Could Be Serious - But How Would Anyone Know? The Collapse of the Absurd and Serious in American Politics

This week at the client site, I met a guy who works remotely from the UK. We chatted a little.

Later, I was waiting for him to move so I could get by him in a tight space and finally cleared my throat. He quickly apologized and quipped, "Sorry. Those immigrants just come over and get in the way."

"Yes," I replied. "But we are trying to figure out how to build a wall along the Atlantic Ocean."
One of the other Americans said, "And you know who will pay for it."
I nodded. "The good news, Steve, is that you'll have the French to help you to pay for it."

A number of guys laughed but Steve looked genuinely disoriented. As I walked away it hit me, "How would a foreigner know any longer what we consider to be absurd humor and what we genuinely think of as good policy?" In the politics of the right, those two have collapsed.