Sunday 4 June 2017

Today and a Note to Donald.

Want more whinges? OK, but I’ll keep them short:

1. The winds of change strengthened and altered direction again.
2. There was more external disturbance, so more internal disturbance.
3. It’s one week since the total eclipse happened and the effects continue to bite, only I’ve decided that the analogy of black clouds is not sufficiently apposite. It feels more like waves of black sludge that sweep over me several times a day and threaten to drown me. They won’t, I’m sure, but they don’t help in the business of coping with everything else.

Apart from that, nothing much happened to prompt deep thought, and there were none of those bits of subtle humour that are sometimes encountered in innocuous situations. Or maybe I’m just not in the mood to spot them.

(I did find two dead birds and a dead squirrel on the road, though, and wondered whether I’m the only person who cares about dead birds and squirrels.)

*  *  *

But I think it’s about time somebody told Donald Trump that he’s way behind the times. All this talk of making America great, and all this stomping around telling China what the USA will and will not accept in the South China Sea recalls the bad old days of empire building.

Donald, those days are in the past. They were flagging at the end of the 19th century, and they gave up the ghost during the 20th when country after country became independent. We Europeans know that, the Russians know that, the Chinese know that, the Japanese know that. Now is not the time for trying to demonstrate superiority; now is the time for cooperating in the cause of trying to keep the planet reasonably habitable. And don’t think that just because the British Prime Minister trots at your heel like an obedient lapdog, you’re right. She’s just a sad woman who thinks she can emulate Thatcher and is failing miserably.

So do grow up, Donald. Or wise up. Or give the job to somebody who is more clued up. And if you do intend to stay in the White House, consider taking lessons in English, History, and Ethics.

No comments: