After Trump, the Flood |
CounterPunch Exclusives
CounterPunch Exclusives
After Trump, the Flood
Trump Town, Franklin County, Virginia. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.
It rained on earth for 40 days and nights because, according to Genesis, “The Lord saw how great [was] the wickedness of the human race.” He was troubled and disappointed with his creation and acted violently to punish the human immorality and violence that had corrupted the earth. Noah was chosen as a possible savior, but his work was never fulfilled as envisaged.
The world has continued for centuries to be filled with corruption, violence, brutality, and widespread sin. Immorality has been the name of the game until the present day, though the term has been defined differently across societies. The immorality of the most powerful, however, has proven to be an enduring force that dictates outcomes in virtually all societies.
The powerful French King Louis XV, who was directly responsible for wars and miseries in his own and other countries, allegedly introduced the phrase « Après moi, le déluge. » It has survived as a phrase to describe someone who acts purely in his or her own interest, ignoring the impending chaos or disaster their actions will cause. Such actors refuse to acknowledge responsibility for their actions. Embodying the immorality of the most powerful, they do whatever they like, no matter the consequences for others.
Referring to Donald Trump, Tom Engelhardt writes:
Our very own Louis XV is, of course, something else again: a deluge of tweets, insults, self-praise, lies and false claims, and strange acts of almost every imaginable sort. In other words, thanks in significant part to the media and social media, Donald J. Trump is indeed the definition of a deluge and we, the American people, are—thought about a certain way—present-day Venice; we are, that is, six feet under water if we don’t quite know it.
Our very own Louis XV is, of course, something else again: a deluge of tweets, insults, self-praise, lies and false claims, and strange acts of almost every imaginable sort. In other words, thanks in significant part to the media and social media, Donald J. Trump is indeed the definition of a deluge and we, the American people, are—thought about a certain way—present-day Venice; we are, that is, six feet under water if we don’t quite know it.
Other countries, which are........