Child's play

(The views expressed are the writer's only.)

Are we to believe that Mr. Trump's being incensed at NATO countries for "not paying their fair share" is somehow being driven by his sense of fairness? Not at all. The amount he is trying to collect from NATO countries when it comes to defense, in real dollars, is minute, especially when one considers the amount of trade we do with these countries.

By making it a matter of dollars and cents, though, Mr. Trump is diverting our attention from what he is really trying to do: open up trade pathways to Russia by creating dissension between us and European countries, and amongst the NATO countries (perhaps there was a deal in the works prior to, and as a means of, getting elected?). It's divide and conquer. It's all part of the hustle. Being the consummate exaggerator in chief, only he could have come up with such an absurd claim, that Germany "is captive" to Russia.

Why would he say that? This comment is not intended to make a point. It's intended to inflict hurt. It is not a commonsensical statement, and should be considered only with respect to its intended emotional impact, within an emotional context. Let's think back to our own childhood, or perhaps, our own children. What is a typical response uttered by a self-centered child when he or she can't get his way, say, be allowed to go out with a friend? "You don't love me anymore." "Translation: I’m going to put you on the defensive and hit you where it really hurts so you give in and let me go out" (Empowering parents, n.d.). Trump is not upset at the fact that Germany buys gas from Russia. He's upset because he is not at the center of it. Trump's objective is not fairness, but manipulation.

Many are perplexed by Trump's manner of dealing because they are trying to reconcile Trump's words with their own notions of fairness. The difficulty lies in that there is no match. We continue to try to place the round peg in the square hole. We must move to a different space altogether.

What is the child trying to do? It is not, trying to arrive at a position of equanimity. It wouldn't matter even if the outcome was fair. It's not about equality. It's about "me," him: what "I" can consume, control, manipulate, ingest, seduce, victimize, bully, berate...

Trump's ways are seen as "effective" by some in his base, but arguably, so is a child's, when ranting and raving, if he or she ends up getting his way, as seen by some, if outcome is the ONLY thing that matters. But is it? The problem with this method of accounting is that we're going to owe a lot more than what we've gotten by the time we've "achieved the objective."

Had not Congress (both the House and Senate) not issued a statement pledging an unequivocal commitment to NATO, Trump would have continued his efforts in attempting to dismantle it. Arguably, there would have been no reason to issue the statements would there have been trust in Trump's motives. The endgame is the same: the opportunities that persisting in dismantling one side creates for the other, and most importantly, in his eyes, for Trump, personally. There is no doubt in my mind that this president is corrupt, and compromised

I end with a quote by Sherwood Anderson ("Winesburg, Ohio"): "The mild, blue-eyed Ohio boy was a complete egotist, as all children are egotists. He did not want friends for the quite simple reason that no child wants friends. He wanted most of all people of his own mind, people with whom he could really talk, people he could harangue and scold by the hour, servants, you see, to his fancy."

God bless.

Reference:

Does Your Child Say You Don't Love Me. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.empoweringparents.com/article/does-your-child-say-this-you-dont-love-me/