Trump is just a puppet of the rich – keep him dangling

The following is not comparing anyone to the most evil person who ever walked the face of the earth. Doing so would not only be an undeserved insult to the former (not all ruthless people are Hitler) but also make the later come out more humane than deserved. So, I’m not going to compare these two in the moral sense. But I’m going to contrast them politically.

Second caveat: I’m going to use the word idiot, not insulting people who happen to have a less-than-average IQ, but rather to mean: unwise. One can be brilliant and still an idiot.

The despicable Hitler was used by the super-rich in Germany as a figurehead to their control of government. The ruthless evil brilliant idiot felt super-mighty but in fact he was just an imperialist capitalist puppet.

The following true story may illustrate how the extremely-wealthy inside and outside Germany were buddies while working-class boys from both camps killed each other off at the battle fields (in the meantime, making the war industries earn fortunes).

I was a young student still, end of the 1970s, when on an exceptionally warm day (it must have been around 30⁰C), I went on a bike ride to the old beautiful red-brick-stone central post office at the center of Amsterdam. Unintentionally, my large sun hat blocked view on my yarmulke and my tall body in shorts took away any chance that I would “look Jewish” according to any stereotype. I don’t think that the following could have happened if I had “looked Jewish.”

I had trouble finding the exact box that I needed, but I was in luck. Though the office was closed and the sweltering streets were completely empty, I found a very sweaty panting old post office worker who gladly helped me. I wanted to walk away thanking him, but stopped to really thank him. I added with a big grin: The Postal Service must be very glad with someone who is as loyal and dedicated as you.

No doubt it was a combination of factors that made him open up about something that I don’t think he ever told anyone, including when he was drunk (if ever). Surely, my youthful happy friendly face must have helped. I inherited it from my mother, who was a psychiatric nurse. Her “open” look always helped people to confide in her. Typically, older new Shabbat hosts would tell me their Holocaust stories at the festive table – which I was always eager to hear as my parents themselves did not like to ‘burden’ their children with their horrors. The very unusual weather (in those days) must have helped too. And my compliment. Anyway, here he went. He spoke slowly but I had all the time in the world.

It’s not my first difficult day at the Post. In the War, I also worked here. We managed the secret cables, right under this building. He sounded very proud, but I still had no idea what he was talking about. He clarified. We made sure that the daily stock market results were sent from the Ruhr Area to London at midday and the other way around at the end of the day. (I write these times from memory. I don’t know if they are accurate.) We kept it up all through the war; we never missed passing on one report.

I never found a Dutch historian who was willing to research this. (I also didn’t try too hard.)

Towards the end of WW II, the German industrialists tried to get rid of Hitler, because the useful idiot starting to lose the war and in general becoming bad for business. They weren’t quick enough.

So, again, I’m only going to draw a political, not an ethical, parallel.

Trump is just a brilliant useful idiot for the financial interests of the very-rich. He too feels super-important and powerful – but he is neither.

He’s still promising in that he tries to ‘improve’ US Tax Law but it’s not clear if he can ever deliver – he’s such a mess. Can others tame him?

In any case, he’s started already hurting the name of the Republican Party big time. He is connecting very strongly as no one before, Small Government with abuse of the Working Class. Also his flirtation with Russia doesn’t sit well with the conservatives. After Trump, the next election goes hands-down to Socialist Bernie Saunders. So it’s only a matter of time until Wall street sends Trump to the dump, to save what can be saved. They’ll find a pretext.

Meanwhile, I hope that Civil Servants, the Press and the Public can keep Trump distracted as much as he tries to distract us, from the real social damage that he tries to inflict. Because all his reign boils down to is the oldest sin in the world: grabbing and greed. The rest is distraction.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1