The Hills are Alive With the Sound of…Voices!

For some reason this blog has become more heavily accessed – read – by many people throughout the globe. Used to be some heavy traffic from Russian readers and some Chinese. I took these visits from readers to be from universities, perhaps language classes or comparative cultures that read international blogs to grasp a taste of what was going on in the different countries.

My blog is nothing more than the meanderings of the mind of a 73 year old guy. Yes I have a classical education in liberal arts, theology and philosophy. But I also am rooted in the social sciences, history and English language. I write. I enjoy writing. It is my vent for internal pressures building up over uncontrollable happenings in life.

One gets ill and lives with the consequences. One also deals with career challenges and adjusts and adapts to whatever forces are present. Same with social stresses, too. Politics is another such stressor.

In America these days it is the phenomenon of Donald Trump running for President and winning. Unheard of before now. Totally unpredictable. In fact much of Trump’s campaign rhetoric seemed designed to lose the campaign as though he truly didn’t want the damnable position in the first place. He seemed to be playing a game. And lo and behold he won!

It tells those of us in the audience that the electorate is uninvolved, undereducated, self centered and totally capricious.

Like Brexit in England where the Common Market partnership has been jettisoned, Trump’s presidency promises to be a game changer in world affairs.

Although I am no fan of Trump or his supporters, I do think his unusual behavior may shake things up a bit that needed some shaking.

That aside – because those are totally speculative and results will need to be observed as they happen rather than knowledgeably predicted – the American people do not know any better than the rest of the world what will happen because Trump is resident in the White House.

My sister – 74, soon to be 75 – has tagged Trump “he who shall not be named” does not accept him as her president. No way. Although I am sympathetic with such feelings, I know that the rest of us must deal with the real situation. And that includes Trump as president.

He does not represent my views. Hell, he doesn’t even represent my mood, attitudes, or values and philosophy. I don’t know what he believes in, but I think he believes in himself and his own abilities. I don’t think he is very smart, but I do think he is very intuitive. He is good at working out deals that smile beneficently on himself and not his fellow investors. So I suspect he will do well if America’s interests and his own are in sync. If they are not, he will follow what is good for him.

In his own special way, The Donald feels that what is good for Him is good for America.

That, I think, will be the true trump card in understanding the Donald.

Do I respect him? Not one bit. I don’t understand him nor like him. I do understand he is the President-Elect and will soon be inaugurated as President. He will then have bully pulpit powers and real authority to take some actions. He will exercise leadership in ways we haven’t seen in generations. So what will result eventually is totally unknown at this time. But it won’t be all bad.

Nor will it be all good. There will be difficulties along the way just as it has been for other presidents through history. Trump will have to forge his own way through the thicket of policy and politics and constitutional law.

I just hope he doesn’t do any real and lasting damage as he muddles his way through that thicket.

To the rest of the world, welcome to the nightmare of bad politics and an detached electorate. They know not what they do. And they seem glorified with that dangerous attitude. But they will not be denied their hour in the sunlight.

For the rest of us – and yes, that means leaders in Europe, Russia and China – we will have to wait and see what all of this means. We are on uncharted ground here. You and I may think we can use the usual responses and strategies to deal with Trump, but we would be foolish to do so.

No. Wait and see a bit first. Then let’s gather round the fireplace for a chat and see what is what. Perhaps then we can plot a better path forward for you and I and the rest of the caring world community!

Sheesh!  What a mess! 

It will be interesting, though. Nothing dully about The Donald; well, maybe his intellect is a little dull. But those intuitions; those darn intuitions may surprise us all yet!  Stay tuned.

December 15, 2016