Trump.
The name paints a picture in all our minds, and for many that current picture is that of the immigration detention centres. I've known for a day or two that under immense pressure he has stopped separating children from their families, but that does not in any way rectify what he has caused to happen. To read that the separated children are still separate, and that they are kept in cages, with strip lights on 24hours/ day, and the detention workers are unable or not allowed to even comfort them is quite literally unbelievable. As I read, even the families still together are kept in these conditions.
My mind has become obsessed with the link between Patriarchy and the destruction of the world, and to me, Trump is the epitome of Patriarchy. Trump is the epitome all that is wrong in the world right now.
We are animals, but that is in no way an argument for humans treating each other badly. Indeed, it is because of our brilliance in thought and practice that has separated us from the rest of the animal kingdom, and so this type of behaviour towards other human beings, not least the innocents, is absolutely, unequivocally, unacceptable.
Trump seems to see himself as in some way superior to virtually all other human beings (and for that matter the planet), and especially from women, children, and all who are from poorer or developing countries. His overly macho, ego driven, psychopathic notion of survival of the fittest, of those who have the most deserve the most, of bigger, better, more and 'I'm going to stand on you, your communities and your kids to get it' attitude is wrong.
It is this attitude that allows him, and others like him to act in such barbaric ways to protect what is, (they believe), rightfully theirs, with no compassion, no notion of the universal spirit that binds us all, and definitely no empathy.
It appears irrelevant to them that they were fortunate to be born in to families of wealth and power, and it is this denial of being gifted fortune that allows them to mentally separate themselves from fellow human beings. If Trump and the like were able, or rather willing, to recognise their own good fortune there would be a humility, a gratitude, and therefore compassion.
To me, it is this notion of 'god given' superiority that has long been a weapon of Patriarchy, used to abuse and crush those less fortunate than themselves, and to wrongly justify sitting in their ivory towers lording it over the many. Arrogant and yet terrified that they might potentially lose this power they constantly create and reinforce their own, and our reality.
For the likes of Trump to lose his extreme arrogance, for the machinations of power and destruction to be overthrown we need to start having the conversations that open up the possibilities of Patriarchy to end. That is, to respect the feminine aspect in all its forms. The earth has cycles of light and dark, growth and expansion followed by quiet, inward times. Humans also need this. Women know these cycles within their bodies, men feel the loss of being denied these cycles by being born in to a world where they have to win, they have to be strong and successful at all times. And we all know these cycles when loving and caring for children, and our elderly loved ones - those who need help and support and who give us something in return that is not profit or material gain, but are the quiet moments, the love connection, the wisdom, or the reflection and learning opportunities.
To me, this seems a hell of a long way off. My thoughts are way outside of the current view through the Overton window; political or societal, but I do believe we can get there. The more that normal everyday men become less frightened of feminism, the more the conversation gets opened up and the easier it will be to sink in to the psyche. But ideas like mine are intrinsically related to the environment, and this means more humans need to start connecting to where their food comes from, more opportunities to sit in quiet wonder at the beauty of a sunset, or a dragon fly over a glimmering summer river, or noticing the changing of the leaves on the trees. More women need to connect with the power of their bodies in childbirth, and more men need to learn how to cry freely, and we all need to learn once more to recognise death as part of the cycle of life. Through these processes we would start to realise that we are not so dependant as we think we are on having some overlord system to control us, and a new democracy could emerge that is fairer to all, including animals, plant life and the earth mother herself.