The Final Soluton: Pied Pipers

Pied Piper of Hamelin (illustration by Kate Greenaway)

Certain people seem to be able to get away with anything they want. For instance, if you read Trump’s six-page letter to Nancy Pelosi, you can see how the president’s implacability would appeal to his base—and in fact set up the possibility of a complete abrogation of the constitution. If as Trump claims, the impeachment trial is a coup, then it justifies a counter-coup in which the constitution would be suspended and the president installed for life. "This is nothng more than an illegal, partisan attempted coup that will, based on recent sentiment, badly fail at the voting booth," Trump wrote ("Read Trump's Letter to Pelosi Denouncing Impeachment," NYT, 12/17/19). Indeed, there are those who fear that Trump will refuse to be removed from office. But don’t try to be Trump, the next time you're involved in some kind of dispute. Certain types of sociopathic personalities can be very charismatic, but if you attempt to put yourself in their shoes, you’ll find that you’re arrested. The Donald Trumps of the world are a hard act to follow. Machiavelli might have been jealous, if he weren’t appalled. Think back on adolescence and those bullies who ended up king of the hill. Have you ever gotten slapped in the face when you tried to imitate the behavior of a really cool kid?  Or better yet look back on the leaders of cults like Jim Jones, L. Ron Hubbard and mostly recently Keith Raniere of Nxivm. Remember the Pied Piper? It’s hard to win, if you’re playing his game. It’s an unequal playing field, since he’ll do anything, including  kidnapping the kids.