Kommentar meines Bruders Tom (lebt in Australien)
by Tom Kath
POTUSI first read this word in a note written by George Bush Senior, regarding a deep ideological dispute he had with his son “Dubbya”, who was then President Of The US. In regard to the current one, Trump, there is no question that he is by farthe most controversial POTUS at least in living memory. He is universally detested by virtually the entire world as well as by about 48% of Americans themselves. Those who support him, as well as those who oppose him, cannot but acknowledge him as quintessentially American. His detractors despise him asmerely a successful business tycoon, and therefore unfit for this office, although there is never any comparison made to the suitability of a cattle farmer (Bush), peanut farmer (Carter), cowboy movie actor (Reagan), Playboy (Clintons, Kennedys), let alone “more experienced politicians” such as Swarzenegger or Clint Eastwood.Certainly from a personal or emotional perspective, Trump does seem to represent the more excessive even repulsive American psyche of deluded greatness and disregard to the point of absolute ignorance of anything notAmerican. That this quintessential American ness has polarised even Americans,is not surprising. Most leaders aim to portray themselves as representing the essential spirit of their people, which in probably all cases can be seen as embarrassing, since it tends to present itself as an exaggeration or caricature. What could be more American these days than someone obsessed with money and twittering on his mobile phone all day?So! There are two questions we must answer. 1/ Are we in favour of continued American Imperial rule? And 2/ Is POTUS Trump a silly fool? – Obviously, if you were in favour, you would want a more astute leader, and if he isn’t a silly fool you would support him. – If you are not in favour of continued American imperialism, you would be glad that they are being led by a fool. – Is he? Are you?It is rarely considered possible that POTUS Trump himself may actually not be in favour of continued American imperialism. It is equally rare to see him as astute enough to foresee the inevitable and imminent collapse of American hegemony. Iam not the only one to have drawn analogies between Trump’s position and role, and that of Gorbachev at the time. To prepare and transition a population from a self perception of great world dominating power, to the realities of being just a player, (albeit a very significant big one), is not a simple overnight matter given that you want to prevent a brutal crushing. Any true leader with the interests of his people at heart, and sufficient insight, would naturally try to prevent brutal annihilation.As to the true picture, like most things, the reality probably lies somewhere between the extreme perceptions of both his foolishness as well as his seeminglyquintessential American dream. In the meantime, whether he is exceptionally wise or in fact absolutely stock standard average common Yankee, no POTUS or indeed any other dictator in the world, ever rules single handed and the
convincing, selecting, and manipulating of his aides to a changed direction is necessarily an ongoing process.I have mentioned before some of the steps or indications of changed direction which Trump has made. 1/ The challenging of a deluded American self perceptioncreated by misleading or “fake” media. 2/ The subtle undermining of this delusion of greatness with the slogan “Make America Great Again”, implying the inescapable fact that it is not as great as we think now.3/ Repeated attempts to reign in entrenched foreign policies of regime change and chaos to prevent any build up of possibly challenging forces. 4/ The addressing of welfare and healthcare as “taken for granted” rights. As well as 5/ the more masculine perception of Territorial Sovereignty, symbolically beginning with America’s.His methods, often reminiscent of an impulsive child playing with a mobile phone, make him seem unpredictable, or as is often claimed, “A loose cannon”, but this once again only describes his quintessential American ness. This psyche,once understood, is as predictable as any impulsive child.Finally, the tendency to attribute anything and everything America does to the POTUS, is as flawed as thinking that Malcolm Turnbull is personally responsible for what I am writing. In regard to America, we cannot judge POTUS Trump relative to what you, I, Putin, Xi, or Kim would do, but rather compared to what any realistic alternative would do. The resentment Trump faces, is resentment against American imperial hegemony. He is actually undermining this hegemony far more effectively than any realistic alternative. Whether he is doing so knowingly on purpose or due to childish ignorance (wittingly or unwittingly) is notclear and to me at least, relatively unimportant. Once again, the truth will almostcertainly be a bit of both.