I got another inspiration from a minister recently; actually, it was a metaphor. In a lesson about “Success Strategies,” Rev. Michael Woody, co-minister (with his wife Dyann) of the Music City Center for Spiritual Living here in Nashville, spoke about how the honeybee, in its quest for nectar (a selfish pursuit, since it cannot survive without it), also brings pollen, without which pollination of the flowers could not occur.
At first I only thought of how the free market truly operates (yes, there is barely such a thing existing, practically speaking, due to government interference, but that’s another story): individuals seeking to make a living, create or produce goods and services people want to purchase; those people’s money or other specie is exchanged for said goods, etc.; and both sides consider themselves to have gained from the exchange. Rand’s “The Virtue of Selfishness” sprang to mind (especially its introduction in which she defined “her terms”).
But then I thought about … Donald Trump.
In the current President of these United States, we seemingly have a perfect example of self-interest—egotistical, perhaps even pathological in its expression. But what if, like the honeybee, his words and actions are serving to create paradigm shifts that “pollinate” real political and social change, regardless of whether he is intending this to happen? What if, when we see the bigger picture, this could become a longer-term blessing on our American experiment?
Here are five areas where Trump’s presence in the White House might be a good thing in the long run:
- We might never again treat a President as a would-be monarch, emperor or other omnipotent figure.
Obama was worshiped by many; Bush the younger had a lot of conservatives drooling; Bill Clinton had adoring fans all over the map (so much so, it even bled over to many of them falling to their knees to worship his wife, 20 years later). Before them, the Reagan Revolution had some fooled into thinking the “era of big government” was over. Each of these men ended up serving the full two-term, eight-year limit as President, and most of them (all but Bush fils for the most part) were being encouraged to run again (in defiance of the Constitution), and were after the fact mourned for their absence.
The most recent two of the above list were also not only allowed, but encouraged, to aggrandize their power-levels at whim. Now we see (without the frilly glitter of the Obama regime) how that raw power can be exploited (not that it wasn’t before, just with a more popular agenda of interventions . . . most of the time), and people are waking up at long last perhaps.
Meanwhile, does anyone honestly think Trump will run for a second term, assuming he survives all of this one? (I place that delusion in the same bucket with the one that has Ms. Hillary as his opposition.) If he were to do so, is anyone expecting him to win again? And if anyone else with his level of braggadocio and egotism decides to try, do you think it will be successful? I’m predicting that the next person who tries to climb that ladder will be a lot less convinced that (s)he knows what is best for all of us, and some actual humility might even show up this time, with a reined-in Executive Branch to accompany it. - We might never again trust that “the news” is entirely telling us “the truth.”
As a lifelong libertarian, and a former print journalist, I saw as far back as 1980 how “managed” the mass media is. I watched as press conferences began and ended with the cameras rolling and being shut down. I watched as small demonstrations for or against acceptable issues got covered widely, while larger ones involving “unpopular” stances were ignored (unless of course someone started a fight, in which case “if it bleeds, it leads” took over). I watched as individuals were indicted in the press, while their eventual court cases were dismissed quietly (sometimes after the persecuted innocents had taken their own lives under the pressure).
In the last six months or so, we have seen mainstream media publish half-truths and outright lies as “news”—as those same media outlets branded anyone who challenged them as “fake news.” And as the reality began to seep through, those outlets kept beating the drum of “Russian hacking of elections” and other tripe, while ignoring the mounting evidence that the ‘leaks” to Wikileaks of Democratic National Committee shenanigans had come from . . . within the DNC itself (RIP Mr. Rich).
There are many people who now trust the mainstream media about as far as they can throw them; this may be a good thing, too! - We might never again see political activism, for peace and justice, go dormant and into hibernation, despite repeated and continued abuses of both, by governments at all levels.
After the election of Barack Hussein Obama in 2008, the heretofore somewhat strong “antiwar” movement seemed to dissolve into happy meditation circles, where the continued aggressions overseas (and, as we now know, simultaneous egregious invasions of our privacy at home) escalated, so that by the end of that eight-year reign the United States was at war with seven nations instead of the two he had inherited.
This did not change until roughly the morning of November 9th, when people awoke to find Donald Trump had indeed been elected President. Within a matter of hours, the outrage factor was back to or above its former levels, although the target was less about stopping war than figuring out how to stage a palace coup and install their Chosen One on her rightful throne.
However, as the days, weeks and months have passed, activist rallies have been mounted, though they are still not really addressing the real concerns (peace and equal justice), but only the manufactured evils of microaggression and hurt feelings. If they ever transcend the “pink knit helmets” level, and get to addressing the actions and not just the attitudes, maybe we might do true “honor to our troops” . . . by bringing them home, safe sound and sane! - We might never again see government as a benevolent entity, rather than the instrument of aggression it is by definition.
The abuses of power have always been there; now they are more obvious, and seem to engender far less apologizing. Obama abused his office, but did so with style and finesse; before him, Bush junior (Shrub, as he was affectionately known) did the same, but it was seen as him bumbling and Cheney as the Dark Lord overseeing the expansion of the empire. Trump is more lumbering and unapologetic in his approach—some call it a “difference in management style.”
Meanwhile, In Congress, we have a roster of fairly inept and bumbling Republicans leading the way (down?), from Paul Ryan to Mitch McConnell and beyond, while equally inept Democrats (Pelosi, Schumer, et alia) reverse the same foot-dragging game the GOP played while Obama was holding the throne, thereby preserving our blessed gridlock.
Regardless, the tendency to treat politicians as less than honorable and wise leaders is a good trend, perhaps even one that leads back to the “citizen-states(person)” model that was intended for this American experiment. If “career politician” becomes the epithet it so richly deserves to be, rather than a career goal, so much the better! - We might never again permit the abuses of power—and the “revolving door” between crony-corporatism and “public service”--that have characterized regulatory agencies of all types since their inception. (We might also never again allow those same regulatory agencies to assume the role of Congress in making laws and rules nobody has been able to discuss or vote upon.)
The Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administration operate mainly as tools of Big Pharma, suppressing natural methods for healing (including cannabis) in favor of new technology created in the Pharma labs.
The Environmental Protection Agency favors some forms of energy-procurement over others. Its task appears to be harassing farmers and other landowners over hypothetical situations involving “endangered species” that currently do not even inhabit said property. (Meanwhile, pollution of air and water continues, with government still the major offender.)
The Transportation Safety Administration values molesting the innocent with body patdowns and confiscating toiletries above any true barrier to terrorists on our airplanes.
The FBI, CIA, NSA and other “law enforcement” agencies are tripping over each other to show how “apolitical” they are, when their entire history has been riddled with favoritism for some and persecution of others.
Need I go on with this roster?
There are also (per my parenthetical) countless regulations now on the books that have seen no Congressional approval, no Presidential signature . . . not even proper public hearings to discuss and determine their validity. If this administration carries out its purported plan, with each Cabinet Secretary forcing an audit on every agency under that Department’s jurisdiction—to see what is working, what is not doing its stated mission, what is superfluous, etc.—we might see that trend diminishing. We can all hope so.
I could go on, with hope that the overreach of Attorney General Jeff Sessions catalyzing a pushback that makes cannabis fully legal, leading to a whole new series of hemp industries that both relieve our need for fossil fuels and revitalize life and living for millions of people. You are hereby encouraged make your own lists, and send them as Comments to this piece.