Not long after my last post about the new world order Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese imports. I started to doubt my theory that Trump was realigning his loyalties because I had assumed that China was now one of his new buddies.
As a student psychiatric nurse in the 80s I remember a colleague sharing his paranoid theory about the new world order. It was the first time I had encountered a conspiracy theory but I didn't know it then. I do remember thinking this guy was off his trolley though. When I recalled that conversation recently I realised my last blog post was just another conspiracy theory. I reminded myself that I don't believe in them for the simple reason that the narcissistic egos involved in such an undertaking are unlikely to co-operate long enough to make anything coherent happen.
Trump's antics defy logic and on the surface, are downright confusing - he doesn't tell the same story twice, contradicts himself daily and lies unashamedly. Is this behaviour deliberately strategic? Is he just an attention sucking narcissist playing out his toddler desires on a world-stage reality show or is this part of his big plan? There are mixed theories about that. It's easier to put his behaviour into context when you realise he falls under the archetype of the Trickster.
'Tricksters can be cunning or foolish or both. The trickster openly questions and mocks authority. They are usually male....and are fond of breaking rules, boasting, and playing tricks on both humans and gods.’
Tricksters are 'boundary-crossers' - they break both physical and societal rules.....violating 'principles of social and natural order, playfully disrupting normal life and then re-establishing it on a new basis.'
In Jungian theory the Trickster is a catalyst for change. Being able to match Trump with the Trickster archetype makes me feel a whole lot better because it puts things into context. It even makes my personal desire to witness the collapse of capitalism achievable.
I figured others would have already written about Trump as the Trickster so I consulted Dr Google and found this from Randy Fertel's 2017 article in the Washington Monthly:
'Trump clearly enjoys his role as culture destroyer. As Rebecca Solnit writes, “Trump was supposed to be a great maker of things, but he was mostly a breaker.”'
This 2014 quote from Trump says it all:
'When the economy crashes, when the country goes to total hell and everything is a disaster. Then you’ll have a [chuckles], you know, you’ll have riots to go back to where we used to be when we were great.'
It's interesting that popular media in Australia don't refer back to comments like this because it was obviously Trump's plan from the start and explains his current behaviour. Ironically his inconsistencies are driven by one consistent idea - that nothing less than an apocalypse will 'make America great again'. It makes sense of his actions - the betrayal of his allies, buddying up to historical enemies and kicking new ones in the shins. This is classic Trickster behaviour. It is also ironic that once you have identified who he really is, it is pretty easy to predict future behaviour.
Given that another of my long-held theories is that matriarchies are over-run by patriarchies, whereas patriarchies are the architects of their own demise - everything is as it should be. Trump himself is just another pawn in the game and is doing exactly what he is meant to be doing. Amen.
image: Original collage by author with credit to the following:
Trump body http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/06/frank-rich-nixon-trump-and-how-a-presidency-ends.html
Jester https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Adult-Std-Dotted-Spotty-Circus-Clown-Jester-Fancy-Dress-Costume-Male/32820819474.html
text: The Trickster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickster
Washington Monthly https://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/12/29/this-archetype-explains-donald-trump/
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