I used to think of indulging in a late night bowl of mint chocolate chip while watching Colbert or buying myself flowers (yes, even bouquets from the grocery store) constitute guilty pleasures.

But, my idea of a guilty pleasure has expanded. Between the bird flu putting family farms out of business, rapid price increases and trends in criminal activity where cartons of organic eggs are actually stolen from trucks, a two or three-egg omelet now qualifies as well.

What would Doctor Seuss say?

I will not eat green or golden eggs and ham.

I cannot afford them and Trump won’t give a damn.

 

I cannot afford them

With my spouse. I can’t afford them at Waffle House.

Even discounted from a Costco box

Or while watching wake-up news with my friends at Fox.

I can’t afford them with a side of hash.

Soft-boiled or over-easy, I just don’t have the cash.

 

The President does something outrageous every day, usually illegal, patently stupid, almost always cruel.

Just a few days ago, he tried to embarrass Vladimir Zelensky, President of Ukraine, in the Oval Office. Days earlier, he called Zelensky a dictator, although his behavior tells us he needs to point the finger at himself. It’s hard to imagine anyone having the cajónes to broker a “peace deal” without inviting all concerned to the meeting.

It is amazing that, with the world watching, he felt entitled to lecture the very brave leader of a war-torn country about gratitude, card-playing and deal-making. Zelensky has expressed gratefulness for the support of Americans for years and swallowed his own pride to come to Trump and ask for his help to save lives.

Zelensky’s countrymen have embodied the American, freedom-loving spirit more than any MAGA hat wearing supporter that waves the red, white and blue.

Trump acts as if everyone will just fall in line. And they often do. Republican politicians seem to have all come down with severe memory problems, ignoring oaths of office and caring only about their future within the context of the next election cycle.

It sometimes seems that Trump is crazy, that he is not interested in solving any problems,  but then I realize that’s the entire point of his actions and policies.

His goal is dismantling any guiding principles that might affect how American society functions and only cares about his own personal power. He’s not concerned with solving problems.

Every day, I probably receive 30 emails asking me to donate to prevent Trump from bending or breaking conflict of interest laws. Not only does he not care about the common good, he only seems interested in policies that make him or his donors richer.

The appeals come from organizations trying to stop the deforestation of our land, stop coal-mining, save public education, support a national post office, and more. This is on top of organizations that want to ensure democracy in North America is not left to be championed by Canada and Mexico.

This is all very discouraging (and exhausting). Even if every progressive leaning adult donates one triple-matched dollar, would that create a dent in the threat? Would that wake up those who have been asleep?

I wonder if talking about democracy’s demise, although a real threat, is not the best message for ending the cycle of us versus them. Perhaps we should connect over the guilty pleasures we share. Maybe hope lies in the price of eggs.

It’s been brought up many times that the 47th president’s attitude about Americans might be best summed up by the dating expression, “He’s just not that into you.”

After dismissing the effects of changing our climate and energy policy, down-sizing agencies that guard against consumer fraud and ensure safe air travel, and imposing tariffs on historically reliable trading partners, an act Warren Buffet compares to an “act of war,” one might think more Americans would get the message, “He’s just not that into US.”

I choose to have faith that more and more Americans will wake up to this fact and choose to collaborate for the sake of our common interests. I choose to believe some people will come around and refuse to be lied to any more.

Maybe, it will be the price of eggs. Hope is not a guilty pleasure. It’s a necessity. And, any cause to find things in common with people with whom I don’t think of having much in common is worth taking note.

Holding on to faith during trying times is no small thing.