"The strong do what they will, and the weak suffer what they must."
Athens to the Melians, 416 BC.Trump's bullying of Ukraine is not new. Athens did the same thing to the neutral island of Melos back in 416 BC.
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| CLICK: "I stand for truth, justice, and the America way." She laughs. |
Trump exercises power, and Republicans like him for it. It's a dog-eat-dog world.
Trump won with a message of ethno-nationalist right populism. America first.
Embedded in Trump's message was profound rejection of the foreign policy establishment that had made the USA the center of a network of international agreements to keep the peace after World War Two.
Trump said we were saps. We should use our power to win. The naive, polite Obama-Hillary-UN lovers of the world don't understand the reality of a dog-eat-dog world, Trump said. Republican voters liked that spirit and they were well prepared to dislike Obama. They rejected Republican candidates who talked about bipartisanship and unity.
Democrats talk about Trump's character, and think people should be offended by him. Some are. Many are not. Yes, he stiffed contractors. He cheated bondholders. He says not paying taxes is smart. He grabs pussies. He is shameless in exaggerations. He abandoned Kurdish allies. He turns on political friends who are no longer useful.
It doesn't hurt him at all.
It doesn't hurt him at all.
Now, with impeachment, Democrats are exercised that Trump used the power of his office to force Ukraine to be an unwilling participant in American domestic politics, on behalf of Trump's election, a classic case of abuse of power.
It still doesn't hurt him.
It still doesn't hurt him.
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| Trump on swing state polls: "I'm going through the roof" |
The debate between justice and power is an ancient one discussed by students in ethics and policy classes for 2400 years.
In 416 BC the people of the small island of Melos were neutral in the war between Athens and Sparta, the Peloponnesian War. Athenian leaders brought a delegation to Melos, and told them to pay tribute to Athens and join forces with them, or Athens would totally destroy them. Decide immediately.
In 416 BC the people of the small island of Melos were neutral in the war between Athens and Sparta, the Peloponnesian War. Athenian leaders brought a delegation to Melos, and told them to pay tribute to Athens and join forces with them, or Athens would totally destroy them. Decide immediately.
Melian leaders said this was unjust. They were peaceful and meant nobody harm. This was profoundly unethical, they said.
Athens said this wasn't about justice; it was about power. We do this because we can and it is in our interest. "The strong do what they will, and the weak suffer what they must."
The Melian leaders decided it was dishonorable to submit to such injustice, so resisted. Athens overwhelmed them, killed all the adult men, sent the women and children into slavery, and then sent Athenian colonists to take over the empty island. They could and they did.
Ukraine had elected a president on a platform of anti-corruption. Their interest was to stay out of American domestic politics. Trump wanted something from them, their announcement that they were investigating Hunter Biden. It would be a talking point in the election. See! there is an investigation!
Trump, via Rudy Giuliani, Gordon Sondland, Rick Perry, and others in the special team, the "Three Amigos," went to Ukraine and communicated the ultimatum. Announce an investigation or don't get the military aid you desperately need to hold off the Russians. A whistleblower exposed the gambit, so aid was given without the announcement.
Americans don't like to choose between justice and power. Americans like to think we combine justice and power, not choose between them. Superman is a good guy.
Democrats think Trump did an impeachable act. It was against the rules of foreign aid. Democrats think rules matter. They don't. Republicans don't care.
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| Sondland: Of course, quid pro quo. |
Americans don't like to choose between justice and power. Americans like to think we combine justice and power, not choose between them. Superman is a good guy.
Democrats think Trump did an impeachable act. It was against the rules of foreign aid. Democrats think rules matter. They don't. Republicans don't care.
The Trump "so what?" argument works because this is really about power in a dirty world. Democrats do their thing, Republicans do their thing. Democrats hate Republicans and will remove Trump if they can, so Republicans will resist because they can.
He won't be removed from office.
Trump was just doing what the powerful did in 416 BC and what the powerful do now. Play to win in a world without rules.
3 comments:
The first Republican President said:
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
We’ve come a long way, baby!
Here’s one from the movie Three Amigos:
“Looks like someone’s been down here with the ugly stick.” (Dusty Bottoms)
What is the point of all this exposition? Lord, yes, don't give power to the unscrupulous?
You are correct. Regressives believe in a "dog eat dog" world. Progressives know otherwise. It doesn't make them weak and vulnerable, however it does demand constant vigilance lest the jungle return.
The Trumps and Sondlands of this world take advantage when they can of a society that is built on laws and ethical conventions, they can even prosper, but ultimately they are outside it.
It's hard to imagine but there are worse actors than them waiting for their chance, and while you go on about Trump's "strength" the reality is that it is a chimera, and his mob can be wooed by another more venal autocrat when things worsen for them.
America is getting a hard civics lesson. Progressives are learning the folly of complacency. The predictable degeneration of the Republican party has created an actual two party system, long overdue.
Anyway, it's between Sen. Warren and Sen. Sanders. I don't think Bernie can win a general at this point, and a woman president will be better for the country and history, particularly given Sen. Warren's strengths. BTW, I predict Iowans will come to their senses and Sen. Warren will win the caucuses with 55%. I also predict that a 12% showing in Iowa will result in Bernie withdrawing and throwing his support to her, realizing if he continues it will be divisive.
VP Biden?...25% max in Iowa and he will probably win SC, though not decisively, but be washed out on Super Tuesday.
Am visualizing...
I ask commenters not to plagiarize from news sources. One or more anonymous posters routinely go to conservative news outlets like Breitbart and the Washington Examiner and quote extended material that pass along conspiratorial memes.
If readers have fully absorbed, mentally integrated, and themselves believe conspiratorial memes bashing Democrats, please feel free to write them up in your own words. If they are not obscene or nasty I may well leave them up. But what I won't do is let the comest section become an aggregation site. There are copyright issues and there are honesty issues.
If anonymous posters want people to read news articles from the Trump-oriented media, they should create their own blog aggregation site, create an audience, and then curate the articles themselves. But not here.
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