Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at 3:51 PM
In Jonathan Swift’s satirical story of Gulliver’s Travels, Gulliver lands on the island of Lilliput, where the inhabitants, called Lilliputians, stand about 10 inches tall. According to Wikipedia, Lilliputians symbolize humankind’s excessive pride in its tiny existence. Swift fully intends the tiniest race visited by Gulliver in the story, to represent by far the most vainglorious and smug, both collectively and individually. Does that ring a bell? Anyone? Anyone?
As a little boy it was one of my favorite stories, which I read and reread over and over at 9 years old! I didn’t realize then that it was a metaphor, a satirical outlook on human frailty! I never associated it with any country or government, until now!
The reelection of Donald Trump, a flawed misanthrope in my opinion, who loves himself and himself alone, made me understand the story in a way I never thought possible. This man hates America, he hates his followers, he hates the world! He was never imbued with anything empathetic in his soul, never cared for the welfare of his country, and definitely not for the rest of humanity; and at this stage in his life, I don’t believe he ever could!
Bear with me, please. Every single person he has picked to serve in his administration is, in my opinion, flawed and unqualified, including Marco Rubio, his Secretary of State! Every single one of them has that Uriah Heep complex! In other words, they are fawning, obsequious, and totally insincere! They will agree with all of his outlandish, illegal, illogical statements, and unfortunately, his unexplainable and inexcusable actions! If he suggested that next month he would blow up the continent of Africa because it is too black, they would bow down and sing his praises for his foresight and wisdom, including the minorities in his Cabinet, if there is a single one, apart from Rubio.
This behavior extends to the Republican Party, to Congress, and his followers. They are prepared to Jim Jones themselves for him! They have been emasculated, neutered, threatened and blackmailed into submission; but most of them are willing participants in his quest to reshape the landscape in his image, or destroy it!
He does not respect or care about public opinion! He wants to tear down every safeguard put in place to protect the public from financial, social, political, judicial malfeasance, and especially from destroying the healthcare sector, that includes insurance industry guidelines! He is trying to tear down all protections! Through his illegal and antithetical actions, by way of executive order, he is showing his distain, disrespect, contempt, and indifference to the plight of a nation that needs protection from all the vampires and barons, who would like nothing more than to run roughshod over us for their own financial gain! Whether it is clean air, or plastics in our food and water, he is trying to do away with all environmental regulations, basic social and human rights, everything! And again, this elected Republican congress does not even have a muted response, not even muted, to his autocratic impulses!
His misguided ambitions extend to the rest of the world. We all should feel like Rodney Dangerfield, getting no respect whatsoever. In his vision for America, anyone that supports his messianic views can commit any crime, including murder, and will be pardoned by him—to hell with justice and the courts and judges!
Even in 13th century England, King John was held accountable for his tyrannical rule by the Magna Carta, which has tempered the excesses of all the kings who followed him, and has been a blueprint for most democracies ever since! Trump, the least educated president ever, does not understand the concept of that document. He is more of a Roy Cohn disciple —conquer or destroy! Wat a ting!
The Court is the only institution left to save us from this infection (and it is an infection)—the courts, and a very compromised media! To save us from being exposed to his worst instincts, his narcissistic excesses that will cause us (by “us” I mean the world) much pain and suffering in the next 4 years!
All those who voted for this unstable genius, all those who didn’t vote because of their own selfish issues, all those who have been nonchalant about the fragility of our democracy, all of you are responsible for all the unimaginable suffering that lies ahead. You have been thoughtless and selfish, and in my opinion, deserve every ounce of pain coming your way, you little people. Welcome to Lilliput!
“They’re not like us.”—Kendrick Lamar
Glen