Putin probably smiling over anarchy at US Capitol

Somewhere in Russia, there is an EX-KGB agent, President Vladimir Putin, sitting like the cat who ate the canary. Putin must relish the situation we now have. In what seems like an interminable four years, the American political system has done to itself what decades of Soviet dictators had dreamed of. Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev along with others of that regime must have envy and admiration for Putin from their graves.

President Donald Trump, love him or loathe him, has managed to drive a wedge deep and wide in American politics and society not seen since the days of the Civil War. From his loyalists, he receives undying support regardless of what he does. They are convinced Trump is always right. His actions, regardless how despicable, do not lose him a single vote. He said as much.

Why such loyalty? Religious and political leaders and society-created celebrities are often held in high esteem without rationale. Homo sapiens have that tendency. We say, “Our guy is faultless and yours is anything but.” From the sports teams we root for to the president we vote for, we believe

“we picked a winner, making us winners," and we live vicariously through these heroes.

The ego comes into play. Ego, which in Latin stands for I and selfishness. Sometime in antiquity, our ancestors thought quite highly of themselves and labeled our species homo sapiens, which means the hominids who are wise. Hopefully, wisdom and not ego will prevail and America will come to its senses and continue as an example that democracy can work. If not, we may have to reclassify our species as “homo egotistic."

Joe Baniak

Troy