UPON WHAT MEAT DOTH THIS OUR CEASAR FEED . . .

 "Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed...?

The corrupting effect of power has been recognized for centuries:

Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" metaphorically (and perhaps presciently) posed the question in terms of a tyrant's diet; with Lord Acton's famous aphorism adding the further warning that "absolute power corrupts absolutely."

                                                                   Julius Ceasar

Credit: Vatican Museum

Rarely, if ever, in the American experience have the consequences of unbridled power in the hands of an ego-driven, would-be tyrant, been as readily apparent as in the unhinged actions of Donald Trump in Tuesday night's very un-Presidential debate.

While the President's tendency toward personally denigrating opponents, demeaning rivals, dismissing critics, denying inconvenient facts and demanding 'absolute loyalty' from traditionally independent agencies and individuals has been well known, and even celebrated by his loyal followers, his behavior in the so-called debate reached a new and threatening pitch in Cleveland. It was as though any limits observed by normal individuals do not and should not be applied to President Trump. Bullying both his opponent and the moderator, Chris Wallace, and refusing to respect even the most minimal rules of courtesy or timekeeping, Trump verbally 'invaded' Mr. Biden's space, finding a way to loom over the proceedings much as he physically loomed over Hillary Clinton in their 2016 debate.

                                                     Donald Trump--official portrait

Credit: Gage Skidmore

Nearly four years into his presidency, having again and again been enabled in his assaults on accepted democratic norms by his political protectors in Congress, and following his success in avoiding any consequences from either the Special Counsel's investigation or his impeachment, Mr. Trump has clearly concluded that he really can say or do whatever he wants.

A somewhat shocking rhetorical assertion by a flamboyant candidate about being able to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue without losing political support has by now become a terrifying reality in the position of the most powerful and dangerous individual in the country, and possibly the world. Refusing to repudiate white supremacists while signaling a right-wing militia group to 'stand down and stand by' activates his rhetoric in real life and death terms.

Coupled with his repeated and direct assaults on the integrity of the upcoming election, while refusing to agree in advance to a peaceful transition of power should he lose, he is further raising doubts and stoking fears about the reliability of the most fundamental processes of democratic governance. Protected by enablers like Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell and increasingly by enforcers such as Bill Barr, the President's sense of invulnerability, omniscience and entitlement has only magnified.

Trump's willingness to use any and every resource, foreign and domestic, to gain power has never been in question from birtherism to the dark arts of social media manipulation at home to the use of American foreign policy to seek-out 'dirt' on his opponents abroad.

As President, with the enormous resources of the federal government at his disposal, he has shown he will fight to remain in office, seemingly without concern about any potential cost to the country.

What was most nakedly displayed on Tuesday's debate stage was, to borrow Shakespeare's terms, Trump's 'diet'. It was as disturbing an exposure as most Americans have ever experienced to the very consequences a ruthless drive for power can bring. It was exactly what our founders, political philosophers (as well as psychiatrists) have warned against over the years.

Power does corrupt, and a stark vision of its workings was delivered to all of us, isolated in our homes, without commercials.

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Les Adler

WHAT "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" REALLY MEANS

I finally get it. To use the current phrase, I'm "woke." I've come to understand what Trump and his supporters mean when they shout "Make America Great Again!"

I've been confused since I first started seeing MAGA on signs and baseball caps and hearing the chant. What Trump was selling--fear, anger, belligerence, racism, xenophobia--didn't seem great to me. But something obviously resonated with his fans.

To me, great is the superlative of good. When I think of something great, it evokes images of the best of something positive, creative, constructive, beautiful; Usain Bolt is a great sprinter, the Beatles were a great band, Moby Dick is a great novel, Casablanca a great movie. You get the idea.

But what I've come to realize is that to Trump and his friends great has a very different meaning. Synonyms would be powerful, dominant, commanding, controlling, top dog, boss. To him and them, a great nation doesn't have to be democratic, just, equitable, prosperous, peaceful, inspiring, sustainable or anything else good. It just needs to be powerful--ready, willing and able to throw its weight around. The biggest, meanest bully on the block.

You can read a succinct and frightening corroboration of this from some Trump associates here.

So when Trump tweets, "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and 'smart,'" his supporters love it. He's demonstrating his and, by reflection, their dominance.

Or for another data point, check out this list of despots and dictators whom Trump admires.

Or this tweet:

"North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!"

I get it. Our nukes are bigger and more powerful than yours. MAGA!

Credit: R.J. ORIEZ/U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO

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Trump outdid himself with his latest MAGA tweet to Iran:

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!

5:24 AM · Jul 23, 2018

A TALE OF TWO BULLIES

I'm sure it's just a coincidence that the two bullies who have bothered me the most were both named Donald T.

The first Donald T. was the biggest bully at my elementary school. (I'm not providing his full name in the hope that he's changed). Taller and beefier than most of the kids, he  seemed to enjoy creating fear and causing pain. In class, when the teacher's back was turned, he pulled girls' hair and punched other boys. At recess, he and his mini-gang liked to single someone out, chase him or her down, taunt, push and punch them, and then scatter before a teacher could intervene.

 A bully in action

Credit: http://bullyingproject.com/bullies-and-victims/

I remember reading comments by a naturalist who pointed out that when predatory animals are on the hunt they are not fearful or angry--they don't show any signs of negative emotions. Instead, they are alert, goal-oriented and aroused in a positive way; you might say they're at the top of their game.

Donald T. and his buddies were like that. Singling out the day's victim, the chase, circling their prey, and the pushing and pummeling were clearly fun for them. Especially if someone really panicked or started to cry, the gang's reaction was not shame or remorse, but gleeful laughter.***

My training and career were in psychology. I'm well aware of the characterological propensities, vulnerabilities and unfortunate developmental events that may turn a child into a bully. However, the existence of such contributing factors doesn't provide much comfort to a bully's victims. I'm also very aware--and wary--of what seems to be our natural human propensity to blame victims for what happens to them. So, on balance, I don't find it particularly helpful to empathize with bullies or try to excuse their behavior.

That brings us to Donald T. number two, the bully-in-chief of the United States.

 Trump and followers at a rally

Credit: Gage Skidmore

I never paid much attention to Trump until he emerged as a presidential candidate. But once I saw him in action, all of my bully-alarm-bells went off. Nothing he's said or done since then has changed that first impression (and a lot that he's said and done has deepened and strengthened my belief that he is a damaged, disturbed and dangerous individual).

I recently read an article from the Washington Post by social scientist Bella dePaulo, entitled "I study liars. I've never seen one like Donald Trump," that clarified why I find Trump so disturbing. DePaulo used the Post's Fact Checker feature to study the more than 1,600 lies or "misleading claims" that Trump emitted during his first 298 days in office--about six whoppers per day. The sheer number of lies he told was "remarkable," but, according to dePaulo, what really set Trump apart was the number of "cruel lies, told to hurt or disparage others."

Here's one example:

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump

Vanity Fair, which looks like it is on its last legs, is bending over backwards in apologizing for the minor hit they took at Crooked H. Anna Wintour, who was all set to be Amb to Court of St James’s &; a big fundraiser for CH, is beside herself in grief &; begging for forgiveness!

7:24 AM - 28 Dec 2017

In one tweet, Trump manages to demean and disparage Vanity Fair (on its last legs and bending over backwards apologizing), Hillary Clinton (crooked), and Anna Wintour (beside herself with grief and begging for forgiveness).

Here's another:

Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office “begging” for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump. Very disloyal to Bill &; Crooked-USED!

5:03 AM - 12 Dec 2017

Senator Gillebrand is a lightweight, a total flunky, begged Trump for contributions, "would do anything for them," and is disloyal, crooked and used. That's a lot of venom to pack into 140 characters, but Trump has obviously mastered the art.

Trump is especially fond of depicting people as begging him for favors, as documented here.

By now, Trump has bashed through so many norms and revealed his pathologies so blatantly and in so many ways, that the fact that he loves to put others down as a way of building himself up is no surprise, nor that the enormous prestige and responsibilities of the presidency have not caused him to temper his behavior. What's more worrisome is that he seems to revel in the cruelty, which means he's not just a bully but a sadist (for examples, click on these links from Alternet, USA Today, the Irish Times, the Chicago Tribune, the book Fire and Fury, and the DailyKos).

But what I find most concerning is that 35 to 45 percent of Americans remain faithful to the bully-in-chief even as he sneaks money out of their pockets to give to giant corporations and the richest one percent. As of January 5, according to the Rasmussen poll, 44 percent of likely voters approve of Trump's job performance, and a remarkable 29 percent strongly approve.

On my grade-school playground, only a handful of sycophants ran with Donald T., basking in the reflected light of his cruelty. But if a third of the kids had rallied around him, joined him in scapegoating, isolating and tormenting one child after another, modeled themselves after him, my sunny and happy elementary school would have become a dark and dangerous place.

I don't know about you, but I don't like where this train of thought is taking us.

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7/17/18--one place is has already taken us is the inexpressibly cruel separation of parents and children at the U.S border, apparently without any mechanism in place to re-unite them.

10/4/18--we saw another ugly glimpse of the sadism of Trump and many of his supporters in his taunting of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford at a rally in Mississippi. As Atlantic author Adam Serwer puts it, "the cruelty is the point."

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*** For a remarkable example of "the gleeful joy of bullying" check out this video of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene harassing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1393208622054842368

or you can watch the whole premeditated sequence in this longer video. The most striking part starts at 10:30:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK6XEqG3UgE