Avoiding talk about politics or religion is great advice and I've followed it in writing my blog to this point. However, our record-breaking new president provides so much to write about, I just couldn't keep silent.
Donald Trump's antics remind me of two children's fables." The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Anderson, and "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" by Aesop. If you're unfamiliar with these stories, the first is about two weavers who convince the emperor they have created an invisible suit for him that can't be seen by stupid, incompetent people and the second is about a Sheppard boy who cries out for the people of a village to help him protect his flock. The villagers tire of the boy's game and do not respond when a wolf actually arrives.
Making America Great Again
Our president finds himself in a precarious position after 110 days in office because he has a very casual relationship with the truth. In his world, it is totally acceptable to stretch the truth or even outright lie in his expression of how great he is and how well he has done. His focus on winning and being successful to the point of being unable to accept failure and loss is complete. His description of the crowd size at his inauguration is a fabulous example of seeing things that don't exist and he was livid when the Park service provided comparisons to previous inaugurations. His explanation for not winning the majority of votes is the number he lost to his opponent were cast by illegal voters. Few people believe this, but he will not move on to other things. He maintains the reason some people see his foibles is the democrats are sore losers. It appears to me, he is a sore winner.
Conflicts of Interest
Maintaining an untrue position, over time, results in people losing faith and belief in their leaders. President Trump maintains the liberal media is fake and is out to get him. His memory is very short as the institutions he declared to be "the enemy," the intelligence community, the media, the democrats are no longer likely to be friendly, but that is his own fault. Trump ignores rules governing conflict of interest acting as though he is above the law.
Cover Up and Avoidance
His insistence in obscuring reasons for his strategy and beliefs is unfathomable. He denies his campaign or advisors have had any contact with the Russians, but we find out his closest advisors have. Instead of being an open book, he spins lies he has to amend, retell, and amend again. The boy telling the villagers story after story until they don't believe a word he says.
