Today’s Coffee Break for the holiday weekend in the US is a simple recommendation for you to understand this long article on Front Porch Republic by W. Aaron Vandiver of Carbondale, Colorado: Trump and the Furies of Empire — Trump, in his dirty way, is forcing us to confront the false stories we’ve told ourselves about who we are.
Yes there is, but for those who have the necessary skills to realize that ours is not a problem of one side or the other, but of the ruling Uniparty. Like the diagnosis of Trump Derangement Syndrome and another TDS, Trump Deification Syndrome, it’s hard to imagine a better place to get a handle on our problem. You’ll need a cup of coffee, or two, maybe a few pints of Guinness on the back porch, as Mr. Vandiver lays out where we are and how we got here. Although there may be a few controversies, there is nothing new here in this society, from the beginning.
Donald Trump is not the cause of anything, but the result of many. When he leaves the stage, nothing will change unless people change it. Can we? That is our only hope.
The Furies will come, ready or not:
If we consider Trump’s name for his war on Iran – “Epic Fury” – we may remember that the Furies of Greek mythology were relentless goddesses of vengeance who pursued and tortured those guilty of sins such as murder, anger, greed, and jealousy. They were curses personified, like ghosts of victims, haunting the perpetrators, driving them mad, causing fear, confusion, and suffering.
What if the Furies came to America? What makes the it’s karma of the entire nation looks anthropomorphic?
If Trump is taking us to some kind of defining crisis, perhaps even an apocalypse as many seem to believe, it is worth remembering that the definition of the apocalypse is the revelation of previously hidden truths. If we look at President Trump through a metaphorical lens, what previously hidden truths are being revealed about America? What does his particular character tell us about our collective character?
Trump, in his dirty way, is forcing us to confront the false stories we’ve told ourselves about who we are. We like to comfort ourselves with the sweet talk of “democracy,” but Trump, as he balances the world on the brink of war, forces us – or gives us the opportunity – to face the ugly truth that has long been obvious to anyone willing to face it: we don’t actually live in a democracy. We live in an oligarchic, military global government that operates above the control of “The People” our Constitution dictates.
That empire, in its global dimension, grew out of a military-industrial complex that emerged after the Second World War. In the following decades, the US Empire killed and expelled foreign democratic leaders around the world – and these are historical facts – such as Patrice Lumumba in the Congo, Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala, and Salvador Allende in Chile. Since World War II, the US has directly overthrown more than a dozen foreign governments (and launched numerous coup attempts and foreign election meddling), including the 1953 Iranian coup d’état, which planted the seeds of Iran’s hatred and mistrust of us, and arguably led to the current war. Through it all, the American people and their politicians continue their cool, cool talk about democracy. We are bringing democracy and freedom to the world, the TV told us, and we nodded. Then came the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK; Vietnam, Nicaragua, Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza. Still, we focused on money, cars, houses, culture, professional sports, consumerism – the American Dream – and soothed ourselves with good news about democracy.
Here are a few links to our previous discussions here that are very relevant to our upcoming intense battle with the Furies. This battle can be won. But only if we recover our sense of humanity and ignore the Uniparty noise.
The Definition of Freedom in the United States (Nicholas Buccola)
Hayek’s Bastards and the Rise of Neoliberalism (Quinn Slobodian)
Doing MAGA Right (Laura K. Field)
How Will Capitalism End? Essays on a Failing System (Wolfgang Streeck)
Christopher Lasch and the Distemper of Our Time: History Predicted
Virtue Hoarders: The Case Against the Professional Management Class (Catherine Liu)
Hannah Arendt, Isaiah Berlin and the Tenor of Our Time (Kei Hiruta)
An Unwanted Apocalypse (Wes Jackson of the Land Institute)
Herman Daly: Economist of Our Time (Date included in story)
Thanks for reading! I look forward to the witty commentary on Furies of Empire. The things I had in mind for today’s Coffee Break can wait until next week.
On this Memorial Day Monday in the United States, let us remember what our thoughtless imperialism has done to millions of families around the world.
