Those of you who know me and who have followed my blog
during the past decade know that I have written frequently about bad leaders
and bad leadership. The definition of a bad leader can certainly vary from
person to person, but in my book, a bad leader is one who does not appeal to
the best in people, but to the worst. A bad leader is one who finds the basest
character traits and behaviors in all human beings, including himself or
herself, and elevates them to something noble. Traits and behaviors such as
narcissism, selfishness, egotism, aggressiveness, violent talk, bullying
others, harassing others, greed, cowardice, making fun of others, being
deceitful, lying, and lack of accountability for one’s actions and speech. I
could go on, but you get the picture.
All of these traits and behaviors I’ve mentioned describe
Trump very well. They perhaps describe his supporters to some degree, but I
have a problem with this aspect, because many of the Trump supporters I know
call themselves Christian, are good people, would never think of behaving the
way he behaves, and would not teach their children to behave in this way. So
what is the explanation for Trump’s popularity? I think it is horrifying that
half of the US population voted for this man. It wasn’t just that they didn’t
want Biden. They wanted Trump. They like him. They see him as a great leader.
They see him as a Christian. This is what I don’t understand, and what I would
like them to explain to me. How is he Christian? Is it so simple as to say that
because Trump says that he is
anti-abortion or holds a bible (upside down, no less), that this is enough to
label him a Christian? What about his making fun of a man with cerebral palsy
at one of his rallies? What about his vulgar view of women, of wanting to grab
women by the pussy? What about his making fun of John McCain, who served the country
in Vietnam and suffered greatly as a POW, something Trump never did? What about
all the lying, the lack of accountability, the chaos around him, the lack of
reflection, the lack of interest in a peaceful life? What about the constant aggressiveness
and anger in tone, speech and behaviour? How come there exists such a huge disconnect
between what he says and does, and what his supporters want to believe about
him? Because there is a huge disconnect, there is no denying that.
I have written a number of posts about him. I had his number
a long time ago. He is a bad leader and a dangerous one, because he basically
encourages others to do his dirty work for him. I’m guessing he’s always been
like that, so it’s nothing new. He is a mouthpiece for the disgruntled in our
nation, but they in turn do his bidding. It’s a sick and abusive relationship
he has with his supporters. Unless you’ve been bullied/harassed yourself, you
will not understand the dynamics of such a relationship. You can fight a bully,
or you can cave in to him or her. If you fight a bully, you risk being
physically attacked, verbally attacked, threatened, having your name dragged
through the mud, and having your family suffer consequences as well. If you
cave in, you ‘make a deal’ with the bully that if you do his or her bidding and
keep your mouth shut, you will be left alone. You will not be attacked or hurt.
The bully controls you because you fear him or her; the bully brainwashes you
to think that he or she is your protector or savior, that your behaviour prior
to caving in was what caused the bully’s aggressiveness toward you. You learn
not to say anything that may offend the bully. That’s a sick relationship. Trump
exploits others--their weaknesses, their cowardice, their lack of motivation.
That’s why he is a dangerous leader, just like Hitler was. Trump uses the people in his
administration as his personal lackeys; their loyalty is all that matters to
him. In a similar way, Hitler rose to power because those who worked for him
turned a blind eye to what he said and did, and did not stop him. Those that
tried to stand up against him were fired or re-assigned to positions in places
where they could have little impact.
We should learn from history. There is no guarantee that the
USA must remain a democracy; the only guarantee we have is that good people
stand united to fight those who want otherwise. Trump wanted to be a dictator.
His followers don’t see it that way. He is a bad leader; his followers don’t
see him that way. The good thing is that our founding fathers drew up a system of government that divided
political power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Power
is not concentrated in one place. The president is not a king or a dictator; he
or she does not have absolute power. That is a good thing and that is what will
save the USA from becoming a fascist country. Trump has been a test of how well
that system works. In the final analysis, the system has taken a severe beating
but has survived, in no small part due to the judicial branch that rejected
most of his attempts to undo the election. Trump himself is nothing more than a failed president, a bad leader, a bully, and a coward. That is his legacy, and history will not be kind to him.
