Making sense of an insane world

Yesterday was a difficult day. Someone nearly murdered Donald Trump and succeeded in murdering some poor chap who'd gone to watch him, England lost in the final of the Euro's and our 12 year old Labrador/Rotweiller/Ridgeback rescue dog is off colour. Of those things one is a devastating tragedy. Which one do you think I am referring to? I am of course referring to the poor chap who got killed in the crossfire by the would be assassin at the Trump rally. Trump got very lucky, he got a nick on his ear. I totally get that the method he got it was horrific, but he'll live and if anything the incident did him a favour at the polls. The poor bloke who died, has a family that are in pieces, yet it hardly gets a mention in the story. To my mind, the story is "man gets murdered at Donald Trump rally by deranged shooter". The shooter apparently got off seven shots, which implies a semi automatic rifle. In a sane rational world, there would be some debate in America of allowing unrestricted access, without checks, to such weapons. It is a miracle that the shooter only killed one person. I am not a fan of Donald Trump, but we have a ballot box for passing judgement on politicians we don't like and if we find ourselves in a minority, then maybe we need to look at ourselves, or the alternatives that like minded people have up. Of course I am British, I have no vote in America and we have strict gun control laws. These mean that the chances of me ending up suffering the same fate as the poor chap at the Trump Rally are pretty small. In Great Britain, we throw coffee over people instead. I don't condone the Farage assaults, but I think even Farage would concede that he'd prefer coffee to a bullet. I was chatting with an American friend about Farage and the coffee. They told me that it would never happen in the USA, because the security detail would shoot the assailant. It was a perspective I'd not really thought of.

When I went to bed last night, my mood was melancholic. I had a very odd and perhaps rather insightful dream. I often dream of my Dad when I am down. I usually get some insight into the problem of the day. Last night was no exception. For those who don't know me, my Dad passed away in 1987 at the age of 69. He was former RAF Officer and a WW2 bomber pilot. He was a staunch Conservative, a member of the Hendon North Conservative association and mate of former Tory MP John Gorst. He was also a business owner and a staunch Roman Catholic. As an Aussie, he also had a great sense of humour loved a drink and a chat. I miss him dearly, to this day. Whenever I have dreams with him, he is still alive and in rude good health. Last night, we were sitting in our front room, having a whisky and with him was his best mate Fr Bernard Traynor, an old, retired missionary priest, who passed away in 1981, but was a lovely bloke. We were having a good old chat, the sort that we'd have most nights at my parents house in the late 1970's. My Dad always had a massive interest in the news and would insist we watch News at Ten. He asked if the news was on. I said "Oh, someone tried to shoot Donald Trump, but he survived, I'm worried that it means he'll sail through the election". At this Dad and Fr Traynor burst into laughter. I genuinely have no idea what he'd have made of Trump, but I suspect he'd be unimpressed. Their reaction startled me. I said "what's so funny". Dad looked at Fr Traynor and said "Have you forgetten what we always used to tell you, the Lord moves in mysterious ways".

At that, my wife woke me up with a cup of tea. As ever I am deeply saddened to once again have my Dad ripped away from me. But then I thought about his comment. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that we don't really have any clue at all about what effect the bullet grazing Donald Trumps ear may have had on him. Back in 1988, I was run over by a car jumping traffic lights in Burnt Oak, doing 40 mph. The doctors said that they'd never seen anyone walk away from such an accident before (albeit very bashed up and suffering  the effects to this day). In the two or three seconds between realising the car was going to hit me and it actually hitting me, I had a very strange experience. Time seemed to stand still and I saw everything with absolute clarity. I thought I was going to die, but I had no fear at all. I just had an overwhelming sense that everything was really alright and that it would be nice to see my Dad and other family and friends who had gone before me. Then a little part of me said "Jump". I jumped and the car bonnet slammed into me, I rolled across the bumper and me feet went through the windscreen. That was what saved me. From that moment, I've had no fear at all of death and I have had a lot less interest in material possessions, beyond what I need to get me through. Don't get me wrong, I like being comfortable, but a part of me changed and made me only really desire to make the best of my time here. I started to appreciate the beauty of the planet a lot more and to feel the need to speak out against those who disrespect this amazing world we live in. But I also understand that most people have not had such an experience. 

Whish brings me back to Donald Trump. He has been saying that God saved him. I think most of us might be tempted to be a tad cynical, but what if Trump had some sort of revealation as the bullet whizzed through his ear. What if something changed in Donald Trump at that moment? You may be cynical, but who really knows what went on in his mind. I have never seen Trump as a spiritual man. He has always struck me as the embodiment of materialism, but such experiences do change people. Maybe the Donald Trump we will get this time will be a different Donald Trump. If I were a betting man, I'd not put money on it, but as my Dad used to say "The Lord moves in mysterious ways". 

It is difficult making sense of this insane world. A world where we have the choice between Donald Trump or Joe Biden. Politically, I much prefer Biden, but it is pretty clear that he's losing the plot. He shouldn't be standing in the first place. As for Trump, it is a principle of British law that a man is innocent until proven guilty, but in a system where the highest judges in the land owe you one, it is hard to make a case for justice. But the one judge that Donald Trump can't outrun is the grim reaper. He literally dodged a bullet on Saturday, but he is an old man. Whatever may or may not have happened on Saturday, he will have been reminded of his own mortality. That can do strange things to you. Last year, at this time, I was preparing for a major operation to resolve my prostate cancer. Although it was unlikely that the operation would kill me, there is a chance, so I tried to get my affairs in order. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to say if the blog on the 8th August was my last. So I deliberately chose an important topic that was close to my heart. I realised that if the worst happened, it would get a lot of views.  I deliberately did not write something that could be seen as being a prediction of something awful happening. To me it was important to emphasis that there was still work to do. 

Tonight Donald Trump will address the Republican conference to get confirmed as the US presidential candidate. There is talk that he tore up his old speech and has written a new one. I am fascinated by this. There is talk that we'll see a new side to Trump. Will that be a Trump that discovers humility or will it be the Trump that believes he's indestructable. Over the course of history, we've seen both things happen, people have a 'wake up moment' or dodge a bullet or bomb and change. Sometimes it is for the better, sometimes for the worse. All I can say is that I sincerely hope that when I look back at this particular entry of The Barnet Eye, I can see what my Dad & Father Traynor were laughing about and can say "That didn't turn out so bad now, did it?". The alternative is really too horrible to mention. 

But then again, people are a fickle lot. Just look at some of the things they are saying about Gareth Southgate after England lost narrowly to what was obviously the best team in the tournament last night. You'd think England had won ten world cups and seven Euro's the way some people talk about what we should be doing, rather than the reality that Iceland knocked us out of the tournament before Southgate took over. Whereas Trump sums up every trait I find repugnant in a leader, Southgate is a good guy who has done a great job. Funny old world. 

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