Is President Donald Trump A Raving Lunatic?

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Opinion

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By André Faust

US President Donald Trump

On the question of Donald Trump’s mental fitness, I have to come to bat for him. There is no doubt that his approach to the presidency is quite out of the extraordinary and his twits are what you expect from a middle school. But does that translate that he is mentally unstable?

I would argue on his behalf he is very stable and rational. What he is doing is catering to the populace mentality, in other words, the herd mentality. The reality is the populace most of the time is in error. As professor Dr Leo Stauss points out in his book “Natural Right and History”. As individuals, we can be very smart but as a group, we can be very stupid and give into our emotions rather than our rationality to influence our opinions.

Trump has been consistent throughout his campaign and up to now consistent with his presidency. He has been transparent in that respect. He is giving his voters what they want. While I don’t agree with his methods or his political philosophy I do not give into arguments that he is mentally unstable.

What he is using is a strict business model to run a country, I would argue that it is the business model that is flawed. Trump simply represents that flaw.

His behaviours suggest that he scores high on the Macheolvelian and the megalomaniac scale but that doesn’t make him mentally unstable, crazy. A number one “DICK”, yes, but not a crazy man.

The American people voted him in, It doesn’t matter what I think of him, he was elected by the democratic process. So if the Americans voted in a “Shit head” then they have to live with it. That what democracy is all about, sometimes you get what you want and sometimes you get what you don’t want.

There is a danger of playing the mental health card because the interpretation of behaviour is not a constant, what is seen as abnormal at one period of time is seen as abnormal at another period of time and vice versa and therefore can be used against anyone who doesn’t conform to the current Ideology.

If Donald Trump were to be removed from office because his opponents see him as mentally unfit that would set the precedence that would allow removing someone from office on the abstract idea of what constitutes mental illness because you don’t like the way they are doing things.

Personally, Trump and the whole American mindset is an object of political/sociological study. A study that will either affirm the current research or refute political and sociological theories.

Unless he violates any legislation, mental issues is not a justification for removal.

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The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear – Adam Curtis

Even though the Power of Nightmares was a comparison between Radical Islamists and the American Neoconservatives what is more important is recognizing the behaviours between the two, while the stage is different in 2016, the same kind of behavioural games are played with governments in attempting to maintain control. If the Government is successful to create any fear then the likely hood of increased support for whatever the government wants to accomplished. The Power of Nightmares is only and example – André Faust: Editors Note

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Originally release on October 2004, Adam Curtis explains the relationship between the Islamic extremist and the Neo-conservatives. The points made in the documentary The Power nightmares are relevant to the ISIS crises that we see today.

THE POWER OF NIGHTMARES
By Adam Curtis

BBC Current Affairs
2004

The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear, written and produced by Adam Curtis (2004)

PART I: BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE [1949-1983]

http://www.tacomapjh.org/PowerofNightmares-PartI.pdf

The following notes summarize the argument of the first part of “The Power of Nightmares,” and add some additional historical information.

Radical Islamists

Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966): [“In 1939, he became a functionary in Egypt’s Ministry of Education (wizarat al-ma’arif); from 1948 to 1950, he went to the United States on a scholarship to study the educational system, receiving a master’s degree from the Colorado State College of Education (now the University of Northern Colorado). Qutb’s first major theoretical work of religious social criticism, Al-‘adala al-Ijtima’iyya fi-l-Islam (Social Justice in Islam), was published in 1949, during his time overseas. — The perceived racism, materialism, and ‘loose’ sexual conduct that he saw in the United States is believed by some to have been the impetus for his rejection of Western values and his move towards radicalism upon returning to Egypt. Resigning from the civil service he became perhaps the most persuasive publicist of the Muslim Brotherhood. The school of thought he inspired has become known as Qutbism.” ―- Wikipedia.]

Beware the Ides of September: a turbulent month for the economy

It brought Lehman Brothers’ collapse and Northern Rock’s run, now Syria, the Fed Reserve and G20 are among new flashpoints

The Federal Reserve’s chairman Bernard Bernanke. Conflict with Syria may affect oil prices, but policy error by the Federal Reserve troubles markets the most during the dangerous month of September. Photograph: James Lawler Duggan/Reuters

September is a dangerous month. Five years ago this month, Lehman Brothers went belly-up. Twelve months earlier there was the run on Northern Rock. Black Wednesday in September 1992 saw Britain’s departure from the exchange rate mechanism; the pound left the gold standard in September 1931.

The signs are that September 2013 will also be an interesting month. That’s interesting as in scary. There are five potential flashpoints: Syria, the G20 summit, emerging markets, the Federal Reserve meeting to discuss scaling down the US stimulus, and the German election. Any one of them has the potential to damage the global economy.

Vatican warns over Syria ‘world conflict’

Intervention will not decrease violence, risking a conflagration that will extend to other countries: Senior Vatican official

A senior Vatican official on Monday warned the war in Syria could escalate into a global conflict, a day after Pope Francis made an impassioned call for peace.

“The Syria conflict has all the ingredients to explode into a war of global dimensions,” Monsignor Mario Toso, head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, told Vatican radio.

“The solution to Syria’s problems is not in armed intervention. Violence will not decrease and there is a risk of a conflagration that extends to other countries,” he said.

The comments came as the United States and France sought to build support for strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime over allegations it used chemical weapons against its own people on August 21.

More than 110,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against the regime began in March 2011, according to activists.

Francis called for a day of fasting and prayer on Saturday for peace in Syria, calling on Christians, believers of other religions and non-believers to take part.

Originally published in Ahram online

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Russia Warns of ‘Catastrophic Consequences’ If US Meddles in Syria

By Kirit Radia

Hassan Ammar/AP Photo
Syrian Life Amidst the Chaos

Russian officials today hit back at the United States and its allies after Secretary of State John Kerry warned Monday that the Syrian government would face consequences for last week’s alleged chemical weapons attack.

A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry this morning warned of “catastrophic consequences” for Syria and the region if the United States and its allies intervene. It also expressed “serious disappointment” after the United States announced it would back out of a meeting this week with Russian officials to plan a long-delayed peace conference.

Syria’s Guilt in Chemical Attack ‘Clear to the World,’ Kerry Says

That conference seems a long way off now. A main Syrian opposition group reportedly said that it would not attend peace talks after last week’s attack.

Since the alleged chemical attack Wednesday near Damascus, Russia has joined the Syrian government in casting doubt on disturbing videos posted online of the aftermath, showing rows of dead bodies without visible trauma wounds or blood and survivors shaking uncontrollably.

The Foreign Ministry reiterated such doubts today, accusing the West of creating “artificial unfounded pretexts” as an excuse to get involved militarily.