Trump’s defenders have adopted a doctrine of infallibility | News, Sports, Jobs – Williamsport Sun-Gazette
Posted: October 9, 2019 at 9:44 am
Theres a reason people think President Trump has a cult of personality, but it may not be the reason you think.
Yes, there are those who think Trump was delivered to us by God and that his decisions and actions are imbued with divine providence and authority. But that sort of stuff is taking the word cult too literally. It harkens back to pre-Enlightenment notions like the divine right of kings, the Roman imperial cults or the Chinese mandate of heaven which were mainstream, not cultish, beliefs anyway.
As with so many words and ideas, cult of personality in the modern sense probably begins with Karl Marx, who used personality cult in a letter to a friend in 1877. Nikita Khrushchev cited that passage (and several later ones by Marx) in his famous 1956 secret speech, formally titled On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences. That address began the de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union and the de-escalation of Stalins terror.
Before I go on, let me state unequivocally that Trump isnt Stalin. Hes not even close.
Khrushchevs speech was monumentally important for numerous reasons, but Im going to focus on the part thats relevant to my point. In Marxist lingo, cult of personality is synonymous with cult of the individual indeed, Khrushchev used the phrases interchangeably in his speech. Both terms refer to the idea that a single person can be greater than the party, or wiser than the ideology the party stands for. Think: I alone can fix it. Such a mindset is a threat to the power of the party and the legitimacy of its doctrines.
Stalin didnt care. He encouraged, often through murder and terror, the idea that his judgment trumped any other authority or doctrine. He was infallible.
And it worked. During Khrushchevs speech, delivered to the cream of the Communist Party leadership, some members of the audience grew physically ill and had to leave the room it was that alien to their ears to hear Stalin criticized. Theres still a cult of Stalin in Russian. One might even say that Vladimir Putin is its high priest.
Of course, having dictatorial control over a country and possessing the will to murder and terrorize tens of millions makes it easier to cultivate a cult of personality.
None of that has much relevance to American politics today. But theres a simpler reason for a cult of personality: Its the only sustainable line of defense. Stalin violated party ideology all the time. He contradicted his past positions cavalierly, adopting and discarding ideas on a whim. He would even change his views to test his loyalists. Today, insist that chocolate ice cream is the best flavor and get everyone to agree with you. That way, if anyone disagrees tomorrow when you say its vanilla, youll know who the potential traitors in your midst are.
This is where Trumps cult of personality comes in. For several years theres been a kind of competition on the right to come up with a coherent intellectual or ideological framework to support Trumps presidency. Every single one that comes out of the clouds of theory to get close to the reality on the ground has crashed. Hes a nationalist who puts America first but says well await Saudi Arabias say-so on a military strike against Iran. He says he wants free trade but also thinks tariffs are good.
Just this past week, the same people who insisted that Trump would never collude with a foreign nation for his political interest are now defending collusion with foreign nation for his political interest. The people who turn crimson with rage when you point out Trumps decades of corrupt business practices now insist his only interest in the Bidens is his concern about corruption. They say its outrageous that Bidens son sat on the board of a Ukrainian company when Biden was vice president, but they also say its fine to have a daughter and son-in-law duo running vast swaths of foreign and domestic policy while also making a fortune from their business interests around the world. Enemies are sinful or decadent when they lie or cheat on their wives, but who are you to judge Comrade Trump?
Theres no halfway defensible ideological, intellectual or moral standard that Trump doesnt violate, often routinely. A cult of personality that replies Trumps right or his enemies are worse before the question is even asked is the only place to hide.
A doctrine of infallibility is the only defense of this deeply fallible man.
Jonah Goldberg is a Creators Syndicate columnist.
The world is changing fast and the electric power grid is no exception.New technologies will produce more ...
Environmentalists just got some great news.Americas power plants will emit 2.3 percent less carbon dioxide ...
Is President Trump going to get Joe Biden elected?Opinions vary widely on how to characterize Trumps ...
I am not a crook. Richard Nixon made that statement during a press conference in Orlando, Florida, related to ...
The history books tell us that slavery officially ended in the United States on Dec. 6, 1865, when the 13th ...
The debate about political power and authority among those who profess the Christian faith has raged since the 1st ...
Read more here:
Trump's defenders have adopted a doctrine of infallibility | News, Sports, Jobs - Williamsport Sun-Gazette
- A few words of enlightenment | Letters To The Editor | ncnewsonline.com - New Castle News - December 5th, 2020
- 'Finding the Heart Sutra': Alex Kerr finds humor at the heart of wisdom and enlightenment - The Japan Times - December 5th, 2020
- The enlightenment of Guru Nanak, and a glimpse into his global Udasis - The Indian Express - December 5th, 2020
- slowthai, punk prophet of Britain's austerity generation, is on a strange trip to enlightenment - Document Journal - December 5th, 2020
- How cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad mark a return to the propaganda of the Middle Ages - Middle East Eye - December 5th, 2020
- You Go Girl!: The Commercialisation of Feminism - Mediummagazine - December 5th, 2020
- Conservatism and Liberalism: Two Books on the Great Divide - The Wall Street Journal - December 5th, 2020
- Introduction to The New York Times' 1619 Project and the Racialist Falsification of History - WSWS - December 5th, 2020
- The Composting Costumier talks The Planet - A Lament with Garin Nugroho | Columns - Aussie Theatre - December 5th, 2020
- Why Is It Important to Remember What Came Before? > News > USC Dornsife - USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences - December 5th, 2020
- The Not So Negative Dialectics of Post-Secondary Education - The Bullet - Socialist Project - December 5th, 2020
- We say America is a 'Christian nation.' Here's what that would look like if we really meant it | Opinion - Pennsylvania Capital-Star - December 5th, 2020
- Ball: The garden at the end of the tunnel - Amarillo.com - December 5th, 2020
- Interview with Lisa Williams, founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association and creator of its Black History Walking Tours - bellacaledonia.org.uk - December 5th, 2020
- Off the Grid: Maladaptive coping and quarantine pie - The Spokesman-Review - November 27th, 2020
- Critical Care Products Market Enlightenment on Future Scenario by 2027 - The Market Feed - November 27th, 2020
- MY FAVOURITE THINGS: Amazed at the amount of home-grown talent in Sheffield - Sheffield Telegraph - November 27th, 2020
- New book about change and transformation follows woman's journey to find herself - GlobeNewswire - November 27th, 2020
- The Old Guy: Remembering a beloved Staten Island restaurant that did not survive 2020 - SILive.com - November 27th, 2020
- The Crown's learning disability storyline highlights painful lack of progress - The Guardian - November 27th, 2020
- Trump's war with America itself | Opinion | washtimesherald.com - Washington Times Herald - November 27th, 2020
- Many exalted western values rooted in Christian tradition - The Irish Times - November 27th, 2020
- Explore the Enlightenment with Ayn Rand Scholars - New Ideal - October 30th, 2020
- Time's Monster by Priya Satia review living in the past - The Guardian - October 30th, 2020
- How to Be a Luminary - Torah Insights - Parshah - Chabad.org - October 30th, 2020
- The politicisation of civilisations and ideologies: Macron, Charlie Hebdo and blasphemy in France - Middle East Monitor - October 30th, 2020
- Apollo 13: The Dark Side of the Moon review survival and enlightenment - The Guardian - October 14th, 2020
- Does the world still need the West? - Al Jazeera English - October 14th, 2020
- Jess Keiser explores the Enlightened psyche, "nervous fictions" in new book - Tufts Daily - October 14th, 2020
- Alejandro Jodorowsky Reflects on 'The Incal,' 40 Years Later - Hollywood Reporter - October 14th, 2020
- Ethnic studies teach Latino kids to hate the US. It is dangerous for Arizona - The Arizona Republic - October 14th, 2020
- 'Biden or Trump?' is a question that signifies the age of decay - GlobalComment.com - October 14th, 2020
- The New Enlightenment, and what it means for us - The Daily Princetonian - September 24th, 2020
- Tantra: Enlightenment to Revolution review, British Museum: this serious-minded show proves it's time we stopped tittering - Telegraph.co.uk - September 24th, 2020
- Car Buying is Changing and All It Took Was a Pandemic: The Enlightenment - Car and Driver - September 24th, 2020
- 'Electric Jesus' will take you on a metal-fueled journey towards enlightenment - Document Journal - September 24th, 2020
- Yom Kippur in recovery | The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle - thejewishchronicle.net - September 24th, 2020
- Phil Jackson Sent Lakers Governor Jeanie Buss A Photo Of Him In A Team Sweatshirt To Cheer Her Up - Sports Illustrated - September 24th, 2020
- PLU French professor receives a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities - The Suburban Times - September 24th, 2020
- Bodh Gayas Mahabodhi temple to reopen from September 21 with restrictions - Hindustan Times - September 24th, 2020
- CULTURE Autumn 2020 exhibitions at the Uffizi and Palazzo Pitti - The Florentine - September 24th, 2020
- Interview: I like to be reminded that literature has the power and mystery of a dragon, says Australian-Iranian... - Hindustan Times - September 13th, 2020
- Akwa Ibom to partner royal fathers on COVID-19 protocol enlightenment and enforcemen - Daily Sun - September 13th, 2020
- Karen Burnham Reviews Short Fiction: Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, and Tor.com - Locus Online - September 13th, 2020
- This isnt the time to forget Benjamin Franklin - Grand Island Independent - September 13th, 2020
- Joe Rogan's 'Inner Voice' Hack Could Be The Secret To True Workout Zen - DMARGE - September 13th, 2020
- Prop 13: Taxes and the Importance of an Open Mind - LA Progressive - September 13th, 2020
- Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for Shaoxing and soy braised tofu with pak choi - The Guardian - September 13th, 2020
- Pakistan sees its face in the mirror and doesnt like what it sees - The Indian Express - September 13th, 2020
- When Monuments Fall | by Kenan Malik - The New York Review of Books - September 13th, 2020
- 17-year-old junior hockey player hopes his coming out will inspire others - CBC.ca - September 13th, 2020
- In the beginning...the important things - The Hillsdale Daily News - September 13th, 2020
- FRSC partners Health Foundation on drivers certification The Sun Nigeria - Daily Sun - September 13th, 2020
- LIVING HISTORY: Keeper of the Books at library of the ages - The Courier - September 13th, 2020
- The Revolution Is Upon Us - Heritage.org - September 8th, 2020
- Author Introduces a New Age of Consciousness Through Reincarnation - Marketscreener.com - September 8th, 2020
- What Movies To Expect This Fall - NPR - September 8th, 2020
- Hajj 2020.. The ticket to board Hajj 2021 flight - The Nigerian Voice - September 8th, 2020
- Q&A: Jeff Okudah, on how reading sparked a 'Quest of Enlightenment' - The Athletic - September 7th, 2020
- Terence Corcoran: You are not you, and other truths of the new world - Financial Post - September 7th, 2020
- Hercules, Marvel Boy Bi-Sexual In Guardians of the Galaxy - Cosmic Book News - September 7th, 2020
- Forrest Hubbard Jr.'s newly released "Dreydens" is a riveting novel of a trio of curious individuals on a quest to unveil their world's... - September 7th, 2020
- Mathews: Meditating on Prop 13 with the Tibetan buddhists in Howard Jarvis' house - The Bakersfield Californian - September 7th, 2020
- Lilian Visinoni: Young And Ready to Save the Earth - THISDAY Newspapers - September 7th, 2020
- Islamic world at decisive point in history: Will it take the path of Emirates or Turkey? - Firstpost - September 7th, 2020
- Antiheroes and the 'American' Experience in Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man - Varsity Online - September 7th, 2020
- An Interview With Kosovo's Prime Minister and Other Top Weekend Reads - Foreign Policy - September 7th, 2020
- The role of desire in the religious life - Monroe Evening News - September 7th, 2020
- Guardians of the Galaxy #6 Review (2020) - Cosmic Book News - September 7th, 2020
- Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum Explores Footwear in the Age of Enlightenment in New 18th Century Exhibition - PRNewswire - August 16th, 2020
- Enlightenment and its discontents - Frontline - August 16th, 2020
- The Bata Shoe Museums Latest Exhibit Focuses on 18th Century Footwears Influence in the Age of Enlightenment - Footwear News - August 16th, 2020
- How This Technology Sales Leader Is Guiding Teachers Toward Instructional Enlightenment - Forbes - August 16th, 2020
- The 'woke' will lead us to enlightenment and more letters to the editors - Chattanooga Times Free Press - August 16th, 2020
- Freemasons: Behind the veil of secrecy - Livescience.com - August 16th, 2020
- 2 BR 0 2 B and the current situation of the world - newagebd.net - August 16th, 2020
- Nepal, India in war of words over Buddhas origins - The Hindu - August 16th, 2020
- Following and learning mumbo-jumbo - The News International - August 16th, 2020
- Top 10 books about the Grand Tour - The Guardian - August 16th, 2020
- Review: "Culture and the Death of God" - NBC2 News - August 16th, 2020