Megalomaniacs in chief
People call Donald Trump a megalomaniac.1 But he is not the only one.
A megalomaniac is "a person who is obsessed with their own power." Donald Trump fits that definition. So does Joe Biden.
What if Donald Trump was up for re-election, but obviously suffering severe cognitive decline? He would refuse to step aside. He would claim to be the best candidate regardless of his condition. He would do exactly what Joe Biden is doing now.
Biden is obviously not fit to be president. His debate performance proved that, if his prior gaffes did not. Many of his party's supporters are suggesting he step aside. However, Biden insists he is the best candidate his party could possibly field. He says he would consider stepping aside only if God ordered him:
- In a statement to reporters: "I'm the best qualified person to do the job."
- In a letter to congressional Democrats: "I'm not going anywhere".
- In an interview, when asked if he would step aside: "if the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that."
This is what megalomania looks like.
You can make your own decision about whether Biden or Trump is the lesser evil in 2024. Regardless, the winner will be a geriatric megalomaniac with a history of inappropriate behavior and corruption. Just like when they were president last time.
The more powerful we make our government, the more we will fight over who controls it.
The more we fight over who controls our government, the more we will find megalomaniacs the only people willing to endure the vicious, toxic, endless hostilities.
We brought this on ourselves. We abandoned our experiment in limited government. Instead, we repeated the classic mistake of human history: we encouraged our government to grow powerful. In doing that, we manifested the classic political dynamic of history: the dynamic of the megalomaniac ruler – the king, emperor, dictator, and tyrant.
If we are not going to be different from history, why would we expect different results?
Footnotes
1. Examples include Al Sharpton, Noam Chomsky, and pundits at The Hill, The Nation, and Salon.
