The most important moments and figures in history are imbued with drama.
On the 2,124th anniversary of the birth of the epochal Julius Caesar, Donald J. Trump, by dramatically surviving an assassin's bullet, may well have transitioned from a colorful, blustery, "bark-worse-than-his-bite" political caricature to a man of history.
Close encounters with death can change a person. Mr. Trump's may have imbued him with a quality previously not so evident: dignity.
Absence? The Daily Beast reported: "In a clip aired on MSNBC, Trump continued: 'If I went back to NBC right now to do something, they would do anything I wanted to do, showbiz wise ... Because one thing I know about that business — and I learned more about that business than anybody else could learn in a short period of time. It's about one thing: ratings. If you have ratings, you can be the meanest, most horrible human being in the world. There's only one thing that matters: ratings.'"
True, and astute. In the 2016 presidential race, Trump, by credible measures, garnered $5 billion in "earned media" (press coverage), dwarfing that of his rivals, thus, astonishingly, propelling him into the White House.
That said, importing an "only ratings matter" business ethos into politics brought with it a P.T. Barnumesque aspect that, while powerful for politics, lacked gravitas as a matter of governance. Or history.
There are signs following the assassination attempt that Donald J. Trump — barely avoiding a sudden, ghastly death — gained dignity. And, if so, gravitas.
Despite the endless chatter of reporters and of my fellow card-carrying members of the Columnist Party needing to fill column inches and airtime, we, the voters really care about and vote based upon only three things: equitable prosperity, security (personal and national), and, yes, dignity.
The meaning of equitable prosperity is obvious. Outside of war or civil unrest, James Carville's dictum to Bill Clinton, "It's the economy, stupid," is the hinge on which presidential elections turn.
Yet a dramatic escape from a would-be assassin's bullet makes security, both personal and national, top of mind. Maybe more symbolically than practically, yet, as they taught me in campaign manager's school, in politics "perception is reality."
Along with prosperity and security, dignity matters. We of the proletariat are hungry for a respect typically denied to us by the nomenklatura.
Consider the implications of the opening sentence of Edgar Allan Poe's "Cask of Amontillado": "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge." Now consider the political implications of dissing us as "a basket of deplorables."
I was Trump-agnostic, neither a never-Trumper nor cult of Trump. Until Jan. 6, 2021. Nonetheless, members of both camps have maintained friendships with me.
So let's consider the words of Melania Trump as the most eloquent of the remarks in the aftermath. Her words may deserve to echo, like the Gettysburg Address, through the centuries:
"A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald's passion — his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration. The core facets of my husband's life — his human side — were buried below the political machine. ...
"Let us not forget that differing opinions, policy, and political games are inferior to love. Our personal, structural, and life commitment — until death — is at serious risk. Political concepts are simple when compared to us, human beings. ...
"Dawn is here again. Let us reunite. Now.
"This morning, ascend above the hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence. We all want a world where respect is paramount, family is first, and love transcends. We can realize this world again. Each of us must demand to get it back. We must insist that respect fills the cornerstone of our relationships again. ...
"The winds of change have arrived. For those of you who cry in support, I thank you. I commend those of you who have reached out beyond the political divide — thank you for remembering that every single politician is a man or a woman with a loving family."
Bruce Greyson, M.D., in a journal article published on the website of the National Institutes of Health, wrote:
"... [Near Death Experiences] can permanently and dramatically alter the individual experiencer's attitudes, beliefs, and values. The literature on the aftereffects of NDEs has focused on the beneficial personal transformations that often follow. A recent review of research into the characteristic changes following NDEs found the most commonly reported to be loss of fear of death; strengthened belief in life after death; feeling specially favored by God; a new sense of purpose or mission; heightened self-esteem; increased compassion and love for others; lessened concern for material gain, recognition, or status; greater desire to serve others ..."
Let us pray that, indeed, "Dawn is here again. Let us reunite. Now."
Ralph Benko, co-author of "The Capitalist Manifesto" and chairman and co-founder of the 200,000+ follower "The Capitalist League," is the founder of The Prosperity Caucus and is an original Kemp-era member of the Supply-Side revolution that propelled the Dow from 814 to its current heights and world GDP from $11T to $104T. Read Ralph Benko's reports — More Here.
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