America's Faustian Bargain
02/12/24 07:40
December 2, 2024 (Vol. 18 No. 50) - Faust is a character in German folklore who gave his soul to the devil in exchange for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasure. It is from that legend that the phrase Faustian bargain was born. It is said that one who sacrifices something of great moral or spiritual value to gain something they desire has made a Faustian bargain. That is what almost half of America (49.9 percent, to be exact) did on November 5. In voting to place Donald Trump back in power, they had to overlook basic American and religious values. Trump is a convicted felon, a certified sex offender, an incompetent administrator with the language skills of a fifth grader, a seditious conspirator who tried to overturn the government of the United States, a racist who preys upon the voter's darkest fears, and a oligarch wanting to dismantle the Constitution so he can consolidate power to himself. Can you think of anyone more un-American than the whisper of a man I just described? And what did Trump voters get in return? They think he will Make America Great Again. They think Trump will make the economy stronger. They think he will restore America's place as the world's greatest nation. In reality, it is unlikely that their expectations will be met. If Trump and his sychophantic zealots do just half of what they say they will do, the United States will be headed toward a Depression worse than that experienced in the 1930s. Our stature in the world, revived by the Biden administration, will be irrepairably be damaged. Trump's "America First" world view is more likely to force the nation into a war worse than the one President Biden just ended. For Failure 45 - soon to become Felon 47 - it's the perfect bargain: He gets everything and everyone else gets nothing. It may take a few months, but his voters will eventually realize that they got less out of their Faustian bargain than they thought they would. And the rest of us will say we told you so. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.