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PGTS Humble BlogThread: Only in the USA |
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Gerry Patterson. The world's most humble blogger | |
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Too Much And Never Enough |
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Chronogical Blog Entries: |
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Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2021 23:00:00 +1100Taken from an email on the topic of Mary Trump's book Too Much And Never Enough. |
I've completed Mary Trump's excellent little book. And as I said earlier, it doesn't really contain any shocking revelations. I already had the opinion that apart from an extraordinary propensity for bullshit and invective, Trump was devoid of talent. What Mary Trump has done is give a detailed explanation of the origins of his sociopathy. As an experienced clinical psychologist and member of the Trump family she is eminently qualified for the task. And she has carried it off with diligence and attention to detail and kept the narrative interesting and engaging. It is recommended reading for the Trump minions, many of whom will ultimately suffer the same fate as his previous enablers, abandoned when they ceased to be useful. In this regard Trump is a classic cardboard cut-out villain, insisting on unquestioning loyalty from all who surround him and at the same time ready to betray them or let them them take any consequences for his misdemeanours, provided they do not possess some damning evidence that point back to Trump's responsibility
I think that the experience of the Trump presidency has been a salutary lesson in what could go wrong. What if Trump had been as devious and experienced at dealmaking and corruption as his father? Or worse still if had been as cunning as Hitler or Stalin? Possibly, if he had, you might argue, he would not have run for president? ... But the fact remains that given his profound lack of knowledge and curiosity about so many topics, Trump was still able to inflict great damage on the USA. And a more skillful and imaginative operator may have succeeded in subverting the election result ... Even his lame, dumb-ass attempt at subversion was briefly considered by some courts, although ultimately dismissed as baseless and/or frivolous. His final attempt at inciting the small group of brown-shirts and neo-fascists that he has pandered to and dog-whistled to, throughout his first and second campaigns and his presidency, was another example of his complete lack of foresight, judgement and strategic thinking. As I said earlier, it should also be a salutary lesson for his supporters. The poor saps who heeded his incitements and then lead the masses of Trump supporters, many in fancy dress, in an assault on the capital have since been thrown under the bus by Trump. Just more Trump enablers who have ceased to be useful. I could almost imagine him sitting back, in front of his screen, chuckling with merriment when their squeals of disappointment and rage pop up on social media as the Feds close in on them, just like the classic unimaginative, one-dimensional cartoon like villain that he seems to be.
The question remains whether the Republicans can quickly come to their senses and cut their ties with Trump. There will probably be some adverse developments for him as various authorities close in, especially in regard to tax fraud, which he has obviously committed on numerous occasions. It is Mary Trump's view that many chickens are coming home to roost. And to date her predictions have been accurate. Unfortunately for the GOP many Republicans are taking a short term view, not thinking beyond the upcoming midterm elections. The smarter ones, like Mitch McConnell already realise that Trump is a loose-cannon and this second impeachment trial represents an opportunity to throw him overboard. However I don't think there are enough Republicans who agree with him.
At least on one count, as historians consider his legacy, there may be a singular superlative that Trump has achieved.He may come to be considered the worst president in history. And for a mental-midget like Trump that is a considerable achievement
On a similar topic there is quite a good little piece here, written by Greg Miller, on "The enduring allure of conspiracies" Miller says that conspiracy theories are nothing new. And I am inclined to agree. In fact I would go even further than Miller. If you take into account the superstitions and mumbo-jumbo of various religions in human history and prehistory, you could say that conspiracy theories are as old as humanity and the ability to speak. Miller doesn't go that far, but he does give some good examples of conspiracy theories in the origins of the USA and its recent history. One thing that he does bring to our attention is that there has been a disturbing development that applies to Donald Trump ... Until recently conspiracies required a framework of some sort. A list, sometimes small, sometimes a compendium that could be said to support the theory. Also it required a mechanism to exploit the age old human vulnerability to repetition, in order to reinforce the theory. This would require networks of like-minded individuals and after we started to rely on the written word for our social and technological memory, would be greatly enhanced by the machinery of publishing. The development that Miller brings our attention to is the ability to spread conspiracy theories by repetition alone. Something that has already been highlighted by researchers in psychology. And in the view of your humble correspondent, it is a troubling development