Trump’s Dance

It is well accepted that history repeats itself. However, the history that is repeating itself today can be better understood because the general population of the world, including the United States, has access to a much larger book of knowledge, if they choose to pay attention to it

As late as merely a century ago, few people could read at any level that would allow intellectual advancement of the individual. Most of the knowledge came from interaction and face-to-face conversations (excluding what was taught through the churches of the time where all of the priests/ministers could read).

A New York Times columnist, Jonathan Rauch, recently wrote an article about a book written by two professors that discusses the work of a guy named Max Weber in which he describes a behavior he calls “Patromonialism”, which I hearby summarize as a form of governing based upon the idea that the head guy was like the father to everyone over whom he exercised his power. Certainly, there’s a more complex path to that word and you can read about it, but what follows is my take.

Having walked the path that I have in life, I recognized  and questioned the behavior, which existed all around me as I have grown up and aged. Basically, let’s say when we were back in caves, one person was the best at either getting food or protecting those in the community in so doing, they had to exercise their judgment, right or wrong, and everyone pretty much lived with it because it turned out OK at the time. As the group of people impacted got bigger, the head guy needed people working with him/for him to take care of the everyday things, specially, say, when he had others out on the hunt or some other activity away from the cave.

I’m sure the book goes into much more of the particulars but basically that is the type of government that had developed in Europe prior to the drafting and creation of the Constitution of the United States (which was the second attempt after the Articles of Confederation). Is clear one purpose of the Constitution was to create a national government that was illustrated by a separation of powers, including a court that had the “final word” in most instances. I suggest to you that it is clear that part of the purpose of the Constitution was to eliminate possibility of a patrimonial system since that was the express thing that was being overridden by what the United States was doing.

I could go on and on about all of that stuff, but let’s move to today. Trump grew up in the world of prep schools, Ivy League colleges, the country club and the real estate business. If we look back at those places objectively we will see that there has always been a group of people that have affectionately been framed as the good old boys on each of those dance floors.

In those worlds, there is a certain dance that is expected, and there has been certain levels of looking aside when someone doing that dance was misbehaving. Could be a minor thing that was permitted or it could be a major thing that was hidden. Any reasonable researcher/reporter, could list a dozen such incidences that have made the place, and there are dozens in my head. Here’s the thing, when I participated in any of those given environments, say in business, the country club, organized sports, etc., you could see when some people were granted allowances when they shouldn’t have been, and others were granted authority when they shouldn’t have had it.

It wasn’t until late in my litigation career that I realized how much local influence was applied when I went to a remote jurisdiction to try a matter. I’m not gonna bother you with all those stories, but I had to overcome the relationship that existed in the courtroom between the judge and the lawyers that practice their regularly, especially if litigation involved a taxpayer in the jurisdiction, which it usually did. I will mention one case in which my client was subject to breach of contract by the school district, and the judge ruled against my client on motion, but immediately thereafter, I filed an Appeal and the school district settled with my client for the amount claimed. I always presume it was because the judge whispered in the ear of the Superintendent that his ruling would not hold up on appeal. He made that ruling for the taxpayers where he lived and worked, and that is a great example of Patrimonialism applied and accepted,  but which would not hold up under the law.

Such behavior is clear with what Trump is doing, currently and a list applies to a number of different focuses. Now that he was reelected after being curtailed his first term. Here’s the funniest thing for me, though, Elon Musk is playing his son in the current dance and even went so far as to bring his young son to a meeting at the White House, which further illustrates the fact that: “hey we’re part of the family and we’re not subject to any rules that might apply to everybody else.” it’s really amazing at the illustration of the concept by the behavior of the participants. Further, if you look at all of the elected personnel who are playing along with Trump, even though they have openly disagreed with his behavior in the past, you see the same dance: we will do what you say because we will get something for ourselves and those who we consider our family as well. (See J. D. Vance)

Stay with me on this, please. The castles of old all had a first wall and then many walls inside usually with elevation going with it until you got to the very top of the castle where the king hung out. The people that lived outside the first wall might be permitted inside the wall if a danger came to the vicinity. But even the people living behind the first wall were not granted access to the further inner walls, except upon stampede by them I would guess. Those people who believe that they are part of the beneficiary group that will grow from Trump’s behavior are the ones who consider themselves different and better off than those who cannot get within the walls even to begin with. Those are the masses that voted for him. It won’t be until those people realize that the real wall is behind them and not in front of them and cognitive dissonance keep them from recognizing that until the wall has been overrun.

Well, there’s a lot more on this, but I know people get tired of reading so there’s a thought for now. The courts have begun restricting the behavior of the 2025 concepts and have expressly suggested that there is no authority for Trump or his “adoptive sons” (again, look at the money people that stood with Trump at the inauguration, and you will see a whole bunch more that consider themselves to be in the family, or at least want to be.) to exercise unilateral activities contrary to laws past and procedures adopted under regulations under those laws. The real need, though, is for the general population to realize that they will not be included in the good old boy network when the shit really hits the fan, and it was one of the intents of the Constitution to eliminate such a separation, even by those who at one time practiced it on their properties.