Donald Trump and Our Future
Comments. Considerations. Questions.
by Kenneth Bagnell
Those of us who shake our heads at the very mention of Donald Trump have reason to take some measure of comfort from words of a philosophic businessman Jack Ma. “Never give up,” he has said, “Today is hard, tomorrow may be worse, but the day after tomorrow will bring sunshine.” The “day after tomorrow” has arrived. We can now see Trump’s polling numbers slowly but significantly declining. Moreover, his rude and crude language is becoming as repugnant as his personality, so that soon his only support may well be from the illiterate and those who lean toward a form of neo-fascism.
In recent days Trump’s coarse character seemed off the rails with his incredible and disgraceful reference to President Obama as the founder of ISIS – about as bizarre political accusation as I’ve ever heard. When he first said it one of his journalism buddies came back hoping he’d deny having said it or at least recast it No way. He even repeated it. “No, I meant he (Obama) is the founder of ISIS.” (He even accused Hillary Clinton of the same ridiculous charge, though quickly withdrawing it so that the accusation would rest on Obama, since he’d been in the Presidential office, not Clinton.) He not only pointed the finger at Obama but repeated his bizarre allegation several times: “He is the founder.” How ridiculous can this man be?
Inevitably, intelligent voters and observers, wonder for Trump’s mental and emotional condition. They’ve questioned it quietly for months. But thus far, the psychiatrists have remained silent, mostly on both ethical grounds and their own professional welfare. Not long ago a past President of the American Psychiatric Association, and Columbia University Psychiatrist, Dr. Paul Applebaum, released a statement that virtually denied psychiatrists speaking on their own. He put it this way: “analysis without examination is so likely to be wrong, so likely to be harmful to that person and so likely to discourage people from seeking psychiatric treatment that psychiatrists should not engage in that behaviour.”
Psychologists think differently, including those who deal with (or teach) aspects of human behavior. For example, some clinical psychologists point to Trump’s paranoia and exploitation, over the suicide of Vincent Foster once deputy White House Counsel in the Bill Clinton years. Foster suffered from deep emotional illness. He took his own life in July, 1993. Now over 20 years later, Trump — with no credible evidence whatever – out of his own self –centeredness and paranoia, as a political tactic, tried to blame Hillary Clinton for Foster’s sudden and tragic death. What an ugly piece of political opportunism!
Many major clinical psychologists have spoken up. Here’s Harvard Psychologist Howard Gardner: “He’s remarkably narcissistic.” Here’s Clinical Psychologist Ben Michaels: “He’s so classic I’m archiving video clips of him to use in workshops…” One more of many: Dr Joseph Burgo, a practicing clinical psychologist for 30 years, contributor to The New York Times and Atlantic, and now author of the authoritative book: “The Narcissist You Know.” He says this: “Narcissists like Donald Trump are constantly driven to prove themselves among the winners of the world often by triumphing over or denigrating people as comparative ‘losers.’ If you examine Trump’s language in his public statements as on the debates, you will hear him proclaim his winner status again and again while sneering at his detractors as losers….”
As Canadians we can be grateful that our seat is not over the actual American campaign but in the bleachers overlooking it as circus. Nonetheless, we are the next door neighbor, thereby having not just a right but an obligation to observe Trump’s crude and rude possibilities that now are close to improbabilities. As I write, the most significant behind the scenes activity is a proposed meeting of Trump and those he thought are, sad to say, or were solid supporters: white Christian evangelica1s. How embarrassing! Trump cannot even hide his religious illiteracy. Example: he could not answer when asked what his favorite book in the Bible is; he also said he’d never needs forgiveness since he makes no mistakes; then according to religious media, he provoked huge laughter after calling The New Testament’s Second Corinthians, “Two Corinthians.” A theological journalist asked himself: “How in the world can evangelicals above all liberal and neo-orthodox Christians (I’m one), cheer for a man, theologically illiterate, and linguistically profane? Is our religious culture insane?”
No, but it better be quick about proving it. For example, Billy Graham, a good man but a strong fundamentalist (he actually supported capital punishment in a long ago print exchange with me) revealed his loyalty to Trump by an affectionate autographing of a Bible. Moreover, Dr. Graham’s evangelical son, Franklin has contributed greatly to Trump’s passionate policy to keep Muslim families from migrating to the United States, a desire I cannot square with Christian faith. Here’s a quotation from a passage by Franklin urging readers to contact their congress person to bar Muslim immigrants: “Every Muslim that comes into this country has the potential to be radicalized and they do their killing to honor their religion… During Word War II, we didn’t allow Japanese to immigrate to America nor did we allow Germans… Why are we allowing Muslims in….” (I wonder: did he ever read the Beatitudes?)
To be fair to all, these anti-Christian utterances from the evangelical community, have to be balanced by other and caring comment from the same community. Take as an example, some senior representatives of the clearly conservative Southern Baptist Church. Not long ago, Rev. Russell Moore, head of the denomination’s public policy division – had this to say publically: “A vote for Trump is deeply inconsistent with an application of the Christian faith.” Indeed. Dr. Moore wrote an essay in the respected Washington Post that was headed with this frustrated but revealing title: “Why this election makes me hate the word ‘Evangelical.’ I understand. In his essay he made this comment: “Falwell’s dismissal of concerns over Trump’s character and moral code are similar to the way other Christian voters think about Trump. Most don’t focus on it, or do not care about Trump’s personal background. They just want him to fix whatever problem they think is foremost in the United States… That view from a Christian viewpoint, or a moral viewpoint, is inadequate.”
But Dr. Moore said even more and, courageously, in an op-ed apparently in the New York Times. Here it is: “This election has cast light on the darkness of pent up nativism and bigotry all over the country, There are not-so-coded messages denouncing African-Americans and immigrants; concern about racial justice and national unity are ridiculed as ‘political correctness.’ Religious minorities are scapegoated for the sins of others, with basic religions for them called into question….”
I wonder what his Southern Baptist congregations and colleagues feel about that? He’s challenging them and they probably do not like it. He’s a courageous and, I expect, a good person. We all ought to be grateful. It’s now many years since I interviewed one of the greatest preachers of English speaking history, none other than the Baptist minister of New York, Harry Emerson Fosdick. He once said something I felt would be of encouragement to Dr. Moore who may be enduring heated criticism. It was this and it applies to us all: “He who knows no harshness will know no hardihood… The best characteristics in human nature grow in a soil which knows a mix of troubles.” Thanks Dr. Moore.
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(As of Friday, August 12th, 2016, a research firm related to The New York Times, predicts by 87 percent, that Hillary Clinton will be the next American President.)
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