Looking forward to more bangers. This article resonates strongly with my feelings ever since the first assassination attempt and also beforehand (that evening I ordered a Trump flag to proudly fly in deep-blue Chicago suburbs). It’s a struggle to define my adoration of Trump even to a friendly crowd. Though it’s always funny that they have little to say afterwards. I think even the most liberal TDS-addled brain knows what they saw on July 13th.
It’s not love, like romantic or familial love, obviously. And it’s not Christian reverence or worship, as if Trump is the second coming of Christ (he’s self-evidently not). But history chose him that day. It felt that way in the moment and an election sweep and nonstop winning afterwards just adds to the narrative.
Your comparison to Caesar or other great kings is probably appropriate, and explains my inability to otherwise put it into words. We don’t have these figures these days, both because of our government’s structure and society’s obsession with tearing everything down. It was probably a healthy feeling to have towards a leader, one that’s been lost through years of corrupt, lacking leaders.
GoT was a great show to start, but perhaps this hunger for charisma is what brought so much adoration for Ned Stark. We don’t see it much these days. For an egomaniac, Trump sure has given up a lot for the country.
A society that can love its leaders is a healthy one. It is the natural state of things, and that we can no longer do this, and/or feel embarrassed by these feelings is a sign that we have strayed.
For a time, that would have been enough for me. Our politics and system and political class is a joke, so let’s just laugh at it and lean into the absurdity, blah blah. But I don’t know. It turns out that pointing and laughing while it all burns down and collapses isn’t satisfying. Maybe it’s okay to actually have a leader you like on a deeper level than “He totally pwns the other side.”
I understand the “love” of which you speak. In 2016, I was a 21-22 year old male, going to university in Philadelphia. Raised in a Republican family, yet ignorant to the world around me. I saw and hated the division that the Obama administration was sowing. I found in the GOP primary field a man named RAND PAUL, and he proved to me that there was at least one, honest, principled politician out there, when I’d begun to believe my entire reality was corrupt. I fell in love with Rand Paul, the man and what he stood for. As the race wore on, Rand had long since ended his campaign, and it was Trump vs. Clinton. I began to see that authenticity in Trump. I felt this great energy and love, and I remember channeling my love for those two great men into my marathon training. Many late autumn nights were spent running with the Philadelphia skyline behind me, and the IDEAS of Rand Paul and Donald Trump resonating as loudly as the music in my headphones. It was and still is love
Aeneas was the leader of a group of illegal Trojan immigrants invading the Italian tribes. He had to convince the Greek colonists already there and the Etruscans, that he was a benefit rather than a danger. Moreover, Turnus would be the Trumpiest character in Vergil’s poem.
I finally had some time to read this essay. Excellent work.
The moment Trump was shot, and then got back up without concern for his life to rally his supporters to fight, not only changed Trump, but changed the perception of Trump.
People I know who weren't going to vote for him, political moderates if you will, all of a sudden started to praise him, and then eventually voted for him.
That moment has a chance to change the trajectory of the United States. We are finally blessed with a hero in a world increasingly devoid of such. He cannot do it alone, but he has galvanized many to fight by his side.
One of the most outstanding pieces I’ve read in some time. By some turn of fate or divine miracle, we have entered the golden timeline. Trump is a truly Carlylian figure seemingly out of a story book.
While we are admitting our feelings among friends, I honestly feel this way about Steve Bannon 😅 It feels insane to say, but while Trump is the distant Zeus of infinite power and force of character, Bannon is our Loki or, to stay in southern eurpoe, perhaps our Prometheus! His words have a fierceness that Trump forswears for his melodic drone and delightful jibes. Bannon is acerbic and strikes with saber slashes...
We have these demi-gods throughout the scene with Lomez himself on one of these more modest, yet venerable pedestals!
Quote: "The problem is not just one of technology or the chattering class’s petty moralism, but a spiritual emptiness that has hollowed modern life to its core."
Looking forward to more bangers. This article resonates strongly with my feelings ever since the first assassination attempt and also beforehand (that evening I ordered a Trump flag to proudly fly in deep-blue Chicago suburbs). It’s a struggle to define my adoration of Trump even to a friendly crowd. Though it’s always funny that they have little to say afterwards. I think even the most liberal TDS-addled brain knows what they saw on July 13th.
It’s not love, like romantic or familial love, obviously. And it’s not Christian reverence or worship, as if Trump is the second coming of Christ (he’s self-evidently not). But history chose him that day. It felt that way in the moment and an election sweep and nonstop winning afterwards just adds to the narrative.
Your comparison to Caesar or other great kings is probably appropriate, and explains my inability to otherwise put it into words. We don’t have these figures these days, both because of our government’s structure and society’s obsession with tearing everything down. It was probably a healthy feeling to have towards a leader, one that’s been lost through years of corrupt, lacking leaders.
GoT was a great show to start, but perhaps this hunger for charisma is what brought so much adoration for Ned Stark. We don’t see it much these days. For an egomaniac, Trump sure has given up a lot for the country.
A society that can love its leaders is a healthy one. It is the natural state of things, and that we can no longer do this, and/or feel embarrassed by these feelings is a sign that we have strayed.
“At least he made us laugh.”
For a time, that would have been enough for me. Our politics and system and political class is a joke, so let’s just laugh at it and lean into the absurdity, blah blah. But I don’t know. It turns out that pointing and laughing while it all burns down and collapses isn’t satisfying. Maybe it’s okay to actually have a leader you like on a deeper level than “He totally pwns the other side.”
I understand the “love” of which you speak. In 2016, I was a 21-22 year old male, going to university in Philadelphia. Raised in a Republican family, yet ignorant to the world around me. I saw and hated the division that the Obama administration was sowing. I found in the GOP primary field a man named RAND PAUL, and he proved to me that there was at least one, honest, principled politician out there, when I’d begun to believe my entire reality was corrupt. I fell in love with Rand Paul, the man and what he stood for. As the race wore on, Rand had long since ended his campaign, and it was Trump vs. Clinton. I began to see that authenticity in Trump. I felt this great energy and love, and I remember channeling my love for those two great men into my marathon training. Many late autumn nights were spent running with the Philadelphia skyline behind me, and the IDEAS of Rand Paul and Donald Trump resonating as loudly as the music in my headphones. It was and still is love
When you can feel that a leader earnestly loves you/your people, reciprocating that love is not pathological
Aeneas was the leader of a group of illegal Trojan immigrants invading the Italian tribes. He had to convince the Greek colonists already there and the Etruscans, that he was a benefit rather than a danger. Moreover, Turnus would be the Trumpiest character in Vergil’s poem.
Not wrong. But also... I'm not making the point that Trump is historically like Aeneas; I'm saying he is narratively like Aeneas
I finally had some time to read this essay. Excellent work.
The moment Trump was shot, and then got back up without concern for his life to rally his supporters to fight, not only changed Trump, but changed the perception of Trump.
People I know who weren't going to vote for him, political moderates if you will, all of a sudden started to praise him, and then eventually voted for him.
That moment has a chance to change the trajectory of the United States. We are finally blessed with a hero in a world increasingly devoid of such. He cannot do it alone, but he has galvanized many to fight by his side.
If nothing else, at least we have a chance.
It changed everything
Trump is an embodiment of Pietas and he instills this virtue among all his followers.
One of the most outstanding pieces I’ve read in some time. By some turn of fate or divine miracle, we have entered the golden timeline. Trump is a truly Carlylian figure seemingly out of a story book.
Thank you. And yes. It feels fated in a way that other political events of my life have not.
A new development when professed love for a figurehead significantly outpaces confidence in his ability to deliver
I absolutely love Trump too.
While we are admitting our feelings among friends, I honestly feel this way about Steve Bannon 😅 It feels insane to say, but while Trump is the distant Zeus of infinite power and force of character, Bannon is our Loki or, to stay in southern eurpoe, perhaps our Prometheus! His words have a fierceness that Trump forswears for his melodic drone and delightful jibes. Bannon is acerbic and strikes with saber slashes...
We have these demi-gods throughout the scene with Lomez himself on one of these more modest, yet venerable pedestals!
Quote: "The problem is not just one of technology or the chattering class’s petty moralism, but a spiritual emptiness that has hollowed modern life to its core."
It needn't always be like that: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U0C9HKW
Think of it as the apotheosis, not only of capitalism itself, but of the entire Judeo-Christian project out of which capitalism emerged.