The dire consequences of hero worship
Donald Trump has been indicted in four different jurisdictions on a whopping total of 91 felony charges. The only president, present or former, to have faced any such charges, he’s nonetheless tightened his grip on the Republican Party.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden, who defeated Trump in 2020 by seven million popular votes and 306-232 in electoral votes, is running for reelection at age 80, another unprecedented development.
During the two years Democrats controlled Congress, Biden sponsored impressive legislation, reorienting the party from the “neoliberalism” practiced by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. He forthrightly supports unions, government investment in key economic sectors, and reducing income inequality by taxing the rich.
Biden has returned Democrats to New Deal principles, exactly what young progressive thinkers have been advocating.
Yet polls say a majority of Democrats don’t want Biden to run for reelection, advice he’s pointedly ignored. It’s just political common sense – no first-term incumbent has failed to seek a second term since the 19th century; Biden’s not going to be the first.
There’s no one else Democrats have in mind – just as dissident Republicans had no one to replace Speaker Kevin McCarthy, leaving a complete leadership vacuum after Tuesday’s ouster.
What to make of these extraordinary events? How could an ex-president who betrayed his oath rather than admit he lost an election nonetheless retain command of his party?
And how could someone so keenly attuned to party aspirations as the incumbent be assessed so tepidly by Democrats?
We won’t find answers by analyzing contemporary politics, or even expanding to encompass popular culture.
Nor can we find it in the 234-year history of the presidency. Nothing like this has ever happened.
Instead, we must delve more deeply into our collective psyche. After Trump’s hostile takeover of the GOP and two popular vote losses for president, his eerie persistence can best be explained through the realm of mythology,
The word “myth” is often used carelessly, as if it meant only something made up or false.
Myth, present in all human societies we know about, is something far more powerful. While it has or acquires elements of fantasy and exaggeration, at its core is a perceived truth – something that represents certitude for many.
That’s what Trump’s followers mean when they say he “tells it like it is,” and is celebrated by Christian nationalists even though the actual Trump would seem to lack Christian virtues.
His endlessly repeated vows – taken up by his political acolytes – to smite progressives, socialists, communists, immigrants, “woke” teachers and many more – dwell not in the realm of reason, but solely in the darker emotions.
We’re witnessing the dangers of hero worship. Americans are not invulnerable to the lure of generals and businessmen as candidates for president. George Washington excepted – the indispensable political leader as well as Revolutionary War general – it’s been slim pickings.
Dwight Eisenhower and Andrew Jackson still have admirers, but it’s hard to say much positive about Ulysses S. Grant, William Henry Harrison and a host of also-rans. Supreme command is a dubious background for becoming president.
Trump’s only predecessor is Herbert Hoover, but Hoover was really a mining engineer, war relief specialist, and served as Secretary of Commerce. By contrast, Trump has never held any other office; his executive style was controlled chaos, with control eventually disappearing.
A hero promises action, radiates certitude, and – in the political realm – has a genius for denouncing enemies. None of this works well in a representative democracy, where power is shared and all are equal before the law.
The office-holder serves the people, not vice-versa. Trump seems never to have gotten the message.
No one thinks of Joe Biden as a hero. His speaking style, presence onstage, his ability to think on his feet are only average, but leadership, as defined in a democratic system, requires other qualities that Biden has.
His personal modesty, lack of a killer instinct, and ability to change with the times are vital attributes, but play poorly online and in the blogosphere.
Yet we elect those with autocratic tendencies at our peril. Just ask Russians who voted for Putin, Hungarians who voted for Orban, and Turks who voted for Erdogan. They’ll never see another democratic election while these three hold power.
Trump admires all of the above, and seems envious of China’s Xi, who maneuvered through the Communist Party leadership to become the lineal successor to the all-powerful Mao. The hero becomes the anti-hero; we can’t say we weren’t warned.
As the first and greatest Republican president said amidst a great war, “We must disenthrall ourselves.” We have just one year to end this particular enthrallment.