Last Sprint

As the American Presidential Election winds down in its
last week, with both candidates obviously exhausted, I am tempted
to offer a few observations, albeit as a non-voting Canadian.
I feel concerned because I am the same age as both candidates -
who share being retirement age, and here surprisingly, being acquaintances
if not old friends. I have insights into what might be going on
as a function of having lived through the same historical period:
younger voters have a right to know.

A psychologist writing on the CNN site recently delivered the
coup de grâce to the Trump candidacy, offering a clinical
diagnosis of Trump as a narcissist, obviously dangerous and unfit for office.
As if Christopher Lasch had not written about the prevalence
of narcissist traits in American society as a cultural vector.
America is just starting the struggle to work out of celebrity
as social attainment, and the brave candidacy of Trump -
who has been taking it from all sides, and often shielding
Hillary C. in the process - is a shining example of that. Really.
Seriously.

And what Lasch feared - that politics would come to be empty
of content to make place for personality - has finally come to pass
in this election. All the issues are too complicated or polarizing to
discuss: Soviet armement; migration; the failing international economic order;
the espionage police on home ground. It's lying Hillary and deplorable
Donald all the way.

On the fun side, I finally got a glimpse into a question about men
that has long riddled me: what are they thinking when they do stuff like
that. The answer has finally come forth: Nothing, they are thinking Nothing.
Male predatory behaviour is just part and parcel of the responsibilities of
the position: I'm a handsome and successful male, women like that!
A victory for Hillary C. has been part of the game from the beginning,
a diffuse we owe it to her and she deserves it. Apparently a billion dollars
in donations has been backing that up. She had better win on the November 8,
after all that.

In this last sprint, I would counsel Donald Trump to listen to his wife, Melania,
and finally go on that silly diet she has been talking about: the abuse around
him will stop, or at least, he will start handling things better.
As for Hillary C., she needs to choose between alcohol and her meds
because the two are obviously not going very well together. I would
counsel sticking to alcohol, which has seen many a President navigate hard times.
Really.

I am not being flippant here. Recent research on the amygdala tells us that -
in a fearful situation - men will experience more fear than women, but will also
show more agressive behaviour. Women will be more inclined to reflection, and
learn from the experience.