I put so much investment of thought and emotion into what was going on in the US. Over the last few months, the upcoming election – and to a smaller extent, Brexit – simply dominated my waking thoughts. There was an satisfaction in such thinking, believing that I had it all worked out, that the arguments were sound and that, come the day, our side would win out.

We all know now what happened. 

I now feel gutted. Hollow inside. As if, as if there’s been a death. And metaphorically there has been one. A feeling of loss, dressed with a topping of mortal worry for what lies ahead. 

I think I now have a better understanding of how many in the middle classes of Russia felt when the Winter Palace was stormed. At the time, I’m sure plenty of people reassured themselves that it would all be alright, that these Bolsheviks would be just a flash in the pan. I’m sure they joked about their incompetence too.

Clearly, with Brexit and Trump both following the same script, there’s been a societal shift taking place that’s quite fundamental. The approaches that served politicians so well in the past don’t appear to be working anymore. Revolutions happen when the populations bifurcate into haves and have-nots, but somehow this feels different. Sure, there are enough Wall Street bankers and overpaid CEOs to cause real concerns, but I don’t think this is enough to explain it. Trump, after all, is technically one of them. Maybe the “haves” this time around, are the internet savvy, the educated, the socially mobile, the progressives. Without understanding it, they became the new elite; those for whom the world was their oyster. The “have-nots” are everyone else. As old norms declined, as their jobs and values rapidly became less relevant, they stewed; jokes and offhand insults only intensifying their anger. 

If the Internet was a revolution, we are now experiencing a kind of counter-revolution. Because we were all living in our own social media bubbles, we didn’t realise what a danger those on the other side of the digital divide might pose.

Had there been a chance, or had we been listening, perhaps there could have been a conversation to be had: how to keep society together in the light of the greatest technological change in history. The question is, with Trump and what comes after, will there be a chance? Racism, homophobia, sectarianism and sexism have been given a new voice. Democracy itself is under threat. Four years of Republican rule in the US could be shockingly brutal for us all.

But, something to remember, 

Clearly, I was wrong.

I underestimated the strength of Trump and his supporters.

We’re into new territory now. Heavens help us all.

I created this blog 10 years ago. I’ve been posting to it occasionally and regularly over that time. My blogging has been quite random, mainly covering the boundaries between science and pseudoscience, but it’s also been a place to post my photos.

The original name of the blog was “Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers”, shortened subsequently to “Sunny Spells”. A few years ago, I became aware that another blog of the same name had been created. This other blog has been quite successful. It talks bravely about the very important topic of depression, a topic indeed close to my own heart.

In order to avoid confusion between our blogs, and perhaps to give my blog a name more attuned to the things I write about, I have decided to move to a new site: passiveimpressions.com. Over the weekend, I will move all my content will there. Any hits to this blog will be automatically redirected there.

Stay tuned. If you are a follower of this blog, I hope to see you on the other side.

It strikes me that Hillary Clinton is going to have one of the easiest campaigns of any candidate for American President in modern history.

In normal times, elections often focus on policies and the decisions likely to be made should they rule the country. Serious politicians will have thought at length about unemployment and growing the economy. They will have detailed plans on social policy, helping the marginalised, crime, education, health, transport, environmental issues and defence. This is to convey the impression that they are ready for government, that they have new ideas and that their policies are better than the opposition. In serious elections with serious politicians, these issues will be teased apart from every angle imaginable. The politicians will get grilled on their grasp of the issues; they will be hammered for their mistakes. Attritional battles will be fought on many fronts, requiring super human energy from the candidates.

These, of course, are not normal times. Clinton’s policies are wholly subsidiary to the personality and sheer instability of her opponent. She could have a plan to introduce compulsory military service for twelve year olds, or to drill a hole through the centre of the earth, or to chocolate-bomb Djibouti, and no one would care. As long as it’s her in the Presidency and not the impetuous man-child who happens to be the only opposition candidate in town, how bad could it be?

So while he rants about walls and guns, political correctness and single mothers, while he insults military families and respected judges and while he threatens assassinations and insurrections, Hillary can sit back, knowing that she doesn’t need to defend her policies in any great detail.

And honestly, that’s a great pity. In the end it’s these policies that will have the greatest impact on the lives of ordinary Americans and the rest of the world. A credible opposition would at least be able to apply forensic scrutiny to her platform, giving us an insight into the type of Presidency she might have in store. We already know what kind of dystopian disaster a Trump administration might be, but with Hillary, well, we’re going to have to take her word for it.

And called an idiot.

Turns out I may not have just an army of one after all. 

Thank you to the many friends I can call upon if this story goes further.