President Trump tells California to not improve its air quality. Then he tells the state to improve its air quality. Don’t do something, he says, but then do that exact thing. Stop, he says, but go. The directives seem contradictory, but they are not. Mutually exclusive ideas are simply the sign of a very stable genius.
Our president is the walking, talking embodiment of author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s notion that, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” This is exemplified by Trump’s policy stances.
Protect the environment by destroying the environment. Increase access to health care by decreasing availability. Support heartland farmers by convincing one of their largest customers to stop buying the farmers’ products. Promote public education by supporting private education. Improve the country’s finances by dramatically increasing the country’s debt. And regarding California, protect states’ rights by infringing on states’ rights.
The list seems endless, but that’s the point. Yes means no and up means down. War is peace. Freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength. As a genius, Trump is able to constantly promote goodwill, financial success and overall excellence by endorsing racism, callous ineptitude and general stupidity.
Fitzgerald chronicled this burden of a first-rate intelligence in 1936, and the title of his essay, which details mental decline and shattered dreams, perfectly describes Trump’s tenure as our president: “The Crack Up.”
Tom Sluis
Durango
