Know Your Enemy: Sun Tzu's Timeless Wisdom in the Age of Trump
Key Highlights :
In April 1951, when President Harry Truman was invited to throw out the first pitch at the old Griffith Stadium for baseball’s opening day, the crowd erupted into boos. This was in response to Truman recently firing the extremely popular General Douglas MacArthur as commander of the Far East. When brothers Michael and Martin returned home from the game, Martin confessed to their father that he had stood up to boo the president before Michael pulled him down. Their father’s response was to remind Martin that President Truman was a great man and that if he had fired MacArthur, he must have had his reasons and that he should never boo another president.
This sentiment of respect for the office of the President of the United States seems quaint now, but it is a virtue that has been lost in the age of Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch. Trump has always been known for his penchant for ridicule, but when he brought that into the political arena, it was like injecting a virus of cruelty into the political bloodstream. Fox News has taken this to a new level, taking sick delight in sniping at any perceived infirmity of President Joe Biden.
Fortunately, there are still some Republicans who are willing to stand up for decency in the face of Trump's vitriol. Mitt Romney, for example, recently made it clear that Trump is not suited to be president of the United States. Meanwhile, Senator Todd Young of Indiana made it clear that he would not be supporting Trump as the Republican nominee after his brazen performance at the CNN town hall.
It is clear that Trump is spiraling into a more self-deluded narcissist than ever before, and that he is obsessed with numbers. This was demonstrated when he was asked about regretting his actions on January 6th and instead began rhapsodizing about the size of the crowd that day and calling it a “beautiful day”.
The danger of Trump is that he is aiming to get back in the Oval Office without anyone trying to keep him from going completely off the rails, and with the help of superevolved A.I. chatbots to help him lie and smear.
Sun Tzu's timeless wisdom of knowing the enemy is more relevant now than ever. The media can not ignore Trump and keep him under a bushel basket; he will always find a platform. We must challenge Trump and expose him, not put our fingers in our ears and sing “la, la, la”. Roberta Kaplan, the lawyer for E. Jean Carroll, did a skillful job of letting Trump convict himself in the deposition. President Biden needs to see what he is up against and be prepared for the challenge.
It is important to remember Sun Tzu's wisdom in the age of Trump. We must know our enemy and be prepared to face him. We cannot save democracy from people who would shred its norms by shredding democratic norms ourselves. We must be vigilant and challenge Trump and expose him for the dangerous extremist he is. Only then can we hope to restore the patriotism and respect that used to be associated with the office of the President of the United States.
