To break sharply with the past is to court the madness that may follow the shock of sudden blows or mutilations. As the sanity of the individual lies in the continuity of his memories, so the sanity of a group lies in the continuity of its traditions; in either case a break in the chain invites a neurotic reaction, as in the Paris massacres of September, I792.
-- Will Durant, The Lessons of History
Or the Capitol riot in 2020. When people saw that it took a week to count the votes and that anomalies surfaced left and right, the reaction was swift and bitter.
And it is only the first assault, not the last. Rambunctious President Trump is bent on his own revolution, and if successful, it will leave American public unable to recognize itself anymore. A "neurotic reaction" is sure to follow.
What is causing this break in the chain of continuity?
First, there is Trump himself, shambling and glowering like a pro-wrestling heel. His official portrait -- the one that hangs in American embassies -- says it all: a self-pitying bully, or bull who intends to stomp the china shop into dust. Previous portraits embodied the nation's self-image: friendly, orderly, neighborly. Even the conniving Nixon smiled for his portrait. But here is a president who makes no bones about his viciousness, and equates his grievances with America's: everyone is taking advantage of me/us; everyone is cheating me/us; everyone is robbing me/us -- but only because other administrations have made it easy for them, and I/we will make them pay for that.
This victim's way of looking at the world is Trump's contribution to American politics. It always finds a welcome reception -- from Hitler justifying German militarism to Nigel Farage promoting Brexit -- because the blame for the country's ills has specific culprits: immigrants, the mendacious "allies", the (Democratic) elite, the "Deep State", the Justice Department -- to name just a few of Trump's favorites. His message contrasts deeply with the previous narrative of a strong America that led a more-or-less willing group of nations that needed to be wary of enemies. Trump's solution is not the usual "vigilance" and "resolve", but revenge. Hence the first cultural shock for Americans: with obvious anomalies like Osama bin Laden and 9-11, they have no experience with policies of revenge.
Or the policy of conquest. Trump, who knows how to campaign but really has little understanding of Americans, expects his compatriots to burst with pride when his troops clobber angry locals at the Panama Canal -- expects them to beat their chests and do the gorilla chant: "U.S.A.! U.S.A." But the reaction is likely to be stunned silence: did we really need to spill blood for that?
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