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Dionysus-in-Chief: A Deeper Dive into Trickster
“I need the kind of generals that Hitler had.” So said Donald J. Trump to his Chief of Staff John Kelly. If reelected, he may not find such generals at the Pentagon. But he has them lined up to staff the Oval Office and much of the federal government, many of them Trump-pardoned convicted felons, a plan laid out in Project 2025.
This time the velociraptors will know how to turn the door handles.
The War Between The Opportunity Economy and The Prosperity Gospel
The Prosperity Gospel is a fast-growing theologically conservative movement frequently associated with Pentecostalism, evangelicalism, and charismatic Christianity. Wanna know why evangelicals support Trump? Look to The Prosperity Gospel. Also known as the Health and Wealth Gospel, it promises believers the ability to transcend poverty and/or illness through devotion and positive confession. What Trump and the evangelicals share, their hands perpetually out, is the grift, the hustle.
James Hillman on Show Business Ethics
In “On Show-Business Ethics” (Philosophical Intimations, Uniform Edition), archetypal psychologist James Hillman offers a prophetic understanding of what drives Trump’s power with this base. Writing in 1988, the Reagan era, Hillman points out that, replacing morality as we know it—you know, right and wrong—show biz ethics has instead taken over the agora and the forum, the marketplace and the body politic. In show biz ethics, it is not the rightness or wrongness of action but strictly the question, does it work?
When the Joker’s Jokes Don’t Land
“Trump lost the debate because of his performance, or lack thereof,” Republican consultant Dennis Lennox argues. He adds, “That’s what happens when you wing it.”
Yet, Trump’s ability to wing it, to give the impression of making things up as he goes along, has long served him well. It has again and again helped to persuade his followers that he was trustworthy and authoritative. How? By conveying that, unlike other pols, he wasn’t reading his handlers’ script. He wasn’t basing his thoughts on a white paper written by some empty-suit, east-coast elite. No, what he offered came straight from the gut, so trust him….
“I Know Donald Trump’s Type”
So says the prosecutor regarding the convicted felon.
I know his type too, his archetype: Trickster.
Trickster Trump
Winging It makes the case that Trickster, that charming, charismatic troublemaker, is the engine and voice of improvisation.
One of Trickster’s incarnations is the African / African-American figure named Compère Lapin / Br’er (brother) Rabbit, a West African tale first recorded by Alcee Fortier at Laura Plantation in St. James Parish upriver from New Orleans.
Trickster is the original Energizer bunny. All the cartoon tricksters, from Bugs to Tom to the Roadrunner's Coyote, are relentless. They keep on coming. They operate on an endless supply of desire. Ever wonder at Trump's energy? Sleepy Don is now slipping out of character.