PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

The President’s State of the Union message turned into a free-for-all with everyone shrieking they were better leaders.

Orange Man bellowed, “I’m getting rid of all those criminal aliens and yes, there will be a few American casualties, but all for the greater good.”

Former female candidate screamed, “I’m shocked that the Supreme Court sided with the detransitioners even though they were scammed by the medical industry.”

Big City Mayor added, “Reality and economics has sabotaged my promises to give everyone everywhere free everything.”

The sane people watching thought, “All of these politicians are nuts. We need a new government.”

This is a rare second contribution to Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers this week, but I’ve noticed that a lot of doom and gloom is being generated post-President Trump’s recent State of the Union message.

One hundred words isn’t enough to even scratch the surface of everything that he said not to mention all of the dynamic responses. My main point here is to state that just because “Orange Man Bad” doesn’t mean that everyone who opposes him is good, right, and problem-free.

To address Trump’s use of ICE, I’m citing articles from PBS.org, Fox 9 KMSP News, and The Associated Press, all exposing various and significant problems with the agency.

I know the issues of providing what has been called “gender affirming care” to minors is particularly sensitive, but what I’ve suspected for years is finally being confirmed in the courts. Some kids are being inadequately assessed and pushed through medical procedures that are not only unnecessary but harmful.

In support, I’ve referenced articles from the New York Post, The Hill, and The Christian Post as to abuses by the psychiatric, medical, and public education systems.

As far as Mayor Mamdani and New York City are concerned, it’s become apparent that his campaign promises were wholly unrealistic and that he is unable to provide any of the “free” goods and services he said he would.

In evidence, I’m presenting another New York Post article, one from The City, and a statement from the New York City Transit Supervisors Organization.

Before anyone says it, I concluded that it was impossible to find completely bias-free news sources from any point of view,  so I did the best I could. From what I can tell, objective reporting died a long and painful death sometime in the last decade or two.

The bottom line is that I’m not defending Trump or ICE. I am stating that even the significant dangers they present have been overblown in the imaginations of some people in order to characterize him as the ONLY danger we face from politicians.

The reason I’m an Independent (yes, I lean conservative) is that I don’t trust political parties and politicians. As a registered voter for over fifty years, I’m tired of voting for “the lesser of two evils” when I know they’re all “evil” though in differing ways. There are no good or bad guys in (especially) national politics, just bad and worse guys (and gals).

As always, if you’re surfing in from the web and want to read other stories based on the photo prompt above, visit inlinkz.

Part of the job of fiction writing is to comment on the real world through an alternate lens. That includes saying things that make people uncomfortable. If people can push past their visceral response, they might discover something new in their perspective. I do that all the time and it’s not easy.

END rant.