A letter to Donald Trump’s children
I have a limited knowledge of the history of the USA but I did think that the American War of Independence was fought in order to cast off the yoke of a foreign, constitutional and hereditary monarchy, and establish a republic, under the control of an elected President.
Post WWII, when I was in my early teens, my understanding was that any American citizen could aspire to become President.
Times change. Only those with many $millions have a chance of running in the race to the top.
The growth of globalisation, of massive commercial giants, of monopolies and influential social media, has transformed the world to one which is ruled by financial interests.
The USA may pay lip service to a god, but it more often seems to be the almighty dollar, rather than some ephemeral being, which guides politics.
That said, America does not seek for an established dynasty, except in its TV fantasies, and its most recent President – Donald J Trump – has seemed unable to distinguish between the seductions of power and the duties created by responsibility.
POTUS is not elected to look after those who voted for her/him but for all USA citizens.
And the increasing death toll from COVID-19 shows how poorly Trump has managed his responsibilities.
A glance at other democracies would reveal that the outcomes of many elections take days to be determined. Postal, absentee and other forms of voting which can be conducted before Polling Day will always delay the determination of the final outcome, particularly if an election is closely fought.
It is a display of ignorance of the process to expect an instant result and call foul when it does not occur.
Donald Trump may have been popular with a certain cohort of the US population, but popularity and competence are not necessarily synonymous.
Trump had no prior experience of working in government – being a director of a board carries some similar responsibilities to those of a publicly elected government officer, but they are far from identical.
Throughout his term in office Trump has displayed a woeful ignorance of the USA Constitution, the legal system and diplomatic processes.
Being popular, by entertaining the crowd, does not cut it when it comes to developing and maintaining international relationships.
At no time, even before his incompetence was so clearly displayed, did Trump’s election give any room for members of his family to have any grounds to believe that he could pass his mantle on to them.
Yes – several members of the Bush family have risen to high office in State or Federal politics, but they all did so through their own efforts from a variety of government backgrounds.
Being President should never be regarded as a means to promote one’s own interests – rather, one has little time to perform the job of President as well as promote one’s own interests!
The present display by the President’s children (let alone his legal counsel!) of petulant refusal to accept the legality of the process by which their father has been denied a second term, is a clear indication of their unsuitability to ever think of, themselves, standing for high office.
Acceptance of defeat is the honourable course to follow.
Only a mountebank refuses to accept the truth and seeks to subvert it!
But then again – truth and Trump have never been comfortable bedfellows!
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10 comments
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Matters Not
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B Sullivan
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leefe
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RosemaryJ36
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DrakeN
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Josephus
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Matters Not
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Phil Pryor
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Kathryn
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Michael Taylor
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But Trump didn’t have even that ‘board’ experience. Always been the proverbial lone wolf. Both in business and in life.
Probably should add that he was a six (6) time bankrupt as well. Perhaps only in America?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/02/21/trump-wasnt-a-real-ceo-no-wonder-his-white-house-is-disorganized/
Rosemary, most Americans also have a limited knowledge of US history. Consequently, the American War of Independence has easily been mythologised as being about oppressive taxation without representation. The taxes were reasonably imposed to pay for the cost of fighting the Seven Years War which had permanently removed the threat of a French takeover of the colonies. The brunt of this cost was paid for by King George III’s oppressed subjects in Britain while the American colonists were taxed quite lightly in comparison especially considering what they had gained in assuring their security,
What the ruling classes in the 13 States really objected to was George III’s treaties with the bordering Native Tribes which prevented the colonies from expansion into their territories. The King’s protection of the natives was regarded as unconscionable tyranny.
Ironically it was the French defeat of a British supply fleet that ultimately forced the British army to surrender allowing the US to claim victory and commence its genocidal policy of Manifest Destiny in the name of its newly created fake democracy under a fake god. The supply of British convict slave labour had to be replaced with more slaves from Africa who didn’t qualify for the rights guaranteed by the USA’s brand new constitution and Britain turned Australia into its new convict dumping ground.
The rest is fake history.
@B Sullivan
The fake history began before that. The whole idea that the Puritans went to the US to escape religious persecution, for instance. They wanted the freedom to impose religious persecution on others, and boy, have they ever made the most of it.
The popular story of US history is far from accurate (not that the US is alone in that).
I did say my knowledge of American history was limited!! It is clearly VERY limited!
RosemaryJ36, you are far from alone in that lack of education.
Few residents in the USofA have any real knowledge of their own history.
Much can be said of the same in the Australian knowledge of the evil deeds of the invaders, and their heirs and their successors, of this country.
“History is written by the victors.” – not the oppressed.
Not to mention the Kennedy dynasty, Rosemary J36.
Interesting too to recall that German consort Prince Albert was especially prominent in the UK anti slavery movement. Some Little Englanders hated the German Prince for being so public in his opposition.
It is time that schools told the truth too about the colonial invasion and the massacres in Australia.
As for the hypocrisy of those who wrap themselves in national flags, the Anzac Day shenanigans are no longer mainly lest we forget occasions, but rather exemplify nationalistic pro military propaganda. I asked a Vietnam vet. after one such event in the village why only one side was remembered post WW1, mentioning in passing that both my grandfathers had been conscripted to fight for the losing side in that horrific world war. His reply: it is too soon! This after a century! So much for respecting the anti war sentiments of many soldiers and others post WW1. including my grandfathers.
Always recommended to consider the nature of HISTORY itself. A reasonable starting point is EH Carr’s What is History
Just google What is History and there’s a mountain of links – including summaries, clips etc. Also it’s a very short book and thus popular with students. Worth taking the time. A great starter in understanding historiography.
Matters offers us a go at Carr’s What is History, a very good book but, difficult and not a beginner’s book (though it was for us long ago) ; worth taking time indeed, but few students enjoyed wrestling away with it. I had it for decades, but like many it has gone or not been returned. May I suggest adding in some glances at the New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought, for hints and leads. (highly compressed). “We here” are probably not typical of the general run of interest or doggedness…
The Republicans have not been able to put forward a single decent President – EVER! Let us NEVER forget that George W Bush is an internationally condemned war criminal who, along with our equally appalling, totally corrupt and self-serving John Howard and England’s Tony Blair, were responsible for the genocidal murder of countless millions of innocent Iraqis and Syrians for the sake of political expediency and the fact that they needed to ramp up a suitable “distraction”, create a flag-waving nationalistic diversion for no other reason than because they stank in the polls! This is a horrific war that has needlessly cost the lives of millions and countless TRILLIONS of dollars- is STILL costing us trillions – with an ensuing debt that we have no hope of paying!
His elder sons are anything but presidential. Since the election loss they’ve been tweeting off conspiracies as well as suggesting violence.
And speaking of violence, did I mention their trip to Africa for the sole purpose of murdering beautiful big cats? 😢