The Final Solution: Conscience

 
David Garrick as Hamlet seeng the Ghost

There are two types of behaviors that are exuded by the president, one is smug self-satisfaction that is part of his PR message. Every experience even COVID is turned into a major triumph. Then comes the destructive part. He does what he wants which in this case means going prematurely back to work and putting others including staff members and secret service agents in danger. It would be wonderful to think that Trump was an exception, but you probably know plenty of people who behave exactly this way, trumpeting their latest victories while barely heeding the damage they inflict as they go about the pursuit of their pleasures. What's the missing component in those who demonstrate these kind of characteristics? The answer is, conscience. It’s not hard to understand how the absence of this trait can lead to success in the world. Have you ever met a successful Lothario who's known for his conscience? Hamlet, the literary figure most famous for having an overactive superego, has enough trouble just dealing with one girl. Hamlet is also different than Trump in that he lacks bravado. “Thus, conscience doth makes cowards of us all.” Hamlet does his share of damage but would he have risked infecting, his friend and protector, Horatio by making an appearance in an SUV? Still what's disconcerting is that pathological personalities proceed along their merry way showing little concern about the wreckage left in their wake. What's the toll of those infected and what's the extent of their illness from having attending the Rose Garden or Bedminster fundraising events?