"We are not amused."

This quote, attributed to Queen Victoria, is exigently applicable to the feelings of many Americans today regarding our current monarchical Executive.  Many in the press and media, and certainly in entertainment, have found much material for merriment both for themselves and for others.

But increasingly in the press, there is no more amusement.  Recent editorials in The New York Times and The Washington Post attest to this welcome literary transformation. 

Now comes The New Yorker with a feature story on the man who transformed Our Military Leader (OML) from a D-list celebrity into a President, or so the article claims.  (I am still reading it at this hour, you see.) 

This article reminds me of the landmark book by Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death.  In this great 1985 non-fiction work, Postman lays out the dangers of a too-shallow television culture which was leading America into a zombie-like state of pixilation and stupor. 

Now, however -- and after all this time -- Americans seem to be waking up once again to reality, and none too soon.  The vexations are trumping humor.  Fear is triumphing over comedy.  No, we are not amused.  But we aren't stupid either.  And tolerance for inanity has its limits after all.