It has occurred to me that I should record my thoughts of certain individuals at present, so that should the generalised impression of them change in the future, I can be certain of how it was in the past.
I’m thinking specifically of Trump – I get the feeling that as time passes, sentiments towards him will shift and morph in unpredictable ways – but it applies to any figure in the public spotlight. Aung San Suu-kyi, Vladimir Putin, Theresa May, Malcolm Turnbull, even Australian cricket captain Steve Smith, or maybe to those currently accused and/or guilty of sexual harassment.
Marcus Aurelius is quite fervent in his insistence that desiring a favourable posthumous reputation is a foolish and entirely delusional ambition, and in the context of life’s brevity this is certainly the case. However, I would add that it has the potential to be either a fantastic gift or a grave injustice to humanity; a gift if we deify an individual who stood for values in defence of virtue and the common good, but an injustice if the reality of the individual’s life stands in stark contrast to how they are remembered.
One could argue that if an individual is remembered unfairly as more evil than they truly were, this is an injustice; but I would agree with Aurelius in so far as these individuals do not have an impact on the future, and therefore their memory is ultimately inconsequential.
So, having said that, I will briefly record how I currently feel about Trump – perhaps I will address others in future, I’m not sure.
Trump, in my own opinion, is not stupid. I subscribe to the idea that he has completed too many undertakings in his life to be thought lacking in intelligence.
Trump is as close to a narcissist as I have seen from a high-level public figure, without understanding what the clinical definition fully entails. He appears completely incapable of self-reflection and deprecation, instead seeming obsessed with a need for public praise and approval – another trait vigorously condemned by Aurelius.
Trump’s decisions seem sometimes poorly thought out, and while I admire his tenacity and strength of will, I question whether any potential good that eventuates from his policies for the common good will be intentional or not.
The alignment of Trump’s policies and his own business and familial interests are concerning; I certainly do not rule out that they are simply a byproduct of what is a greater plan, but I also happily acknowledge that given the appearance of his character in the public eye, it is difficult to favour this interpretation over more conspiratorial motives.
Trump’s views on Muslims, women and the media are at best poorly articulated and at worst utterly abhorrent. His repeated attempts to ban Muslims from entering the US are intriguing but I believe futile and misguided; his comments on women reek of disgusting arrogance that I wilfully condemn; and his attempts to subdue the media are reckless at best and completely dangerous at worst.
Finally, Trump won the Presidential election; he received 48% of the vote, which is not a majority, but enough in an electoral college system and a substantial amount regardless; and I wish to state my unreserved and total rejection of the idea that Trump’s voters are somehow ‘stupid’ or ‘brainless’ for having voted for him. Such thinking is, again in my opinion, lazy, almost utterly false and astoundingly ironic.
So they are my thoughts on the matter. I would suggest that in the distant future, Trump’s presidency will be seen as the beginning of something rather than the end. Maybe it will even be studied as a significant moment for Western civilisation, but thinking about it now I’m wondering whether at this current moment, whether it marks the beginning of something great or something terrible is equally possible.
TJDempsey 