Sta Hungry Stay Foolish

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

A blog by Leon Oudejans

The Trump-Bannon Revolution: Disruption, Chaos & Destruction

Donald Trump promised disruption (eg, “drain the swamp”) and delivered chaos (eg, WP). Trump’s chaos might be an excellent masquerade for Bannon’s promise to “destroy the state” (e.g., 2013 Daily Beast, 2017 Snopes, my 8 February 2017 blog).

Each action by the Trump Administration seems geared to disruption, chaos, and destruction. Many people still blame this on Trump’s ignorance and/or inexperience rather than a deliberate and well-considered course of action.

Some examples: 1) controversial Cabinet appointments who aim to fight their own departments, 2) continuous stream of falsehoods, baseless claims, or alternative facts 3) huge federal budget cuts and a simultaneous increase in military spending, 4) continuous leaks on dubious connections with other nationalist countries (eg, Russia, Turkey). All of this makes you wonder about the Why (e.g., extreme beliefs) and the Who (e.g., domestic or foreign principals). 

As long as you believe that there is no new American Revolution going on, people will continue to respect its governmental institutions (eg, President) even while their President does not (eg, Trump’s attacks on judicial system). Once you believe that Trump’s actions are illegitimate or unconstitutional then respect and trust are gone and everything changes.

The Trump-Bannon Revolution is taking place in the minds of people rather than on the battlefield. It’s a silent revolution that will not be televised (see Gil Scott-Heron song below). I do not believe that Trump and Bannon are ignorant and/or inexperienced. I do believe that both leverage on the closed mindedness, ignorance and stupidity of a large part of the American population. Allegedly, Vladimir Lenin referred to such people as “useful idiots” (Wiki).

The crucial factor in the Trump-Bannon Revolution is Time. They cannot push too hard else Trump will be impeached (eg, CNN, TIME). Similarly, they cannot go too slow else Trump will lose public support. It’s a delicate balance of attacks, diversions, and replenishment. Consequently, disruption, chaos and destruction remains on their daily agenda.

Some people will assume that it’s about “removing all traces of the Obama Presidency”. I believe it’s way beyond that. Essentially, it’s about “destroying the state”, including its checks and balances. Russia and Turkey have shown what will come in place: an autocracy.
The danger for the Trump-Bannon Revolution – and my hope – is in a Sun Tzu quote: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1971) by Gil Scott-Heron

artist, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2

Gil Scott-Heron’s explanation of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (video)

Archives

VIPosts

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin It on Pinterest