While discussing the poor potential of the incoming administration, a friend expressed hopes that they would shake things up. Positive results were assumed. I understood what he meant as I have entertained such delusions myself from time to time during the presidential campaign. The best I could do though, was reply "Keep in mind, a fox in the hen house shakes things up".
We have just experienced a seemingly endless campaign fraught with endless lies and October surprises. It burst into the consciousness of the electorate with a result that left the discouraged gleeful and the gleeful discouraged. Yet this was the high point before the future president began to form his cabinet. After assailing the evil of Hillary Clinton's paid speeches to Goldman Sachs, the new administration is Goldman Sachs. And the promise of draining the DC swamp has turned into populating the very same swamp with predators who will devour everything within reach, including each other.
Most of us assume debate is good, and it probably is in most cases. But there comes a time when debate must end and we need to move along. The best example of this is the debate of the "global warning" of global warming. The debate has lasted for roughly 100 years with growing intensity. That the earth is warming now ranks in certainty with why an apple falls from a tree. While the earth has heated up in the past without the help of humans, this time we are responsible and this is only a bit less certain than gravity. This is not open to debate. What is open to debate is how much, how fast, and what can we do.
I am so sure of the existence of global warming, it is now my litmus test for whether someone is serious enough to discuss more than whether it will rain today. That said, this doesn't mean if new information reveals itself one shouldn't resume the debate.
Whether this new administration will be corrupt is not debatable. Whether it will be economically and environmentally destructive is a near certainty. What is open to debate is how much, how fast, and what can we do.
In an earlier article, The InnerSelf Ban On Most Things Trump, I laid out the beginnings of our strategy at InnerSelf in dealing with the coming epic struggle. To expand on our strategy seems appropriate as the inauguration looms a few days from now and the resistance moves forward.
Many have already focused on whether the incoming president is a narcissist and while this kind of diagnosis is tricky and potentially "unfair" he does exhibit some of the traits of narcissism. And one obvious need of a narcissist is to be continuously in the spotlight and for this individual this need is indisputable.
In preparation for the 2017 presidential inauguration, several things have stood out. That the inauguration committee has had difficulty lining up entertainment talent has been well documented. That the African-American general in command of the DC national guard has been asked to resign under controversial circumstances immediately is racist symbolism whether intentional or unintentional and demonstrates an administration with poor judgement.
One such behavior exhibited by the incoming administration that is both comical and symbolic is the obvious trauma of provisioning port-a-potties for the festivities. It seems that the major contractor in the DC area goes by the name of Don's Johns, a name he proudly has painted on all his potties. Someone besides the company made arrangements to cover the name and thus discourage any attempts at exposing the symbolism of the new president, his cabinet, and the word "johns" in connection to prostitution.
The recent outbursts during the recent pre-presidential press conference in which CNN was accused as "fake news" and not worthy of a question has undoubtedly scurried the managing news editors into conference on how to deal with a new era of Mark Twain's "Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics" without even bothering with the statistics. Whether the media will cooperate with each other and fulfill their constitutional duty, or will they merely eat each other remains to be seen.
This new president is galloping into the White House with some of the most negative press in presidential campaign history. One can argue whether "all publicity is good publicity", but for the true narcissist the following quote perhaps is more appropriate:
"There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." - Oscar Wilde
Some argue that when The President speaks it is news. But in this case when this president will speak it will likely be nonsense, bs, or fake news and deserving only a cocked ear rather than excessive attention that feeds narcissism. Nevertheless, we must all be open to epiphanies without holding our breath.
Perhaps the best way to combat narcissistic tendencies in others is to remove that which is craved the most: attention. We should refrain from running pictures of, and only referencing the new president as the current president.
For the next four years we need to work with the goal of installing a benevolent organizing rooster in the hen house instead of a fox. Now it's time to move on from President Obama's "Yes We Can" to "Hey, Look Ma, I'm gettin' it done!"
About the Author
Robert Jennings is co-publisher of InnerSelf.com with his wife Marie T Russell. He attended the University of Florida, Southern Technical Institute, and the University of Central Florida with studies in real estate, urban development, finance, architectural engineering, and elementary education. He was a member of the US Marine Corps and The US Army having commanded a field artillery battery in Germany. He worked in real estate finance, construction and development for 25 years before starting InnerSelf.com in 1996.
InnerSelf is dedicated to sharing information that allows people to make educated and insightful choices in their personal life, for the good of the commons, and for the well-being of the planet. InnerSelf Magazine is in its 30+year of publication in either print (1984-1995) or online as InnerSelf.com. Please support our work.
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