The following was written on 23rd March in preparation for blog. In light of recent events following revelations about the “Houthi PC small group”, I have added comments below:
Listening to John Gray’s Point of View broadcast 23rd March 2025, he takes a very considered view of the present global situation. Inter alia, he notes that the current Trump regime is something Trump has always been up-front about, even during his first term as President, and so should not come as a surprise. In my blog of the 10th March I referenced, in relation to the current situation, Bette Davis’s line in All About Eve, “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night”. Mr Gray concludes his piece about the present political landscape with “It’s going to be a rough ride and we’d better buckle up”.
In brief, he speaks of history, not as a continuous trend towards a maturing liberal enlightened democracy, but as a simple sequence of events of ebb and flow. Democracies and republics come and go as do dictatorships, empires and kingdoms. The fact of events repeating themselves and of having to learn to deal with similar problems through the ages, is not new. Learning is a continuous process and inevitably repetitious. The concept of learning from one’s mistakes is perhaps unattainable. Indeed, given the number of enquires (on covid, Grenfell, phone hacking and other disasters) which always present as seeking solutions to learn from our mistakes so that whatever has happened never happens again, we do not seem to have found said solutions. Somewhere between ‘never again’ and ‘fasten your seat belts’ lies the pleasant and tranquil prospect we seek.
In the meantime the rough ride is where we are at. Who would have thought that the United States Government’s so called universal appeal for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, together with its withdrawal of NATO support and rapprochement with Russia and China, would spur a fresh arms race whereby even Poland and other middle European nations are seeking to obtain nuclear weapons, and those European Nations that already have them are intent on beefing up their arsenals. In short, Mr Trump, whilst professing peace, seems doubly intent on weaponising, not only his executive departments of Justice and Government Efficiency, but the rest of the world as well.
The ups and downs of the problem makes for a tricky state of affairs. It revolves around how to deal with Mr Trump’s colossal narcissism. Should European leaders stand up to the bully or placate him gently, steering him with flatteries towards reason? Should it not be his own citizen’s standing up to him collectively with strength, rather than catering to his ego? The mix between resistance and cajoling discourse will take some doing. The most successful diplomate so far, in dealing with and obtaining favour from Trump is, of course, Vladimir Putin.
My own view is that the European leadership, Prime Ministers, Presidents and Foreign Secretaries - not just its elected representatives in their various parliaments - who must take a much stronger and united stand against Trump and his acolytes. Stop attempting to flatter him into ‘concessions’ but demand the loyalty and assistance required of an ally who professes to adhere to similar democratic constitutions and the rule of law. A country is not its leader. It has a history and an evolution that gives it a life of its own and its citizen’s reflect that life. They elect and choose representatives to secure the continued existence of that life. Sometimes they make very bad choice and need to be reminded of who they really are. European leaders need to remind the United States who they really are and show up this cult leader, this sham of a crass man, for what he truly is. In effect it is time for European and like minded world leaders to create an intervention to bring the United States back to its senses. I am told that such interventions by family members can bring about such epiphanies from cult adherents. If Britain truly has a special relationship with the United States, then it is standing in loco parentis and should take the lead.
However, I do not seek to be depressing. I do believe there are possibilities. I see and hear a good number of Americans who would more than welcome the opportunity to participate in such and endeavour. Make no mistake, the cult is powerful and stubborn but not insurmountable, particularly given the hardships they continue to suffer rather than seeing them disappear ‘on day one’. Of the promises ‘on day one,’ not one has been fulfilled. A lot of film flam has gone on, but it has proved to be just that. The waving of pens and displaying of signatures on bits of paper is a joke, with unfortunate ramifications no doubt, but the falsity is beginning to filter through. Musk’s Tesla stock is going down, Putin is largely vilified, the stock market is falling, and republicans at town halls are displaying dissatisfaction and unease. There are demonstration across the nation. I think that is cause for optimism.
Again, I do not seek to be depressing. There is room for joy. There are still plenty of things to enjoy.
Tuesday 25th March 2025:
The above was as far as I got. Thinking about the many things to enjoy. In the light of the revelations made by The Atlantic’s editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, I am in two minds as to whether to consider this as something to enjoy. On the one hand this colossal security blunder on the part of these ridiculous people in such powerful positions, exposing themselves for what they are, gives one a gleeful smile as to their incompetence. On the other hand it is truly shocking to see such narrow minded infantile prejudice and lack of real intellect by men of state. I heard Mr Goldberg’s view that he felt there was a level of sophistication in their communications as he felt they clearly had discussions amongst themselves about whether or not they should take certain actions and whether they agreed with the Presidents views. Some aspects of repercussions were contemplated; however, once the president’s view was stated, discussion over.
In my view there was nothing sophisticated about the discussion. The arrogance about American might being used to protect European interests and that what was happening in the middle east was not really their concern and that the European governments should be made to pay and reimburse the United States for the cost of the military action being launched, was outrageous. This, followed by congratulatory virtual high fives and emojis, was an exhibition of their schoolyard mentality, fully in keeping with their bully boy leader.
In short, their concerns were based on arrogance and expectations of gratitude and compensation. One could say the lack of any real intellectual discussion or serious forward thinking was PATHETIC.
Whether any ingtervention would help wiht these people is questionable.
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