One thing most dictators have in common is that they become convinced of their greatness. They have to brag so much, and they are showered with praise from their minions about their uniqueness and strength of personality, that they become true believers in themselves. One unique quality of God is aseity, a property by which a being exists in and of itself. The being owes its existence to no other than itself; sort of an extreme version of the self-made man. Un wittingly, tyrants begin to build their images until they arrive at the best version of themselves, the one that will bring the adoration of their subjects.
To realize this manifestation in the present occupant of the White House, all we have to do is listen to his own declarations about being the smartest man, the best president, the most knowledgeable about climate, science, the military, foreign policy, etc. Only in totalitarian regimes in places like ancient China, Japan, Russia, ancient Persia, etc have their leaders behaved like deities demanding adoration, total obedience and loyalty, and declared themselves the ultimate authorities on everything material and spiritual. That total command of their countries and their subjects made the king of England the head of the church and made Louis XIV declare “l am the state.” How many times have we heard Trump claim that he has the absolute right to do this or that? He believes he has the right to enact laws by executive order, he can pardon everyone including himself; he can bring peace to the Middle East; he alone understands Kim Jong Un because he knows more about diplomacy than anybody, etc., etc. The Democratic Party won the House in a landslide that brought dozens of women to Congress, but Trump says he didn’t lose the election. Furthermore, Vladimir Putin is trustworthy because Trump said he believed his denials. And after repeating a thousand times that there was no collusion with Russia he began to believe it, and it made it easier for him to convince Giuliani of the same thing, turning the former hero of 9/11 into a parrot of his grandiose claims and outrageous lies.
Speaking of lies, Robert Mueller’s list of offenders keeps getting longer. And each name added to the list is someone close to the president. With the addition of Roger Stone, the supposed link to Wiki-leaks and Julian Assange, the circle get smaller and the conspirators will start turning against each other. Jerome Corsi, a right-wing author and conspiracy theorist, said on Monday that he was ready to testify at the trial of Roger Stone, stating: “let the chips fall where they may.” The clay feet of their idol are clearly exposed, and it is only a matter of time. The criminals will turn to a higher authority to beg for help. But their divinity might ignore them because he will be too busy looking at himself in the mirror, amazed at his greatness.
Editorial