I could see that people all around the world were becoming alarmed at the negative direction our country’s leadership was heading when I Googled “signs of a dictatorship” and so many American sites showed up, I couldn’t possibly read them all.
The list of behaviors that characterize an authoritarian government is long, but all seem to agree on one they call the “cult of personality”. Actions identified in this category include plastering the image of the “beloved” dictator in as many public places as possible.
Sound familiar? First, our demented leader ordered (in a signed decree, dramatically displayed, or should I say, simply, “played”, for the press) the plastering of his name on the John F. Kennedy Center for The Performing Arts. Predictably, the former reality show performer, ever mindful of billing, insisted that his name should be added above that of John Kennedy.
Recently we have heard that he wants to add portraits of his glowering visage across more buildings, official documents and even our legal tender. And, trust me, this visage is best described by Menenius Agrippa’s famous insult of the title character in Coriolanus: “The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes” (Act 5, Scene 4). Horrifyingly, we will be forced to see that punim frowning at us from our passports (well, there goes my international trip) as well as centered on a crisp new (proposed) $250 bill (at least i am in no danger of ever having one of those).
My favorites, by far, however, are the currently deployed, massive, three-story-high banners dangling down the street-facing walls of the buildings that house the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice.
By following the shining examples of previous dictators Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Saddam Hussein, I am certain his hope is to cause Chinese President, Xi Jinping and Supreme North Korean Leader, Kim Jong Un, to eat their hearts out with envy.
But, as usual, at least so far as the Kennedy Center is concerned, the fairer gods have gifted us with the last remaining independent branch of government, at least at the local and appellate levels. Last week, US District Court Judge, Christopher Cooper, ordered all references to a “Trump Kennedy Center”, including “email signatures, letterheads, and other documents” to be removed, along with “templates and forms, signage, brochures and website pages”. Only Congress, said the judge, can change the name of the Center and even a unanimous vote by the Board is insufficient. So, now, thankfully, the wannabe Napoleon must witness the scraping of his name off of the esteemed Center.
At nearly the same time, another federal judge dismissed a million dollar breach of contract suit filed by the Center against jazz musician Chuck Redd, who had refused to perform at his annual Christmas Eve concert so long as the name of the faux king president appeared anywhere on the Center’s building or communications. The judge found that Chuck’s choice was protected under the First Amendment. Remember that one? The courts do.
And thus will all the rest eventually disappear. You can lead us horses to the trough of a “beloved” leader but you can’t make us drink the Kool-Aid.
The Devil Wears Nada
Throughout this past year and a half, many have compared the tale of the Emperor who wore no clothes to the current situation of our would-be emperor. In that tale, the Emperor had chosen to surround himself with none but flatterers who would lie to please him and ultimately undo him, by convincing him that the beautiful suit only those who loved him could see was invisible to the unworthy. Actually, as we know, there were no invisible clothes and the Emperor was parading down the street, clothed only in Nada.
Like that unfortunate ruler, the oval office squatter believes his own lies and listens only to those who echo them; ordering, bullying and threatening the press to follow or be punished.
I thought about this in a slightly different context this week when I (finally) saw The Devil Wears Prada, Two.
In this fun and surprisingly current sequel, the newly hired feature writer at Runway Magazine (Anne Hathaway) is told by the magazine’s corporate owner to write less on the intelligent subjects that brought her to the job and more on titillating subjects that will get more money-generating “clicks”. The storyline refreshingly mirrors the current conflicts between a free press and the Jeff Bezos, Larry and David Ellison, Elon Musk, Michael Bloomberg and Patrick Soon-Shiong gang of billionaire philistines, about what can and cannot be written or broadcast about America’s current puny-minded boss. Not only CBS, but also ABC, NBC and CNN are threatened along with the Washington Post, the New York Times and the LA Times.
And don’t think you’re safe just because you meekly comply. CBS had quickly toadied to the orange guy to get a thumbs up on their impending merger (takeover) by Ellison. But, in an interview with Kristen Welker on NBC this week, the dictator-in-waiting, whose orange makeup had clearly been self-applied with a trowel, stormed out at the question as to whether he had a shred of evidence to back up his unrelenting voter fraud mantra currently being aimed at the slow vote count in California. “You are all crooked,” he yelled at the startled Welker. “And not just you but CBS, ABC, CNN.” He then said “Goodbye darling” and walked out. (CBS’ news boss, Bari Weiss, must have had a choking fit, since she had already caved in on everything.) She clearly was unaware of the Thomas Cromwell Effect.
In 1540, Cromwell, who had served as Chief Minister to King Henry VIII, arranged the King’s marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, on the King’s orders. Henry was deeply disappointed when Anne’s looks didn’t match the portrait he had been shown and decided to behead Cromwell as a traitor. So: Watch out Bari! You could be the next victim of a whimsical and all powerful king.
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