POWER

"O, it is excellent / To have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous / To use it like a giant") - William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, Act II, Scene 2

If power is what you seek and you finally have it you will do anything you have to do to keep it. We the people gave Donald J. Trump the power of the presidency. We gave it to him in 2016 when the system didn’t work. Russians stuck their fingers into the Internet and wiggled them around and stirred up a lot of muck and people thought it was the truth. Then the Electoral College failed us and we ended up with Donald J. Trump. Until he walked down the escalator in Trump Tower to announce that he was running for President most Americans, the ones who did not live in New York, only knew him through television, reality television, the Apprentice. Then Fox News got involved and the rest of the media followed because ratings are all that matter and he was the lead story on every news show and people began to know what he wanted them to know. He was a good story, broke the rules, said what was on his mind, was a bit of a rogue, an American bandit, the way we like them, the way we celebrate them in song and story, the way we all want to be: free. We got a good taste and it was more than we bargained for and we turned our back on him in 2020. He didn’t like that and he tried to hold on to his power by inciting a riot and encouraging his wildest admirers - there were still some, not many but some - to storm the Capital and “Stop the Steal.” And for four years after that we heard about him everyday because he pushed his way to the front of the crowd and made himself a news story. Even when he was on trial for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman’s, or for paying off a porn star with campaign money to keep her quiet, we watched and he liked it. We gave him the power because we looked at him. Even if we said, “Oh my, what a terrible thing to do,” he liked it because we were talking about him. And that is how he gained his power. Then by hook and by crook he got himself elected again. Probably some “crook” in there when Elon Musk controlled the voting machines in Pennsylvania. A lot of “hook” because he had money behind him and the Democrats had trouble finding the floor they were standing on. And so he was elected again. He was handed the keys to the kingdom again and this time he meant to use them and to hold on to them. The first time he thought he might have to play by the rules. The second time he decided to make the rules. The law didn’t matter. Tradition didn’t matter. Precedent didn’t matter. Decency had never mattered. Instead of surrounding himself with smart people to help him make good decisions he surrounded himself with people who would say yes to whatever he said, whatever he wanted. When he said he would be a dictator no one said no and when no one says no it means yes. When he posted a picture of himself dressed like a king only the people said no and the people don’t matter, the people had never mattered.

Now the power is slipping away. Too many people have seen the real Donald J. Trump. Too many people know that he has forced himself on underage girls. Too many people know someone who has been harassed by I.C.E., detained by I.C.E., deported by I.C.E.. Too many people have seen bombs dropped on schools and kill children. Too many people know humility is a virtue and don’t like the idea of a man who puts his name on everything, including monuments in the Capital. Too many people have a different dream for America. And the power is slipping away. So once again he is changing the rules. If people say they will not vote for him then those people will not vote. He can make it happen. Because he still has the power and no one will say no to him. The courts can slow it down but he owns the Supreme Court and they will back him up. As Stephen Miller screamed at Jake Tapper on television, the world is all about power and power means you can destroy what you want if it opposes you. This is their truth. Power is what matters and power is the strength to destroy what you imagine is out to take away your power. And they will never give it up. We will have to take it. But does that mean that we will have to play the same game, the power game, and will power corrupt us? I have always told my son that it is best to tell the truth because it is hard to remember the fabric of the lie and someone sometime somewhere will ask you to unravel the fabric. And it is best not to play with power because it is a hard toy to put down. Chop wood and carry water before enlightenment and after enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. Pay attention to the little things. Life is in the details. The powerful will destroy themselves if we help them just a little.