If Trump is going to admire one Russian, and live by his words, it should be Dostoevsky, by Hal Brown, MSW

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Dostoevsky wrote in The Brothers Karamozov:

“A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others. When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in the lowest form of pleasure, and behaves in the end like an animal in satisfying his vices. And it all comes from lying — to others and to yourself.”

I wonder what Fyodor Dostoevsky would say abut Trump. He might have to amend this in one major way:

….and he ends up losing respect for himself…

Defining respect as a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements it is clear that the only one Trump respects is himself and only in an ideal world of justice, ethics, and morality would he end up losing his belief he is the superior of all human beings.

In considering him Dostoevsky might remind us of a line from The Brothers Karamazov: “What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.”

Previous Stressline blogs.

2 responses to “If Trump is going to admire one Russian, and live by his words, it should be Dostoevsky, by Hal Brown, MSW”

  1. bugzbennyk Avatar
    bugzbennyk

    The Russian society that we see today is the end product of roughly 1200 years of settlement and civilization. Tsardom dates back to 1547. It is so many things – a language, a culture, a genetic composition, a landscape and topography that is challenging, unique, beautiful, and in many places, decimated by mistakes made in the last 100 years.

    But the story of that land mass and its inhabitants goes back so much longer ago, and carries the entire human history in its offerings.

    Literature, music, food, celebration, art, textiles, technology, science, and of course, a darker character, a more sinister, characteristically depressed, quietly aggressive, overtly rowdy, moody, brooding, abusive and often isolated individuals are qualities and elements of this current Russian iteration.

    Putin is an incredible puppetmaster. He must be respected, not feared, and the best way to manage him is to keep him out in the open, where he is always seen. He should never be hidden, because that is where the puppetmaster operates his craft best.

    Since that genetic archeology comprises 67% of my DNA, I share this perspective with love and reverence, not out of hatred. But there is a reason my grandfather and grandmother on my father’s side came here in 1906, and it was to escape the darkness of that overreaching, overarching brooding under Nicholas. Hatred had filled the continent and the Cossacks were angry men, unleashed, roving wild and free, using weaponry of their day to murder at will and ride through settlements, destroying homes, property and families.

    My mother’s father came from Germany, but his ancestry is noted as having been Romani gypsy. None of that has been confirmed. Again, I am the end result of a line of people who fled a destructive change in Russia. What Zelenskyy is fighting back against is a terror aimed at the cultural vault of old Russia and modern-day Russia. Putin wants it back. He wants the ports, the mineral rights, the agriculture, the natural resources, the money he perceives is his.

    Putin’s achilles heel is that he lusts after these things, he is the product of the cold war, the end of a Russia he grew up hungry and miserable in. He wants not only for himself, but also, for the people. But he is surrounded by exceptionally wealthy men who have made him also very wealthy. He lives as a tsar, no matter what he is called. He uses the tactics and playbook of a bygone era, using weapons of mass destruction as deterrence.

    All I can offer is – good luck to all of us. This is a poor choice of enemy to wrangle with. Trump, the idiot that he is, has absolutely no idea what kind of icy lake he’s decided to go swimming in. It will not end well for him, no matter what November’s outcome is. One day, a Navalny ending will come for him.

    The best one can hope for in an argument with a bear is to not die. Friendship is only possible with a bear if you saved its life, and it is very likely that the bear has spared yours. The wildness that courses through the Russian humanscape is irrefutable, and that’s what we are now entangled with.

    Peace.

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  2. Hal Brown Avatar
    Hal Brown

    Thank as usual for your cogent comment and some of your personal history.

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