Saturday, April 30, 2016

Clinton/Trump (2): Donald Trump Is a Person of Appearances, Not a Person of Substance

Donald Trump is a person of appearances, not a person of substance.
Donald Trump lives on the surface. He cannot see below the surface, and values nothing below the surface.

Such a person values wealth. He considers it to be plain and obvious proof of a person's value.

For such a person, identity and worth are determined by superficial features: their race, their gender, their clothing, their hair, their skin, their physical attractiveness. He would be racist, sexist, and xenophobic. He would be obsessed with his own physical attributes, and judge others by theirs.

Such a person confuses sex with love. He would have multiple wives and multiple affairs. As he aged, he would require a succession of ever-younger women, all beautiful, all exquisitely dressed and presented. Such a man would host beauty pageants and party at the Playboy mansion.

For such a person, "confidence" would be the same as braggadocio. Modesty, humility, and quiet confidence would be unfathomable to such a person.

Such a person confuses silent submission with agreement and subservience with inferiority. He would surround himself with sycophants, and "fire" anyone who dared to disagree.

Such a person would be uninterested in questions of policy. He would not regard social questions as problems to be solved, but rather as opportunities to impose his will on others.

Such a person would have no interest in or understanding of philosophy or religion. For such a person, these fields of human endeavor might as well not exist.

Such a person would not value discussion, debate, or engagement. He would have nothing to learn from other people. He would instead insult and degrade anyone who disagrees with him. True superiority, to such a man, is established by bullying and intimidation.

Such a person values physical strength and prowess, and despises debate and the seeking of common ground. Such a person would be drawn to the spectacle of professional wrestling. In international relations, such a person would respect and admire the use of military force and disparage engagement through diplomacy, the creation of alliances, and use of economic sanctions.

Such a person would not dedicate himself to the life of the mind; to creating art, or discovering scientific truth, or inventing a product or process. Nor would he take pride in building solid homes or manufacturing superior products. No, if such a person were ambitious, he would attempt to create a brand. He would have skyscrapers built with his name on them. Everything he owned would have his name on it. The quality of the products would not matter -- just the name. This would constitute physical, tangible proof of his success and his value.

Such a person would not devote himself to fostering close relationships or to caregiving. He would regard changing a diaper or pushing a baby carriage to be "women's work," and would consider leading a scout troop or coaching his child's team to be an utter waste of his time. At most, he would regard intimacy as a shared experience -- sex, golfing, or drinking. All of his relationships would be instrumental. Kindness, trust, and love -- the kind of love that puts the happiness of the other person or the welfare of other people first -- would be unknown to such a person.

Such a person is Donald Trump.

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