Trump, an American Pericles: 3 of 3

It would seem that an old story is mapping itself upon a new landscape, that, as they say nowadays, the “simulation is recycling its code”. If so, why should this matter to us?

Pericles lived during a time of literal plague — indeed, was taken by the plague. Trump, who has survived COVID, might yet suffer a metaphorical (political) death.

A description of the disease: “The disorder first settled in the head”. “Externally the body was not very hot to the touch, nor pale in its appearance, but… internally it burned so that the patient… plunged into the rain-tanks in their agonies.”

Is this not the very picture of social media, a metaphorical plague upon our lives??? One is infected by meme (as opposed to gene), whereafter the outward appearance is unchanged though the internal inflammation is unbearable. In a bid for relief, one plunges into the community watering hole, thereby spreading the contagion without finding relief. Just as Athens was physical overcrowded during the war, so are our minds today mentally overcrowded. Of course, some say Trump himself is the disease…

For the sake of argument, let us assume that all the worst things said of Trump are true, in particular that he desires to effect autocracy and rule over his enemies, who, you may have noticed, are legion. Many times have they sought to seize upon him:

The intelligence services abused their investigative power to work against Trump’s campaign before and administration after the election. Whether or not this should be described as a coup, the activities were harmful to Trump — indeed, they might have been politically fatal.

The Fourth Estate, using the false claims promoted by the intelligence services, for years blasted Trump as guilty of collusion with Russia until the Mueller investigation came to naught

Congress impeached Trump for alleged abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

This summer, the Supreme Court ruled 7–2 against Trump in a dispute with a New York prosecutor seeking access to his financial records.

Twitter sometimes contradicts Trump’s tweets and, along with Facebook, recently censored an legitimate news article harmful to his opponent, Joe Biden. The rest of Silicon Valley, Tinseltown, and academia aren’t exactly friendly. School teachers have disciplined students for voicing support. Numerous governors, mayors, and other elected officials have declared themselves part of the Resistance.

In other words, Trump can’t block adverse words and actions by agencies in his own branch of government, by the media, by Congress, by the courts, by Big Tech, by Hollywood, by K to eternity, by any elected official, or by almost anyone. In contrast, many of his supporters are silent, or “shy”, for fear of punishment. And yet he is accused of being a dictator!

Nor is there any mechanism by which this changes; even if he prevails in a contested election he’ll only be in power for four more years, during which time he’ll be constrained as before.

So let’s say it’s fair to observe that Trump, however popular or unpopular, is not and cannot be a dictator — what has this got to do with Pericles?

Pericles, it turned out, was a necessary force for the survival of Athens because only he could keep the system from destroying itself through misguided actions. “He told them to wait quietly… to attempt no new conquests, and to expose the city to no hazards during the war, and doing this, promised them a favourable result. What they did was the very contrary, allowing private ambitions and private interests, in matters apparently quite foreign to the war, to lead them into projects … whose failure entailed certain disaster on the country in the war.”

Absent Pericles, Athens blundered into a vainglorious, catastrophic expenditure of manpower and materiel — a failed military campaign against Syracuse. A few years on a depleted, exhausted Athens gave up the fight. Its walls were torn down, democracy was suspended, and it was ruled by the infamous Thirty Tyrants, who confiscated, exiled, and killed.

Absent Trump, America is likely to suffer one or more catastrophes (though probably not one of a military nature):

Mob Rule — For whatever reasons, left-wing mayors around the country have not put down violent protests in their cities. Some lives and many businesses have been lost. There is no end in sight.

Big Tech Censorship — What used to be rumors have long since been verified: companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Google change their results to favor certain political viewpoints and silence others. Yesterday, they banned wacky Alex Jones in a coordinated effort. Today, they suppress a bombshell story about Biden’s son in a coordinated effort.

Extended Lockdowns — Some of the 30 tyrants seem to have already self identified… The lockdowns, originally sold as a short-term measure to “bend the curve”, have brought out a lust for power in many local and state officials. The chattering classes seem oblivious to the economic and social damage these policies have wrought.

Economic Controls — A massive, top-down intervention like the Green New Deal would see a few well-connected winners and a great many losers who’ll suffer with less prosperity, choice, and opportunity. See Venezuela for where this kind of thing takes society.

Ideological Oppression — Critical Race Theory’s grand claims about what is and isn’t racist (evil) are non-falsifiable, making it a belief system akin to religion. Forcing CRT (religious) conversion upon students and employees in Maoist struggle sessions is toxic, destructive, and harmful to the body politic.

Foreign Influence — China, in particular, has come to have serious influence in Hollywood, the NBA, Big Tech, academia, and elsewhere. For example, movies remove or change elements at the behest of the communist party, lest they be denied access to this market. Needless to say, the country that gives everyone a social credit score, broke its pledges to Hong Kong, and abuses its minority Uighur population is no friend to freedom.

One Party Rule — Packing the Supreme Court would delegitimize the Supreme Court. Ditto similar actions with the electoral college and additional blue states.

While Trump cannot singlehandedly remedy the above issues, a Biden or Harris administration would likely exacerbate each one, because neither Biden nor Harris is strong enough to resist the hard left wing of their party, should they even wish to.

Biden has vaguely condemned violence but not explicitly condemned Antifa, calling it an “idea”. It must be a very powerful idea that it can destroy property and take human life. Trump speaks against Antifa and has offered to send in federal forces, though these offers have been rejected, as in Portland.

Biden has not expressed support for any sort of correction of Big Tech’s excesses. How could he? He owes them a debt of gratitude for boosting his campaign. Harris, the senator from California, has strong ties to Silicon Valley whereas Trump’s DOJ has filed an anti-trust suit against Google. He will probably also make a serious review of Section 230, which lets these companies avoid the accountability for their content that a publisher would normally have.

Biden has said he’d lock down the country if he deemed it warranted, even though the president has no authority to do this. Trump was much criticized for shutting down flights from China in January, including by Biden, who called it “xenophobia”. Between the two, it’s clear that Trump will sooner get us back on track.

Biden promotes the Green New Deal on his site. Trump has culled hundreds of burdensome federal regulations and seen record levels of low unemployment, including the lowest-ever number for black Americans.

Harris accused Biden of racism in the primary, then laughed it off after she became his running mate. Presumably, she couldn’t truck with an actual racist, so she must have been lying then, as opposed to now. This is a good case in point of how the accusation of racism can be used and discarded for political expediency — one of the left’s standard plays. Trump, appropriately, issued a federal ban on CRT training.

The Obama administration, of which Biden was VP, was soft on China — small wonder considering the business ties he has to it through his son. (“private ambitions and private interests”) Trump has, impressively, confronted China and turned its bad practices into a point of discussion, something the political class had previously given up on.

Harris and Biden have refused to provide a position on court packing, leaving the door open with a pledge to set up a study commission. If the Democrats take the presidency and the senate, it could doom this foundational institution.

A recent Gallup poll reported that 56% of Americans say they are better off than four years ago, the highest number ever recorded — and this in the year of COVID! The economy just posted a record quarterly growth rate at 33% annualized, signaling a V-shaped recovery. Normally, an administration would be cruising to reelection with a numbers like that, yet Trump, at this point a proven quantity, again finds himself to be the underdog.

It seems fair to say that if he does lose the election, he’ll have been done in by the plague of negativity.

To be sure, many despise his persona and a detractor might be well pleased to see Trump lose, but if this happens, she will still suffer from the plague. Time will reveal that a new administration does not provide relief, as it did not under Obama after Bush. This citizen, like all of us, has to come to terms with the world and heal inside. This will be very difficult if we live in a polarized society without the rule of law.

Thus, it is not that America can stomach Trump… but that Trump is actually America’s stomach, without whom the bilious elements cannot be contained. We risk sepsis if we lose this tough old gizzard.

“Nor did they finally succumb till they fell the victims of their own intestine disorders.”