silver bullet

Where The Lone Ranger used silver bullets to wound his enemies, the rest of us are probably stuck using them (or anyway imagine using them) to wipe some flummoxed situation out of existence. Marriage, money, flat tires, weakened conditions, hunger, war etc. etc. etc. are all open to the mental template of the silver bullet.

Donald Trump was elected president in part because he promised to "drain the [political] swamp" of congressional gridlock and do-nothing-ism. As former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin was fond of saying in another election cycle, "How's that working for you?"

The question may have issued from the mouth of someone whose intelligence genes could use some scrutiny, but that doesn't change the poignancy of the question.

Yo, Buddhists! Enlightenment -- how's that working for you?
Draining the swamp -- how's that working for you?
Hit the lottery? How's that working for you?
Married the mate of your dreams? How's that working for you?

The silver bullet is everywhere and everywhere it has an unwritten footnote that says, "no investigation beyond this point!"

I wonder how much lighter life's load might seem if the world of silver bullets were consigned exclusively to comic books.