as well as Revolutionizer Alpha, the first book in a sci-fi series. I also wrote a story about God. It was weird, but then I decided to make the story and its sequel free. And all of the sudden, it didn’t seem as weird. Writing about God is much less weird when you write about God without charging money for it. Here’s my professional site, my trade. Follow me on Medium.