The Tweeter and the Damage Done
I grew up in the age of the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. I was in the 4th grade during the Cuban missile crisis. I participated in the “duck and cover” drills that did nothing to protect us and scared the crap out of all of us. During all those years, the guy sitting in the Oval Office was cautious; calculating; surrounded by foreign relations and defense experts. As a young boy, I feared the Russians and depended on Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and HW Bush to protect us. In the years since the Soviet Union collapsed and the arms race waned, I didn’t think too much about nuclear weapons or war, nor did most Americans.
Then came Trump. The Reality Show President loves to stir the pot to stay at the top of the news cycle. He insults television stars, politicians, foreign leaders, and everyone who gets in the way. He spends hours a day watching Fox Noise, then tweeting out advertisements for the network on an hourly basis. And he brags. He brags on himself in a continuous stream, takes credit for everything from the stock market to airline safety and loves to saber rattle. He’s now in a twitter war with Kim Jong Un arguing over nuclear button size.
Jesus. As my spouse said just this morning, “I used to worry about nuclear weapons launched by other countries. I now worry about my own.” No truer words were ever spoken. We are now being threatened with nuclear war by our own goddam president. He thinks this is a reality television episode, where he wins by vanquishing his foes. This lunatic has shaken the American psyche, and certainly the world, to the core.
Joe Biden said in October that, “Violating the norms of personal conduct generates more anxiety and fear than any policy prescription that this president has enunciated. Sending his Secretary of State to talk with North Korea and saying he’s on a fool’s errand… it is absolutely bizarre. It’s bizarre conduct.” And this is the problem; the job of the President of the United States is to give comfort to its citizens. It’s to calm fears; instill confidence in the electorate in times of trouble. The problem with THIS president, though, is that he couldn’t care less about you, me, or anyone else for that matter. Trump uses the office of president as a giant funnel to fill his needy ego and his wallet. If that means stirring up long-dormant fears of nuclear wars, so be it. If it involves childish name calling and bullying, no problem.
We are on a path of certain long term damage to our democracy, if not worse. The glib references to nuclear war keep the entire globe on edge. This behavior hurts everyone, including Trump. It’s time for Congress or the Cabinet to stand on their hind legs and get this guy out of there before he burns down the planet.