Great Again?

  

‘I have no need of an army, King Antiochus IV,’ said Gaius Popillius Laenas.  ‘I am Rome’. He used the end of his staff to trace a circle in the dust all the way around the Syrian King.

 

‘Before you step out of this circle, King Antiochus IV, I advise you to think again’.

In response the king stopped his attack on Egypt.

Adapted from Colleen McCullough.

 

 

Quote 2

“the horrible attack on israel, much like the attack on ukraine, would never have happened if i were president – zero chance!”

Donald Trump

 

The first quote shows the correct estimation by the leading Roman politicians about the power of their country.

The next quote is grotesquely bragging and illustrates a complete lack of knowledge about the reel power of the United States and the rest of the World.

 

These two quotes underline what I have so often written: In the Greco-Roman Modernity the Roman Republic was in  an all-dominant position . Even a Roman politician without an army could command a king to stop an invasion of a third country, and he was obeyed. In our present modernity which corresponds to the Greco-Roman, a US presidential candidate thinks he is in the same position as Laenas. With his mere presence as leader of America he can prevent and end major conflicts and wars around the globe.

 

At the same time he wants the United States to withdraw military forces and guarantees from strategic parts of the World, not least Europe and even East Asia. The net result of these illusions and policies will be a reduction of America’s sphere of interest and influence: the attempt to command and calm the World will utterly fail. The withdrawal from strategic regions will remove the deterrence against the  expansion  of America’s rivals. Removal of US guarantees to it’s allies will open the field further.

 

Thus, if a renewed presidency of Trump holds its promises , the World will be changed some years from now. China and Russia could dominate Europe, East Asia, Africa and perhaps even America’s backyard, Latin America, an obvious part of the sphere of the United States.

 

Supreme Court undermines the Constitution

  

The US Supreme Court has decided that a president i.e Trump, has partial immunity and can not be judged and punished for official acts committed during his or her presidency.

 

As Biden has stated, America is not a monarchy. Yet. A century from now it will be, if our civilisation follows the path taken by earlier ones. It is unlikely that the title will be “King” or “Emperor”. A more likely title will sound like a continuation of the republic, probably “President” with a magnifying or glorifying epithet. The leader with this title will not only enjoy criminal immunity, but have absolute power.

 

Therefore the decision from Supreme Court is well ahead of its time. After some decades a such decision will be adequate, because then politics per se will be replaced by the will to personal power. Then, one person will be able to unite and represent the whole nation and even a large part of the World.

 

But at the present time granting of immunity is extremely premature. It can only contribute to the division and polarisation of politics and people in America. As always, power shifts between the parties. But because of the polarisation, the ensuing alternating political decisions and implementations from the two sides will become more and more diametrically opposite and irreconcilable. These attempts to radically turn the country 180 degrees around with every shift of power will cause chaos and tear the nation apart. Like in the precedence set by Donald Trump, a ruling party or president can be tempted to do whatever to prevent the opposite side from being elected, and if elected, from seizing power. This both to avoid the radical change of policies which would follow, and simply to stay in power.

 

The politicians and presidents will employ ruthless and even unlawful means to enforce their policies and to achieve and conserve their power. The ruling by the Supreme Court giving immunity for official acts removes a boundary for abusive and criminal behaviours used by the political parties and their leaders. By facilitating such behaviours the Court increases the strain on the Constitution. The time when this finally fails is now approaching even faster.

 

In fact immunity for presidents is so radically new that it can be seen as an amendment to the Constitution. The decision from Supreme Court, nominally the protector of the Constitution, clearly violates the spirit of it, yes it violates the spirit of all democratic constitutions since the Age of Enlightenment, i.e. in our modernity. Thereby it points to a future with absolute rulers after the final breakdown of pluralism, public debate and shared rule. But we are certainly not there yet.