Best of My Love - Shawn's Sense with Shawn Loughlin
Just as the politics of our neighbours to the south continue to devolve, every time I hear about a presidential pardon by Trump I am reminded of the greatest love of all.
Not the song, of course, likely best known for the Whitney Houston version, but the actual greatest love of all. Here - let me put it this way. The other morning, as the sun slowly came up, I saw two racoons together, ambling across our yard to the hole they must call home and I thought to myself that, if the animals weren’t so gross, that it would almost be cute. That greatest love of all - not the love between married partners, nor the love of a mother for her children or even the love of the most devout Christians for their Lord and Saviour.
I am speaking, of course, about the love among fellow scumbags. There is a magnetism that takes hold between the worst people you have ever heard of (and some that you haven’t) that we straights in the mainstream of society will never and could never understand.
This is kind of like how some of the world’s biggest criminals and degenerates seemed to find themselves in the orbit of Jeffrey Epstein, their own personal lord and saviour. These people find each other and whether it’s upon a foundation of shared experiences or that one is a useful idiot to the other, there forms a bond and, while I don’t know you, Dear Reader, personally, I can assure you that this bond is stronger than your marriage, your love for your job and every friendship you have.
When you see news about President Donald Trump pardoning someone, you can be sure that this person is one of the most vile specimens that the world has produced. The most vile is Trump himself, of course, but he has surrounded himself with those who do likewise. Just last week, for example, he issued a pardon for Changpeng Zhao who violated all kinds of money-laundering laws through his business in cryptocurrency. Trump and his ongoing business interests, however, are deeply entwined with such things, so this criminal gets a pass.
Before Zhao, it was George Santos, who had been locked up for identity theft and wire fraud. Hard to believe that Trump would cozy up to such a scummy person, but, hey, he’s a Republican, so no doubt that Trump could use another loyalist criminal owing him a favour.
He has pardoned Rob Blagojevich (conspiracy, extortion - all the hits), Michele Fiore (funnelling $70,000 of money raised for fallen police officers to herself), and much more - mostly a lot of financial corruption stuff. Basically what I’m saying is that if you see an article about Trump pardoning someone or commuting their sentence, you can be sure that the person receiving a favour has done something absolutely horrible and is receiving this gift not from the kindness of Trump’s heart, but in exchange for something down the road. This is all without even mentioning the blanket pardons for anyone who participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection, many of whom have gone on to lead full and interesting lives of concocting murder plots since being released.
So, the next time you look into your child’s eyes or you hug your grandchild or enjoy a tender moment at the dinner table with your beloved spouse, know that what you’re feeling pales in comparison to the love and devotion felt among those who routinely break the law and defraud the regular people of the world. Maybe one day you’ll be lucky enough to experience that love, but today is not that day. It’s a shame that Shakespeare isn’t alive to write a new batch of sonnets about these folks and the love they’ve found together.