I am finding it very difficult to accept the fact that Trump, Vance and Musk are the face of our nation. I am at odds with most of their policies and actions, but it is their arrogance and toxic behavior that most disturb me. I despise bullies, blowhards, braggarts.
I have interacted with many people in my seventy years of life, from childhood friends to teachers to coaches to bosses to co-workers and subordinates. People exhibit many different types of behaviors, from enchanting to offensive.
I have had coaches, teachers and bosses who were taskmasters and quite demanding. I accepted that behavior in good faith if their approach was respectful and had a measure of humility. But some of them were malicious. Their treatment of others was imbued with arrogance and a mean spirit. When they were critical, they spoke angrily and hurtfully, not caring about the impact of their words and their actions. They did not hesitate to brag about their own capabilities while demeaning others. They reacted viciously to any perceived slight. They didn’t acknowledge or tolerate nuance or ambiguity or disagreement.
They could be quite charming and friendly under some circumstances, especially with friends and acquaintances, or people they considered their equals. But their mode of management and direction was brutal. They had a tendency to lie or misrepresent things to obtain their goals. They were the personification of ‘the ends justify the means’. Some were spectacularly successful. Trump, Vance and Musk are these people on a larger stage.
The substantial part of our nation that voted for Trump is either blind to his obvious narcissism and mendacity, or they are willing to accept ‘rough’ behavior in the service of crushing woke culture or fixing our economic woes. I suppose that in their view, liberal elites and government workers looked down upon them and belittled their religious beliefs, their patriotism, and their concerns about government excess. Trump, Vance and Musk are their avengers, and their supporters don’t seem to mind the cruel tactics they employ. Indeed, they appear to be delighted. So much for our better angels.
Trump’s petty, vindictive acts – renaming the Gulf of Mexico, threatening Greenland, Panama and Canada, treating Europe like a vassal state, firing non-white and female military leaders, threatening and firing government workers without any real analysis of what parts of government can reasonably be trimmed, taking away security details from people who have criticized him, excoriating a courageous leader who rallied his nation against a ruthless Russian invasion – may have underlying motives that one can assign to his overall ‘America first’ mantra. But the manner in which he has conducted his first month in office is unquestionably that of a brutish and arrogant tyrant.
In my worldview, there is no excuse for arrogance or cruelty. There is a sadistic element in the Trump/Vance/Musk playbook. It is purposely vengeful. It delights in shocking and wounding. And I am ashamed to have these men represent me in the world.
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