The Power of Positive Thinking

In 1952, an American Minister by the name of Norman
Vincent Peale, published a book called The Power of
Positive Thinking.  I'm sure you heard of it; it is still in
print today.  It was based on the premise that if you
believed, really believed in yourself you could achieve
anything.  You can dispel negative thoughts by tuning
into a cheerful channel in your mind.  The book and its
beliefs were thoroughly debunked by psychologists
and the mental health community, who called Peale
a con man and a fraud.  But the Reverend Mr. Peale
was feted by several presidents including Nixon, Ford,
Carter, Reagan, and Bush I.  At his death, he was
lavishly praised by president Clinton.  Our current
president, Donald Trump, attended Rev. Peale's
Marble Collegiate Church as a child, and he, and
his sisters, were married in the church.  Trump has
praised Peale and cited him as a guiding influence
in his life.

I bring this all up, because it appears as though the
lessons learned by Trump at that tender age, are what
has driven him to overcome failure and bankruptcy
and still believe he is a business genius.  Trump has
used Peale's philosophy throughout his life, he lives
by it, and it has served him well.  It has taken him all
the way to the White House as president, the most
powerful position in the world.  And like the Rev. Peale,
Donald is a con man and a fraud, he has managed to con
39% of the United States population.

I see now that what Trump says are not lies, they are the
reality as he wants it to be.  Trump refuses to see, hear,
or speak anything negative.  It is one of the tenets of his
belief, it is what he learned in church as a young man.
When he said the crowd at his inauguration was larger
than Obamas, he wasn't lying, it was as he saw it.  He
refused to believe it rained on his inauguration.  In his
mind, he had envisioned his inauguration, and it was
perfect, and the facts of the matter will never change
that.  He does have alternative facts.

He only sees his adoring minions; it matters not that
some of them are paid to be there.  You can see it in
his face, he becomes transfixed.  He believes that
everyone loves him, and if they don't, they are un-
American rabble.  If the press dares to print anything
unflattering, they are 'fake news' or worse.  He actually
believes he can do anything to any woman, grab, fondle,
or kiss them and it is alright, because he is The Donald.

Trade wars are easy to win, they are if you believe they
are, and Donald Trump believes they are.  He believes
it is his destiny to bring China to it's knees, to change the
dynamic of 6000 years.  The tariffs will be paid by China
and in the end they will bend to his will.  It makes no difference
that studies from researchers at Harvard, the University of
Chicago, the International Monetary Fund, and the Federal
Reserve all show that the tariffs are hurting the US and
not China.  Even so, Trump has decided to hold off on increasing
the tariffs on China until mid-December, lest they raise prices
before the Christmas shopping season,  No hurt here, Duh!

We are riding the longest expansion in years, and the whispers
of a recession are growing louder.  The rest of the world's
economy is slowing, and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit
is adding to fears of a worldwide downturn.  But Trump will
have none of it, he believes that our economy will prevail and
there is no recession in sight for America. And he has said so
over and over again.  Yet in a campaign rally in New Hampshire -
where according to him he drew a bigger crowd than Elton John -
he told those gathered, and the rest of the country that the only
way to survive the coming recession is to vote for him.  He is
the only one who can save the country.  Double Duh!

Is he delusional?  Or does he truly believe he is the savior the
world needs, the only one who can restore order across the globe.
He has rewritten treaties and scrapped other treaties, he has made
enemies of our friend and friends of our enemies. He is the bully
in the schoolyard, getting his way through threats, both economic
and military.  He is uncultured, unrefined and uncouth, he is
lacking in manners and grace.  But what if he is right?

                       The time has come to talk of many things
                       Of Shoes and ships and sealing wax
                       Of cabbages and kings.
   I'm just sayin'.