It was President Richard Nixon who liked to play at the crazy man routine. For reasons still unfathomable to me, he developed a fondness for the madman syndrome, liked to be seen as such. One of those foaming-around-the gills, out-of-control, fiends that people shrink from on the streets. He put on his best act when laying out his cards to US enemies; any who blocked his way, disturbed his composure. In Mr. Nixon’s instance, perfecting the madman syndrome was his idea of straightening out obstinate people, and compel them to his understanding of how to resolve difficult circumstances. Suffice it to say, Richard Nixon was no madman and, to tangle matters, he was a poor actor. Few took him seriously.
In the case of President Donald Trump, it depends on the day, the hat that fits his head. Somewhere inside his fevered head, the part that’s clear, he has to make a choice to match the situation. Either he is Mr. Hyde or Hannibal Lector. In those two names, there is something for everybody. Those who never read a book in their life, are sure to have viewed a motion picture or two. Bottom line: Some old men with lengthy beards, and strangely outfitted, have sent Mr. Trump spiraling to the edge of reality. In a word: Iran. The precipice was never closer, shakier, more in danger of collapsing at the merest movement of a leaf. Donald Trump looks like a hearty eater. Mortal peril. I fear for him. I fear for America more. The fear for Iran is less. The Persians know how to perpetuate irregular warfare. The US has the Pentagon. Iran has its cells, moles, sleepers. They have no code, no structured SoPs. The Don said the Iranians threw in the towel. The Iranians retort that he caved under the weight of his own molasses moments. Sticky and like Crazy Glue those can be. Let debaters and armchair generals begin their discussions and dissections about who is afflicted with derangement syndrome, and who is not. I have already moved on, with one step backward, ten forward.
In Richard Nixon’s situation and clear-as-sky condition, if he was a madman, then so am I. He didn’t help himself and, if it came to a test, he would have proven to be the worst Oscar contender. In sum, Nixon was a poor president (at least, domestically), and one of the poorest candidates for a slot in the acting profession. Even as a bit player, an extra, or a part-timer. He wanted to parachute in the 82nd Airborne, and seal the Saudi Arabian oil wells with cement. That was to teach them to play ruff games with the US and their oil that belongs to the world and America, not necessarily in that order. A soothing bucket of ice-cold sanity-enriched water brought him to his senses. The Russians were watching. The Democrats had both bark and bite back then.
Regarding Mr. Trump, the world gets a combination that is unlikable, as well as unmanageable. How about Hollywood cum Bollywood for a start, and Bethlehem to refine things nicely! This Bethlehem is not where Jesus (remember him and his commercial about Prince of Peace?), well Donald Trump went ahead and seized that crown for himself. It’s more from a contorted string of contradictory clues. Lest I forget: the Bethlehem mentioned is that hospital in England. Here’s a dollar to inspire efforts: from Bethlehem is derived that mangled construction of bedlam. Neat isn’t it? Admirable also, since it fits the man in question, so well. He is the real article. Nixon can playact. Trump way is strangling: play the fool with me, and get ready for the guillotine coming to sever gullet from grand ideas in the head about resistance.
For some reason, the image of Guyanese loonies’ fills front windshield and rearview mirror in distorted proportions. Prepare for street communication. Yuh tink yuh maad, ah gon show yuh who really mad. Me hed aint good. There it is, straight from the mouths of the people who count. Of this be assured, I know my limitations. The problem for today’s world is that it now lives with a phony peace, an artificial tranquility, with this stick of vinegar and spice held in reserve. There is North Korea. Ah, the Axis of Aggression looms.
