In our continuing aspiration concerning the thoughtful selection of words, most expressive of our precise intention (especially, in writing), we have, at times, been obliged to borrow popular terms from another language; usually, French or German. Thus, in French, “fait accompli” to express determinate finality, “mot juste,” for precisely the right word, “femme fatale,” for a temptress; in German,” farshtant,” for the quality of emotional understanding, “ersatz,” for items that are artificial, or substituted, and a word which occupies the principal theme of this writing, “schadenfreude.” The latter describes the (perverse) pleasure derived from perceiving another person’s misfortune. It depicts a reprehensible emotion, which, in our view, is the polar (and neurotic) opposite of the laudable, humanistic feeling of empathy.
The essential direction of this writing consists of the expression of a candid, personal confession to the entertainment of that deplorable, concept and feelings, but, in a distinct fashion in bright contrast to the more common, malign, definition, but, rather in a nuanced, derivative, and societal context.
The many grim judicial events, presently, confronting Donald Trump, principally address his autocratic, and malevolent attempts at the eradication of American democracy. In previous essays, we have painfully enumerated the extensive plethora of his morally unconscionable, and legally impermissible acts, extending to, no less than, his traitorous behavior together with his acts in defiance of the United States Constitution, his empirically demonstrated, absence of moral compass, his corrupting influence on many American citizens, his tactical divisiveness, and his ill-conceived efforts to contravene the historically-established, uniquely democratic, American way of life.
Incomprehensibly, Trump’s extensive wrongdoing, snake oil demagoguery, and moral trespass unfortunately and appallingly, seemed to garner him substantial populist influence and endear him to millions of hapless, inadequately educated, and eternally, discontented citizens. This large horde of the discontented, underbelly of populists, conglomerated into a large, un-American cult of Trump worshippers, compliantly aping his shameless bigotry, worship of lethal weapons, opposition to governmental programs, including, health and safety regulations, social security, general welfare and healthcare programs, handicap and citizen rights black, gay, and women’s rights and, particularly, the fundamental, equal right to vote. The age-old chestnut reciting the “rotten apple that spoiled the barrel,” achieved empirical validity in the disastrous one term of this twice-impeached, and currently, multi-indicted past President. As experienced by normally socialized, mainstream America, Donald J. Trump, willfully, and intentionally, despoiled the progressive, American ship of state and its implicit voyage to the destination of universal equality and wholesome, freely expressive life, and rendered it divisibly contentious, confused, and entirely rudderless.
The Nation’s underbelly cult of Trump worshippers, under his malign influence, has effectively, destroyed its operative, two-party system, by tactical intimidation to the extent that there no longer exists a coherent Republican Party. Under Trump’s malign influence and tutelage, they have attacked the essence and basic foundation of our democracy, most evident in their election denial to the unfathomable extent of a revolutionary insurrection, voter intimidation, and related deceitful practices.
During his singular, four-year (twice impeached) term and persisting thereafter, Donald J. Trump has injured our Nation’s traditional standing among other Nations by the unique demonstration of behavior that, by analogy to the creation of haute cuisine, amounts to the culinary tour de force of combining the ingredients of the essence of amorality with copious amounts of clear and manifest immorality.
Trump’s arrogance, and absence of responsible morality, in combination with his signature egotism, are irrefutably, demonstrated by his famous, unabashed, televised boast: “I could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it.” Teflon Donald, for too long a period of time, had, in fact, empirically and boastfully, appeared to undermine the provenance of the singular, American axiom, “No man is above the law.” Congressional hearings, subpoenas, litigation, investigations, and the like, seemed to be ultimately fruitless and frustratingly indicated a confirmation of his arrogant and ill-advised boast.
Fortunately, it would now appear that even Teflon has a limited (chemical) “half-life.” At the time of this writing, Trump has been officially charged with 71 criminal charges, is under four (Federal and State) indictments, including the procurement of the violent Washington insurrection, espionage regarding government secret documents, solicitation of voter fraud (being prosecuted under Georgia’s anti-racketeering Statute), prosecuted for tax and financial deceit, has suffered substantial damages for defamation, and is being prosecuted for bribery to cover-up his shameful liaisons with call girls.
It would appear that the proverbial “chickens have come home to roost,” and Donald Trump is, deservedly, besieged with the dire and painful results of his egregious, sociopathic behavior. In the context of the thematic concept of “schadenfreude, we are, admittedly, overjoyed at the (protracted) arrival of criminal sanctions and with the recent awareness that the egotistically deluded, would-be autocrat is facing much-deserved punishment and legal rebuke. This feeling of pleasure arguably, may technically or linguistically, qualify as “schadenfreude,” but in notable contrast to its orthodox application regarding an individual’s reprehensible and perverse inclination, is, instead, a societally relevant feeling of relief and of pleasure, in the moral and legal confirmation, eternally articulated in our Republican Democracy, that, indeed, no one can get away with, “shooting someone on Fifth Avenue.”
-p.
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