James, I have not yet read your linked post, but I will, and expect that I will become a subscriber.
I have read Mary L. Trump's book, "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man," and it filled gaps in my prior knowledge about Donald and his family, gained from years of reading NYC-based publications.…
James, I have not yet read your linked post, but I will, and expect that I will become a subscriber.
I have read Mary L. Trump's book, "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man," and it filled gaps in my prior knowledge about Donald and his family, gained from years of reading NYC-based publications. (I am an ex-pat New Yorker interned in a hillbilly state, presumably as punishment for all the bad things I've done in my life.)
Donald was born with severe mental defects into a dysfunctional family headed by a sociopathic father, himself the product of a dysfunctional family headed by a pimp. Donald's mother was a self-absorbed hypochondriac who spent more time in the hospital than at home. Neither Fred nor Mary Anne had even a vestige of a moral compass. Donald's early boyhood was the equivalent of a dog being chained to a tree in the backyard. His mental disabilities metastasized into psychological and emotional disabilities.
In summary, Donald was so unloved that he didn't even have a concept of what love is. His psychosis was exacerbated by and glossed-over by Fred's enormous wealth, which also isolated Donald from extra-familial relationships that might expose him to genuine love.
Donald's entire life has been dominated by his search for the love that was denied him from birth. But he has no idea what it is. With no models to inform him, he mistakes wealth, fandom and obeisance for love. Even when he acquires these things, they still leave him empty and craving something more. This, I believe, is what creates an autocrat.
What causes multitudes to fall under an autocrat's spell is beyond my understanding or imagination.
"This, I believe, is what creates an autocrat. What causes multitudes to fall under an autocrat's spell is beyond my understanding or imagination." It may be beyond your current understanding and imagination, but it is certainly not beyond your capacity. Your comment tells me you already understand more complicated things. IMHO, the only question you need to ask yourself is whether you want—or would prefer not—to know.
James, I have not yet read your linked post, but I will, and expect that I will become a subscriber.
I have read Mary L. Trump's book, "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man," and it filled gaps in my prior knowledge about Donald and his family, gained from years of reading NYC-based publications. (I am an ex-pat New Yorker interned in a hillbilly state, presumably as punishment for all the bad things I've done in my life.)
Donald was born with severe mental defects into a dysfunctional family headed by a sociopathic father, himself the product of a dysfunctional family headed by a pimp. Donald's mother was a self-absorbed hypochondriac who spent more time in the hospital than at home. Neither Fred nor Mary Anne had even a vestige of a moral compass. Donald's early boyhood was the equivalent of a dog being chained to a tree in the backyard. His mental disabilities metastasized into psychological and emotional disabilities.
In summary, Donald was so unloved that he didn't even have a concept of what love is. His psychosis was exacerbated by and glossed-over by Fred's enormous wealth, which also isolated Donald from extra-familial relationships that might expose him to genuine love.
Donald's entire life has been dominated by his search for the love that was denied him from birth. But he has no idea what it is. With no models to inform him, he mistakes wealth, fandom and obeisance for love. Even when he acquires these things, they still leave him empty and craving something more. This, I believe, is what creates an autocrat.
What causes multitudes to fall under an autocrat's spell is beyond my understanding or imagination.
"This, I believe, is what creates an autocrat. What causes multitudes to fall under an autocrat's spell is beyond my understanding or imagination." It may be beyond your current understanding and imagination, but it is certainly not beyond your capacity. Your comment tells me you already understand more complicated things. IMHO, the only question you need to ask yourself is whether you want—or would prefer not—to know.