Donald Trump: a latter day Don Corleone or Al Capone. A President who bombs and kidnaps others rather than clearing up the mess in his own back yard.

 

So, the President of the USA tells us that on his orders American planes have bombed the capital city of another nation, Venezuela. He further tells us that the elected President (and his wife) of Venezuela has been "captured" (a euphemism for "kidnapped") and taken to an unspecified destination. And, in a breathtaking piece of arrogance he says that America is going to "run Venezuela" until a new government (presumably favourable to Donald Trump) is installed. If previous similar US actions during my lifetime (Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan et al) are anything to go by this will not end well - for anyone. It is prime example of what Einstein suggested was idiocy - namely doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different result. Clearly, the numbskulls of the current Washington White House have not learned the lessons of their own history. But then again, this is Donald Trump and his sycophantic wannabes, individuals known for their rank stupidity, lack of reason and, all too often, criminal intent. We should not be surprised.

The justification for these actions is that "Venezuelan drug cartels" are responsible for importing vast amounts of drugs into the USA and the Venezuelan President is himself corrupt, hated by the Venezuelan population, and won't or can't do anything about this. Or so Donald Trump informs us.

Mmmm! Maybe all this is true and maybe a majority of Venezuelans want rid of their thoroughly disreputable President - but that can never, ever justify what America and Trump have done, attacked another nation. It is reminiscent of the "gun law" of the old West where might equals right. We do not want or need a world where "might" justifies action; it only ends in one way - badly. And, I might add, I am not comfortable with the most powerful man in the world, a man who has consistently displayed his erratic and irrational personality, operating as if he thinks he is Marshal Wyatt Earp or a latter day John Wayne or Clint Eastwood using his guns and his might to keep the world in whatever order he desires and willing to bow their knees to do his bidding.

But there is another more fundamental issue which Trump's actions do not address. The illegal supply of drugs depends entirely upon the demand for them. Drug dealers, dreadful though they are, are merely satisfying a demand; they would not run the vast risks they do if they were not certain of being able to sell their produce. It is the most basic law of economics that supply grows to meet demand; if there is no demand (i.e. people not wanting to buy a product) then businesses, shops and, yes, even drug dealers go out of business or go elsewhere to sell their goods.

So, it seems to me that Trump (and any other national leader) would be far better ensuring that the population of his own country were not minded to desire/purchase the drugs - thus creating a demand - in the first place; no buyers, no suppliers, it's as simple as that.

America is the biggest consumer of illegal narcotics in the world by a considerable margin so maybe Trump should concentrate on putting his own house in order before bombing and kidnapping the citizens of another country. And, further, perhaps the American electorate should be ensuring that their President is (like the President of Venezuela) held and charged for being unable or unwilling to do anything about his own citizens actively participating in the illegal use of drugs, for it is them, the millions of American drug users who are creating the demand and thus the eventual supply of illegal narcotics into the USA. But, as always - and certainly with Trump - it's easier to blame someone else (Venezuela) and bomb them rather than clean up the mess in his own back yard.

And one thing we all know is that America and its back yard are the mother and father of all messes; a mixed up society unable to moderate its own behaviour. If it were not so they would not have mass shootings, and out of control drug problems or ingrained racist division, nor would they have defied all logic, common sense and political wisdom by electing a convicted felon and common racketeer as their President. Over a century ago Oscar Wilde famously said that "America is the only country that has gone from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between". He was not wrong then and his words hold even more true today. Trump himself in his manner, his views, his life style and his moral bankruptcy personifies that decadence. His actions this weekend are all about blaming America's contemporary self imposed decadence and chaotic social climate on others - in this case Venezuela. America has elected, and shamelessly continues to tolerate, this modern day Don Corleone or Al Capone figure. In doing so they have shown, and continue to show, America's current lack of moral compass; Roosevelt, Kennedy, Obama must weep, and so should we - and we should worry. Venezuela is being bombed today, but which country, I wonder, will it be tomorrow? Which of us will suffer the madness and criminal intentions of America and its President. And, I wonder, will Trump simply use the language and rhetoric of his friend and mentor Vladimir Putin and say that this was not an act of war but simply a "Special Military Operation".