The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten's coverage of the US Capitol invasion by Trump's thugs

 

This was the Friday January 8th coverage in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten of the invasion of the US Capitol by Trump's thugs on Wednesday January 6th, a day that will live in infamy. The first fifteen pages of the newspaper that day were devoted to this news story. On Thursday night, the main television news show at 7 pm on NRK devoted the first 35 minutes of its newscast to the same story.

Anyone who thinks that the USA lives in a vacuum or can live in a vacuum, isolated from the rest of the world, is deluded. Like it or not, what happens in the USA affects the rest of the world, which by the way was horrified at the events that unfolded in Washington DC on Wednesday January 6th. This is not supposed to happen in the USA. 

To all those who participated in the invasion, remember--the deaths of five people are on your consciences. You are pathetic individuals just like your leader. You have dragged the good name of the USA through the mud. You showed the world just how deluded and evil you are. You embarrassed the country and committed major crimes, and my hope is that you all rot in prison for years to come, together with the man who incited you to action--a pathetic piece of shit and an evil man. I feel sure that there is a special place in hell for men like him. My hope is that his future suffering befits his crimes. 

Bullying and mob mentality

I remain surprised by the lack of self-insight that I experience when I interact with some Trump supporters on social media. I remain surprised by their rudeness, their ‘in-your-face’ aggressiveness, their refusal to accept that Trump lost, their loyalty to a man who would normally not give them the time of day, and their lack of loyalty to their country. Because if they were really loyal to their country, they would never accept Trump’s behavior, his public statements, or his blatant disinterest in the wellbeing of the country. They would never accept his sedition if they were really loyal to their country. 

Those I am referring to are ‘friends’ on Facebook that I know from earlier times in my life. They were kinder people then. They no longer strike me as kind people now. They strike me as bitter people, and for the life of me, I cannot understand why. They have ALL the material things one could want--big houses in the suburbs or out in the country, several cars (all new), well-paying jobs, and good educations. They travel where they want, when they want. They’ve raised families and have had an amount of privilege that many people will never experience in their lifetimes. Have they worked for it? Yes, they have. Do they deserve their nice lifestyles? Yes, they do. I would never question any of that. What I question is their lack of self-insight when it comes to the blessings that they have. I know people who have worked just as hard as they have, many at their own businesses, who simply have not been successful for reasons that have nothing to do with whether they worked hard enough or not. They struggled or have struggled all their lives to make it in American society, without a safety net. Most of them managed to just break even; they managed to pay their bills but never had a fraction of the material goods that I’ve described above. Unfortunately, success in America is defined by how much money you make and by the amassment of material goods over the years. In my parents’ generation, if you had poor health, or lost your job, or never owned your own home, you were a loser. Society was harsh then too. But harsher now. I’ve said many times before that it’s nice to have money and a comfortable lifestyle. But it does not make you better than those who do not have what you have. That is the uncomfortable message of Christianity. If you have a problem with the message, then perhaps you should choose another religious persuasion that suits your narrow views, or no religion at all. Christ said that ‘the poor you will always have with you’. He meant poor in the material sense, but I’m sure he also meant in the spiritual sense. Because his message (The Gospel of Mark 8:36) was also ‘For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’ Also an uncomfortable message. If you have all you want, and become unkind and unchristian (spiritually poor) to others less fortunate than yourself, you have lost your soul. There is a lot of spiritual poverty in society at present. There is a lot of meanness that surprises me, given the amount of material wealth that most Western societies enjoy.

One of my friends on Facebook says she loves Trump because society is ‘unfair’. This somehow implies that Trump has done a lot to rectify the unfairness that she sees in society. She doesn’t elaborate, but I can guess that she means that he stands for overturning the federal and state programs that help the needy/those defined as needy or those looking for a better life. She means that she does not get the privileges that some of these people get. I’m sure there is an element of truth in what she says, and if so, those problems should be rectified. Perhaps she does not qualify for some of the federal and state programs set up to help the needy. In her case, I don’t know enough about her economic situation to say whether or not she would qualify as needy. But she is one of those that posts aggressive and bitter memes, and fake news memes, like so many of the Trump supporters I know on Facebook. You would think their lives are awful, but it’s quite the opposite in most cases where I know about their lives. They have so many material blessings that they should be on their knees thanking God for them.

I am not a member of or loyal to any political party or to any specific politicians. I am loyal to my country, even though it is pretty messed-up at present. I try to think for myself amid the cacophony of constant news programs on television, social media, and printed media. I have never been a ‘group’ person and never will be. I dislike groups because many of them end up with a mob mentality, as in ‘let’s bully those who don’t think like us’. It’s not just Republicans who do this; Democrats have also gone down that road. Just check out some of the more liberal tweeters on Twitter. Neither side is free from blame. We are where we are in society because of the lack of self-insight on both sides of the political spectrum. Trump came along and exploited the widening gap, making it even wider. It served his political aim, which was to be a king of some sort--a benevolent bully as it were. I remember a girl with whom I went to school who was bullied mercilessly by the ‘cool’ girls in the class. I have never forgotten how they treated her, and all these years later, I still remain sceptical to the personas they present publicly on social media. It’s perhaps unkind of me to say this, but I can't help thinking ‘once a bully, always a bully’. Of course, they can have regretted their earlier behavior and become better people. I hope so. But I knew at an early age that one's behavior was a choice; you chose to be a bully, or you chose not to be a bully when faced with the possibility. If you chose to bully others, you knew exactly what you were doing. Just as Trump does. Just as his supporters do. Mob mentality. 

I would never post and have never posted hateful memes concerning conservatives and Trump supporters. I am not planning on becoming a rude person in response to rude people. I will continue to try to take the high road in most situations. Of course it has happened that I have gotten angry or lost my temper and taken the low road. We are human and we fail. But we can make amends and the important thing is to be able to say that you’re sorry. I’m waiting for some of the Trump supporters I know to say that they’re sorry they supported him and that they were rude and aggressive to family members and friends. But I don’t think they will publicly. Many of them may be privately ashamed that they supported someone like him. That’s a start. I think many of them need to work on self-insight, on trying to figure out why they needed a bully to be their mouthpiece for their nagging discomfort with themselves. They need to figure out why they lined up behind the bully. They need to figure out why they harbor so much hatred and anger. That would go a long way to restoring some kind of sanity in society.

Good riddance to a bad leader

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. 

The appeal of science fiction

I'm a diehard sci-fi (and sci-fi horror) fan--books, films, and series. I don't remember the first sci-fi book I read that got me hooked on the genre. Perhaps it was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle when we were children. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells was another book that fascinated us as children. My parents were good at introducing us to different literary genres. The Andromeda Strain was published in 1969 and I probably read it around 1970 or so. I also read C.S. Lewis' The Space Trilogy when I was a teenager, and This Perfect Day by Ira Levin. To enjoy sci-fi, one must be able to let go of one's own world and enter into new and unknown worlds created by the authors and accept that those worlds may be nothing like one's own. That was never a problem for me. The appeal of sci-fi is likely different for each person, but there are some common elements. Part of the appeal was likely escapist when I was younger; now the appeal is more a fascination with dystopian themes and with other worlds, unknown worlds, the universe, time travel, parallel worlds--in short, fascination with stepping outside of the natural laws and our world (outer and inner) in order to experience other worlds. Judging by the interest in sci-fi, I think we will always be fascinated by the possibility of doing just that. I think man has always looked up at the stars and wondered what was out there. Or looked around at ordinary life and happenings and asked--what if they were different or changed, or completely unlike what we could ever imagine? Man has always been both fascinated by and afraid of the unknown and of the dark. Monsters and aliens may live there, and they may not be friendly to mankind. Even so, I would love to be able to travel through time to other worlds if I could do so via a transporter or through a wormhole, just as long as I could return to the safety of my own world when I wanted. That's asking a lot, but in the sci-fi realm, anything is possible.  

Some of my favorite sci-fi authors and their books are as follows:

• Ray Bradbury--The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451
• Stanislaw Lem--Solaris
• Philip K. Dick--Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
• Michael Crichton--The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, Timeline
• Neil Gaiman--Coraline, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, The Graveyard Book
• John Wyndham--The Day of the Triffids
• C.S. Lewis--The Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength)
• H.P. Lovecraft--The Best of H.P. Lovecraft (falls into the horror fiction genre, but many of his stories would qualify as sci-fi horror)
• Isaac Asimov--Fantastic Voyage, The End of Eternity
• David Lindsay--A Voyage to Arcturus 
• Aldous Huxley--Brave New World
• George Orwell--1984
• H.G. Wells--The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man
• Ira Levin--This Perfect Day

Some of my favorite sci-fi films and series are:  

• Forbidden Planet
• The Blob
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Soylent Green
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind
• Star Wars
• The Man Who Fell to Earth
• Westworld
• Alien
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers
• Aliens
• Blade Runner
• Brazil
• Deep Impact
• Event Horizon
• Jurassic Park
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park
• Men in Black
• Alien3
• Alien Resurrection
• The Day After Tomorrow
• I Am Legend
• WALL-E
• Jurassic Park III
• 28 Days Later
• District 9
• Pitch Black
• Minority Report
• Solaris 
• Another Earth
• IO
• Extinction
• I Origins
• Prometheus
• Interstellar
• The Martian
• Oblivion
• Edge of Tomorrow
• Alien: Covenant
• Arrival
• Ex Machina
• A Quiet Place
• Blade Runner 2049
• Jurassic World
• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
• Raised By Wolves (HBO series)

Hope is a way of life

Norway's King Harald holds a New Year's Eve speech each year. This year he started by sending his sympathies to those affected by the quick clay landslide in Ask in Gjerdrum county, a short distance from Oslo. The landslide is a catastrophe (‘Catastrophe’ ends already awful year (newsinenglish.no); 11 people missing after landslide strikes southern Norway, leaving large crater - CNN                    

He then spoke about 2020 and the pandemic, and how the country has managed to deal with the worst trial it has faced since WWII. He said: 

"Vi kom oss gjennom fordi vi aldri ga opp håpet. Fordi det å håpe er en måte å leve på. Håp er vilje, håp er handling. Håp er å feste blikket på noe som gir oss mening og følge det. Håpet skal bære oss alle inn i 2021." 

Translated to English, it reads:

"We got through because we never gave up hope. Because hope is a way of life. Hope is will, hope is action. Hope is fixing our gaze on something that gives us meaning and following it. Hope will carry us all into 2021."

HIs message is a good way to end 2020 and to start 2021. 

Reflections on the old year, and hopes for the new

It's hard to know where to start in terms of summing up the year 2020. It's been a tough year for many people due to the pandemic, which shows no sign of abating any time soon. So we place our collective hope in the vaccines that have been developed to tackle the corona virus. We cross our fingers, pray, and hope for the best. A lot of lives have been lost to covid-19, lives that might have been saved had a vaccine existed at the start of the year. Lives that might have been saved if some countries had taken the pandemic seriously from the start, encouraged their citizens to wear masks and to socially distance, and to think of the common good. The latter is anathema to many people, who equate the common good with socialism, and God knows they don't want any part of that. Their individual rights and freedoms come first, before all else. If everyone thought like they do, there would be no vaccines, no hospitals, no healthcare system. Why should there be? After all, individualists should be able to treat and take care of themselves without any interference or help from medical professionals or the government. But trying to get them to see reason is tantamount to hitting your head against a brick wall continually. 

I am hoping that 2021 brings an end to the stupidity I've seen around me, read about, and watched on tv in 2020--stupid behavior and stupid statements on the part of selfish people and politicians. I'm hoping for a return to intelligence and rational thinking. But you never know. Those things are not valued in society as they once were. Intelligence is suspect, and rational thinking is reserved for nerds and academics. It's how you feel about things that counts. 'I don't feel like doing this or that'. So people don't do this or that, but sometimes doing those things would be beneficial for society as a whole. Maybe doing those things would bring a quicker end to the pandemic. 

I've learned that there are people I thought I knew, that I absolutely do not know, and at this point in time, I don't think I want to get to know who they are now. Diehard Trump supporters who believe he was sent by God, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists. Some people I know are one or more of these types of people. I would never have thought that they would go down those paths. But they have, and it's worrisome, especially the anti-vaccine path. I wonder if any of them have googled smallpox and taken a long hard look at the images of people with smallpox. Smallpox was eradicated due to a vaccine. But I'm guessing that the anti-vaxxers have another explanation for why it was eradicated, and of course their explanation is the correct one. Anti-vaxxers are anti-science, and I don't trust those types of people. Science cannot save every situation, but without it, we would have been doomed a long time ago.

We live in a strange world now, one where it is possible to re-write history and ignore facts/actual data on a whim. It is dangerous to wipe out history, to pretend that the bad things in history never happened. Bad things did happen, and history is there to record them so that we can learn from them and prevent them from happening again. That is the point of history. We cannot just focus on the good things, because we do not, never have, and never will, live in a utopia. No society on earth is perfect, and never will be, despite what some politicians say and believe. America is not the greatest country on earth; it's a fortunate country, yes, but many other countries are also. If you live in one of these countries, your life will likely be comfortable and rewarding because you will not lack for most material things. But people should remember that some of life is sheer luck; we did not choose to be born in these countries, any more than others chose to be born in less fortunate countries. Ergo, the fortunate countries must share their bounty with the less fortunate countries; that is only fair. But that is my opinion. Thankfully, many enlightened people think the same way. They are not interested in hoarding wealth or denying others the chance for a better life. 

My hope for 2021 is that life returns to normal, to our definition of it--to be able to travel, get together, hug each other, eat out, go to the movies, go to the theater--in short, enjoy life again without thinking of the risks and dangers of doing so. Life will return to normal at some point, but we will have learned how to deal with life when it is not normal. And perhaps that is a good thing, since I feel certain that the world is not done with pandemics. Many health professionals think the same thing. So if we have learned something from this pandemic, it is the necessity of being prepared for as many eventualities as we can. We cannot afford to be taken by surprise again. The next pandemic could be more lethal than this one. I hope not, but there is no way to know for sure. Best to be prepared. 

What a difference a day makes

We woke up to snow yesterday morning. It was a heavy snow and it seemed as though it might stick. Pretty--it actually looked a bit like a winter wonderland. But no, the rain started during the afternoon and by today, the snow was gone. It has rained steadily for the entire month of December and been quite mild, and more rain is predicted for this week, as well as continued mild temperatures. Climate change is here to stay. 

Another view of the fast-moving Akerselva river--December 2020

The fast-moving Akerselva river in Oslo--December 2020

This past Friday, we were out walking along the Akerselva river in the vicinity of where we live. The river is a swollen and fast-moving river these days due to almost daily rainfall during December and to attempts by the city of Oslo to regulate the river flow and level. This video of the Vøyen falls was taken near Hønse Lovisa. The walking paths along both sides of the river as well as the bridge you see in the video were wet and slippery due to the spray of water from the falls and the churning river. Oslo has warned dwellers not to go too near the river's edge; there has been erosion along the banks and flooding here and there, which can increase the risk of slipping and falling in. The speed of the river is so fast that it would be difficult to rescue a person and for that person to survive.

Wishes for a peaceful Christmas

I love being in the room where we have sat up the Christmas tree. It's always so peaceful to sit and just look at the tree and the lights. I used to love doing that as a child, and I still love it. The Christmas tree brings peace to any room it's in. Wishing all my readers a peaceful Christmas. I hope that the new year brings an end to the pandemic--that is my wish--I have no others. 

 

Raised by Wolves - Main Theme (OPENING TITLES) by Ben Frost and sung by Mariam Wallentin

You'll find the sci-fi series Raised By Wolves on HBO (Max in the USA, Nordic in Norway). I recommend it highly. It is creative, intriguing, exciting, and gripping. I'm glad to hear that it was renewed for a second season. I will write another post about the actual series soon. The theme song for the series is also haunting and emotionally-gripping and is sung by Mariam Wallentin, a Swedish musician (vocals, percussion, composer) who has done a lot of work in experimental jazz.

The lyrics, which are poetic and beautiful, are as follows: 

[Verse 1]

The door that finally opens

With light flooding in

Spilling out on the floor

The core that never was

Now it will be

The bones of what was there before

Every step, every beat

Every thought, every breath

Everything is longing

Every wind, every wave

Every sky, every cloud

Every grave is longing (2X)

Pulling you from the sky

Just like love will do

[Verse 2]

The door that finally opens

With light flooding in

Spilling out on the floor

The core that nevеr was

Now it will be

The bones of what was thеre before

Every step, every beat

Every thought, every breath

Everything is longing

Every wind, every wave

Every sky, every cloud

Every grave is longing (2X)

Pulling you from the sky

Just like love will do

Pulling you from the ground

Just like love will do

A needed message at Christmas, especially this year

I am sharing a recent article in The Atlantic that I found quite good. I'm including the link to the article here: 

Trump Is Losing His Mind - The Atlantic

This is a paragraph from the article that resonated with me:

There are still things worthy of our love. Honor, decency, courage, beauty, and truth. Tenderness, human empathy, and a sense of duty. A good society. And a commitment to human dignity. We need to teach others—in our individual relationships, in our classrooms and communities, in our book clubs and Bible studies, and in innumerable other settings—why those things are worthy of their attention, their loyalty, their love. One person doing it won’t make much of a difference; a lot of people doing it will create a culture.

Yes, just yes. This is what I have been saying for the past four years in many of my posts about Trump. There is nothing admirable about Trump's in-your-face behavior, about his narcissism, his aggression, his anger, his rawness. He does not emanate empathy or kindness. We don't need more of his kind in society, we need less. We need to tone down the aggression, the chaos, the destruction. We need to change the channel in favor of peace. We need to find stillness so that we can reflect on what went wrong and why a huge number of people voted for a man that under other circumstances they would have kicked to the curb. 

I found, and continue to find it, absolutely appalling that people who call themselves Christians have supported this man, and still do. They are certain that there was voter fraud that allowed Biden to win. It's as though they and the Republican Party are part of a cult, and that scares the hell out of me. Many others have written about this, so I won't belabor the point. Unfortunately, there are young people who have bought into his message, and into the hypocrisy preached by evangelicals who compare Trump to Christ, that he was sent by God to save the USA. What crap. But if you listen long enough to this crap, it starts to seep in like most crap does. And it hynotizes and brainwashes the weak-minded. 

It starts with us. We must promote honor, decency, courage, beauty, and truth. We must show empathy to others, we must be kind. We must 'be' the message of Christmas not only at Christmas, but throughout the year. 

One of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies--A Shoe Addict's Christmas

Last December I wrote a post about romantic Christmas movies, the ones (many of them Hallmark films) that have shown up on three different television channels here in Oslo this year. I think we need these films more than ever this Christmas season, after a year that no one in his or her wildest imagination could have predicted. They are relaxing to watch, you pretty much know the outcomes, they tug at your heartstrings, and they are enjoyable overall. The word is nice; they are nice films. 

Here is a link to the post I wrote last year: A New Yorker in Oslo: Romantic Christmas movies (paulamdeangelis.blogspot.com)

Tonight, I re-watched A Shoe Addict's Christmas; it's one of my favorite romantic Hallmark Christmas movies. The movie is based on the book of the same name by Beth Harbison. It's the story of a young woman, Noelle, played by Candace Cameron Bure, who has pretty much given up on her dreams for her life, both personal and professional, and settled for a comfortable life without many risks. She works in Fulton's department store in the HR department, having given up on her dreams to open her own photography studio after her boyfriend dumped her on Christmas Eve three years ago. Three years pass, and she ends up locked by accident in her department store during a snowstorm. While waiting to be rescued by the fire department, along comes her slightly ditzy but totally lovable guardian angel Charlie, played by Jean Smart, who is perfect in the role. Every time Noelle puts on a pair of shoes or boots, they take her back or forward in time, courtesy of her guardian angel, to show her what her life could have been like had she made different decisions and choices. It's essentially a modernized and romanticized version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Noelle is not Scrooge, however, just a disillusioned young woman who has lost her faith in the fun and adventure that life can hold. She meets Jake, played by Luke Mcfarlane, who is also perfect in his role as the fireman who rescues her and who just happens to be her upstairs neighbor as well. Watching these two get together, and how the guardian angel facilitates their doing just that, is so worth watching. It's a heartfelt movie with a believable message, and at Christmastime, it's a nice message to hear--have faith, trust in the process, and don't give up on your dreams for your life. 

Reflections, silhouettes, shadows, light and darkness

I thought this photo was interesting in so many ways--reflections, windows, shadows, silhouettes, light, darkness, and merges of different buildings and passageways. I took it on my cell phone tonight in the vestibule of the building where I work. Always interesting to see how things look in light and darkness. 

A life of lies and deception--John le Carré's A Perfect Spy

I continue to be fascinated by books that deal with deception and lying, and with characters who use deceit as a means to an end, a means to get through life. I supposed that explains some of the fascination (my own and others) with a man like Trump. He is a pathological liar, and the media cannot get enough of him. Each of his lies is more outrageous than the last one. People eat them up. We wonder if he has any limits whatsoever. The answer appears to be no. His niece Mary Trump wrote a book about him, and even though she is a clinical psychologist, she still couldn't explain him satisfactorily. But she gave it a good try. I think these types of people defy description. And I wonder, are we so jaded and in need of stimulation, that we look forward to listening to a man like Trump spout his nonsense out into the universe? Is this what will awaken us to the world around us? But how many times can we put our hands into the flames before we no longer feel anything, before they are burned beyond recognition? Isn't that the risk we run if we don't deal with the impact of such behavior on ourselves and on society at large?

I wonder what it must be like to be the child or children of such an amoral man. It certainly cannot be easy. One absorbs a plethora of warped messages. "Make up your life. Don't tell the truth about yourself or about anything. Lie if necessary. Win at all costs and lie if you need to win. Winning is everything. Success and money are everything. Poverty is for losers. The ends justify the means. Using others to further your ambitions is acceptable. Lying will get you everywhere. Cheating is no big deal. Facts are not facts, but merely constructs to be adjusted at whim. There are no absolute truths". And so on. 

One of my favorite authors, John le Carré, who wrote 'A Perfect Spy', passed away a few days ago. 'A Perfect Spy' is a brilliant book by an incredible author, one of those books that will haunt you for a lifetime. I read it in my twenties and have never forgotten it. It is on my top-ten list of favorite books. I also watched the BBC series of the same name, with Peter Egan playing the role of Magnus Pym, that appeared on television in 1987. As I've grown older, I wonder--why was I and why am I still--so fascinated by the tale of Magnus Pym, a spy/double agent whose father, Rick Pym, was an amoral con man? Charming yes, but a criminal just the same, Rick Pym teaches Magnus that it's ok to live a life of deception in order to get what you want. Magnus Pym struggles his entire life to deal with his father's toxic influence but never really manages to escape it. He is psychologically damaged by his father, and that impacts on all aspects of his life--he betrays his country and those people in his life with whom he has close relationships. It is no surprise that he chooses to be a spy/double agent, but he struggles with that choice and with his inability to reconcile all of the 'different persons' he houses inside himself. The book is written in such a way that it is nearly impossible to not feel sorry for Magnus Pym. And that is because he pays such a high price for being the perfect spy. I won't reveal the ending for those of you who might want to read the book. I highly recommend it. Much of the book is autobiographical; le Carré's father was a con man, and he probably wrote 'A Perfect Spy' in order to deal with the negative impact on his psyche that having such a father had on him. It is the psychological exploration of one man's psyche and soul that creates empathy for the character of Magnus Pym. 

And that brings me back to Trump and his niece's book about him. Trump had a father who 'conned' him into believing that he had to lie and manipulate others in order to be successful and to be well liked. But Trump has no qualms of conscience about who he is. He has embraced the amorality of his life. He doesn't seem to suffer because of it. My empathy is in short supply when I look at his behavior and his life. Perhaps there will come a day when he begins to examine his life. As the saying goes--'the unexamined life is not worth living'. Perhaps Trump will realize that one day, adjust his life accordingly, and make amends to the people he has conned and manipulated. But I'm not holding my breath.