speaking at CPAC in Washington D.C. on February 10, 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
We are outraged at Donald Trump’s private remarks. He spoke of his attempt to seduce a married woman. In his crude language, he said he tried to fornicate with her or at least make clear his intention to do so by grabbing her genitals. They want us to believe he is the problem. What we must avoid is the thought that he is only a symptom.
The public are outraged and people cannot believe that he would talk that way in public. They want to believe that other public figures do not behave that way, or if they did, their private behaviour would be made public. In particular, the public cannot understand how various public figures, such as Lyndon Johnson, John F Kennedy, Roger Ailes, or Rudy Giuliani could make such comments, behave this way, and get away with it for so long.
What Trump talked about previous president did.
The America public want to believe or are encouraged to believe that Trump is a singularity, he is beyond the pale. What they are discouraged from believing or considering is that he is normal in the sense that his behaviour is common and therefore unsurprising. In America, the powerful have long been indulged in their desires legal or otherwise. We only note the many sex scandals within Hollywood or the wider entertainment culture to see how those with status, wealth, or celebrity believe that they can act with near impunity. More widely, American culture now encourages, if not embraces, wider translegal desires that strike at the heart of America’s civil religion.
In the past, one would expect that public leaders would display personal fidelity and behave moderately in the public domain. Where private behaviours did not correspond to such public demands, they would be restrained and kept from public sight to avoid inflaming public disapproval. The public life required a certain private moderation. Alas, that era is gone and has been gone for decades before Trump emerged as a candidate.
What Trump expresses and gets away with is a disordered eros, a tyrannical longing, to indulge his sexual appetites with any women, whether she is married or not. He can indulge his appetites, his translegal desires, because of his powers and that is why others want to be powerful. America’s culture nurtures the belief, especially through entertainment, that if you are successful, and most of all power ful, your desires will be fulfilled because you deserve it, you are worth it. Thus, the public are habituated to pursue power, wealth, and success for the translegal desires that can be indulged.
The powerful have private lives that are well protected by law or threats.
We know that public officials often have private lives that appear to escape scrutiny. We also know that politicians will be protected by loyal aides and staff who have invested much in their patron’s success. They will display a loyalty to their employer or patron at the law’s expense. One can only imagine the level of fear that politically powerful figures, ones connected to the political establishment, could generate such as Johnson or Kennedy or even a governor in a small state.
Even if you raise it, who will believe you?
If you did raise a concern, who would believe you? Would anyone care? In a political campaign, the culture is one where supporters will look the other way to ensure their candidate gets elected. In many cases, we know that such people looked the other way and just dismissed the possibility of abuse. Some did not even investigate. Others simply excused it almost like an entitlement. Powerful men like LBJ and JFK are to be indulged for their status. What would be the attitude in the professions that wield the state’s coercive power? A lowly employee is going to think twice if they think of reporting the incident. The lowly political person will know how vindictive politically powerful figures are. Without exception, the political powerful are also vindictive people who always seek to punish their enemies often seeking revenge for slights from decades earlier. The nature of politics is that you seek to help your friends and hurt your enemies.
Caught in a shower having sex with a child and still ignored
Even without the fear, are they likely to be believed? We are surprised at Trump’s statements but when Jerry Sandusky was caught in the shower with a child, he escaped punishment for 10 years.[1] Even now people defend Penn State and the failures to bring Sandusky to justice. Excuses and rationalizes just roll off the tongue. Anyone can and does rationalize any and all behaviour that they see or display. We only need to glance at Fox News, which shapes the public domain, where Roger Ailes engaged in behaviour that humiliated women. Horrific acts can and have been excused or overlooked when it suited the powerful. America is no different.
Trump’s behaviour is common in politics, business, and our entertainment culture
What Trumps comments reveal is what has been implicit in American culture. His behaviour is revealed only when it serves a political purpose not for being intrinsically wrong. If his behaviour was considered intrinsically wrong, it would not have waited for an election to bring it to the surface. However, the problem is deeper than Trump, his comments, or even Fox News. America has indulged its disordered eros in direct proportion to its imperial ethos. America’s foreign policy behaviour is now being expressed domestically. Trump expresses the age old belief that the strong do as they want; the weak do as they must. In the domestic realm, Trump has revealed America’s disordered soul, the tyrant’s life, which Americans are willing to excuse so long as they benefit from it whether it is a politician, a businessman, or an entertainer.
Trump reveals what we want to hide: the translegal desires that drive our culture
America needs to look around and see that Trump’s behaviour is not new and it is not shocking; it is American culture. America has embraced a disordered eros; for it is what drives America. The disordered eros will not stop if Trump loses the election. He is only a symptom; he is not the problem. America will not address this deeper problem and that is the truth that hysterical faux outrage over Trump’s comments hides.
[1] Jerry Sandusky was eventually arrested, tried, and convicted for sexually abusing children. However, the incident in the shower did not immediately trigger his suspension or arrest. (It occurred in 2001, he was not arrested until 2011.) His status within the Penn State football programme and the standing of the Penn State football programme within the University and within the community protected him. Surely, an ex-PM would garner the same, if not more, deference and protection. http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/03/25/jerry-sandusky-i-was-just-fooling-around-when-caught-boy-in-shower/ For an overview of the case consider: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Sandusky
Philosophical Politics 