The Tyrant After Trump
If we don’t fix the circumstances that led to Trump’s rise to power the tyrant who comes after him will likely be much smarter and pose even more serious dangers.
As we await official confirmation of the final, formal results of the 2020 presidential contest I want to share a thought about the shock and surprise many have expressed regarding the stunning strength of support for Donald Trump despite all his many obvious and glaring flaws, and most notably, his unspeakable cruelty, which rises at times to outright sadism (taking pleasure in the suffering of others). How could so many Americans possibly endorse such sadism (mixed with racism and misogyny)?
“That’s not who we are!” is the misguided cry we hear so often from too many otherwise sensible leaders who, in the end, merely evidence their cluelessness about who we, as Americans, really are. Here is my take (informed I think by my training in behavioral sciences):
Abused people tend to abuse others. Parents who have been abused as children tend to abuse their own children. We know this. Most of the violent criminals in prison were at some time violently abused themselves. It is a vicious cycle, one that often involves other pathologies such as racism or hostility to women. The truth, as the adage says, is that hurt people hurt people. When I look at voters willing to look past, or eager to…
