YeKengalé

The manipulation of public sentiment and opinion (in that order) in the pursuit of power is almost a definition of our real politik and is as old a practice as human civilization. So, while mindful of new lows in artful execution, yes sparked by the self acclaimed and publicly confirmed (by followers and foes alike) interruptor extraordinaire, Monsieur Trump; we must transcend the petty personal and partisan dimension to explore the soul of the movements both on the ground and in the leadership that contest for power in the upcoming US election and determine not only agendas and stakes, but mettle.

By mettle, I mean that ruthless and savvy are often desirable traits in particular contexts of life. No woman wants a perfect gentleman by her side when she is being accosted by a rogue. As they say, tough times call for tough measures.

There are those that do not expect the Perfect Bully to concede an electoral loss, being notoriously capable of fact-free judgment and perfectly uninhibited by precedent or precept. The idea of America burning in Armageddonian Race war has been cherished on both poles of America’s politics for a long while. For many still, the Civil War represents unfinished business.

The race war may come, whether in black and white, or red and blue…..and perhaps both as we see the developments in Minnesota – the continuing saga of a drama that has its roots much deeper than Trayvon Martin or even Tawana Brawley, when Al Sharpton still was fat, but in the strange fruit hanging from Southern trees.

I dont know that people get ‘the Donald’. The poor fellow has even himself confused at times by his projected persona. He seemed perfectly ready to concede to Hilary last election. Post decision chest thumping aside, his win was astounding, even to himself, who hadn’t even bothered it seemed to prepare a victory speech. When the facts seemed stacked against him, he was ready to bow out gracefully. (And for those who dont think the Donald capable of grace, look again at his Al Smith speech just prior to the election.) Maybe we have become ourselves victims of the Trump mystique. The Donald may be many things, but his commitment to America’s most cherished ideals should not be questioned.

Or should they? At any rate, lightning struck for him before. Not all of the underdog myth is fabricated. Even if that lightning was an Act of God, the distillation of the prayers of the elect; Covid 19 is no less such an Act, at least according to insurance claims. At any rate, God is not a factor in American elections, the American people are….. (unless God is Himself now a manipulator of the sovereign will of a people….or unless the American people themselves choose to make him a factor….however they conceive him to be). Whichever the case, those prophets who make claims that God is pre-scient of human outcomes are partial, imbalanced, theologically misleading and therefore false. The truth is He is omniscient of them.

It was never about Trump. He was as much the perfect scapegoat for the perpetuation of the American dream as was his predecessor. The thing about dreams is, one day you wake up.

N.B. Folks may querry my employ of ‘scapegoat’ but yes presidents are an offering of sorts to the Prospect of a people… even if the ‘slaughterhouse’ has become a laughterhouse as at present; the place where the victim’s goose is cooked has become a place of mockery and derision for local comics and centers of government worldwide.