BEFORE I'LL BE A SLAVE, I'LL BE BURIED IN MY GRAVE
I was heartened by the news that Rand Paul was the first senator to test positive for COVID-19 – after exposing several of his colleagues to the virus. The Republican Party is a raging dumpster fire, and Rand Paul isn’t even the worst Republican senator from Kentucky. But he may well be the Senate’s biggest jerk.
Ayn Rand preached rational self-interest. I don’t see how putting your colleagues at risk for a deadly disease because you wanted to go swimming is in anyone’s rational self-interest, but that’s just me. Paul probably sees himself as a cross between John Galt and the narrator of Invictus. He is the master of his fate, the captain of his soul – his unconquerable soul, by jingo.
“The New Possibility” is a phrase coined by Lutheran theologian Paul Tillich to convey the transformative impact of the birth of Christ. For millions of Americans, Donald Trump also represented a new possibility – the possibility that they could ignore laws (and even commandments) and not become pariahs.
For Republican Evangelicals, Trump is the New Cyrus, “the chosen one.” The Old Testament Cyrus the Great ended the Babylonian Captivity. Trump ended the Barackobamian Captivity. Practically the same thing.
The original Cyrus conquered Babylon, freed captive Judeans, and sent them back to their homeland. Trump wants to declare victory over COVID-19, free Americans who are captives in their own homes, and send them back to building shareholder equity. Again, practically the same thing. Who’s to say that Trump’s plan to call the virus’ bluff on Easter Sunday isn’t precisely what Cyrus the Great would have done?
And for Republicans who lean libertarian, Trump is the new John Galt, ignoring all the rules of collectivist society and winning anyway. In fact, winning precisely BECAUSE he ignored the rules of collectivist society. Rules are for losers.
An earlier draft of this post tried to make the tongue-in-cheek point that Trump could be viewed as a reformer, bringing Jesus and Ayn Rand into the 21st century. But Trump’s guiding philosophy seems closer to that of an early 20th century philosopher, who taught that, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” What if Donald Trump isn’t the New Cyrus, but the New Aleister Crowley? The Occult-American community turns its lonely eyes, etc.
Whether you despise Donald Trump or merely loathe him, he obviously has one superpower. He has an uncanny ability to bring out the worst in people. Leading by example, he’s shown the world that it’s possible to behave badly and get away with it. He has given his followers permission to be their worst selves.
Christians in his orbit turn into idolaters. Libertarians who find that rational self-interest is too labor-intensive get to skip the rational part and focus on pure self-interest. Maybe idolatry and selfishness aren’t the best long-term strategies for a happy life, not to mention a happy afterlife. But the afterlife is a crapshoot anyway, and who’s thinking long-term nowadays?
Rick Wilson wrote a best-seller called EVERYTHING TRUMP TOUCHES DIES. I bought the book and approved of the metaphor. Sadly, it’s now more than a metaphor. And his victims are no longer limited to the endless pool of grifters and toadies who work for him voluntarily. Trump once bragged that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and keep the support of his base.
Four years later, he may not be using a gun, but he’s killing people just the same. The death toll in the United States is already over 1000, with worse to come.
Let me close by circling back to Rand Paul. He’s been savaged on social media, with opinions that run from “serves him right” (understandable) to “I hope it kills him” (which I think goes too far). I hope Rand Paul’s virus is severe enough to bring him to his senses. Let him get well, and then devote the rest of his life as an advocate for science-based public health.
I’m not going to hold my breath in anticipation of that outcome. These days, every breath is precious. But I can spare a moment for a few thoughts and prayers. I have a lot of time on my hands these days.