There is the line from Milton - “Tis better to reign in hell than serve in heaven” which very much applies to Trump. Accepting God’s love and mercy requires submission to his will. That is not The Donald’s cup of tea.
Stephen Miller might be more unadulterated libido dominandi than Trump--more like Nero, in Augustine's description of the personality--in that his desire for domination isn't tempered at all by a desire for esteem. Trump wants the signs of a good reputation (monuments, etc) but Miller seems to enjoy being hated.
I'm mostly not a fan of Douthat but I give him credit for telling trump that he's lead an incredibly charmed life and implying that, despite trump's money, all he has to show for it as he approaches death is a long list of grievances, grudges, and resentments. Not joy; not magnanimity; just bitterness. He's already living in Dante's circles of hell and lacks the capacity to escape.
"We" must admit Ross Douthat is not St. Peter? Speak for yourself pal, here in Ross Douthat Avignon we will make up our own minds, thank you mister intellectual.
I genuinely think there is something sad about Donald Trump: as Julia Imbruglia says, he's got a tremendous desire for esteem that drove him to seek the presidency--and he hates it! It's brought him nothing but aggravation and hatred, the only part he likes is redecorating the White House, he has absolutely torched his reputation even among many of the people whose approval and acclaim were the initial taste that drove him to this. His obsession with the signs of a good reputation over the substance of actually earning it is precisely why (well, ok, there's other things as well) he doesn't have one.
If this were an Orson Welles movie, it'd be fascinating. Unfortunately, the stakes are higher than that...
I'm not convinced Trump is motivated by love of self so much as self-loathing, to be honest. His craving for validation outside himself betrays an atrophied inner life. I'm not much of a fan of Douthat, but pressing this issue with Trump reveals some of the inner darkness, not malevolence so much as vacuousness, he carries.
There is the line from Milton - “Tis better to reign in hell than serve in heaven” which very much applies to Trump. Accepting God’s love and mercy requires submission to his will. That is not The Donald’s cup of tea.
Stephen Miller might be more unadulterated libido dominandi than Trump--more like Nero, in Augustine's description of the personality--in that his desire for domination isn't tempered at all by a desire for esteem. Trump wants the signs of a good reputation (monuments, etc) but Miller seems to enjoy being hated.
I'm mostly not a fan of Douthat but I give him credit for telling trump that he's lead an incredibly charmed life and implying that, despite trump's money, all he has to show for it as he approaches death is a long list of grievances, grudges, and resentments. Not joy; not magnanimity; just bitterness. He's already living in Dante's circles of hell and lacks the capacity to escape.
"We" must admit Ross Douthat is not St. Peter? Speak for yourself pal, here in Ross Douthat Avignon we will make up our own minds, thank you mister intellectual.
I genuinely think there is something sad about Donald Trump: as Julia Imbruglia says, he's got a tremendous desire for esteem that drove him to seek the presidency--and he hates it! It's brought him nothing but aggravation and hatred, the only part he likes is redecorating the White House, he has absolutely torched his reputation even among many of the people whose approval and acclaim were the initial taste that drove him to this. His obsession with the signs of a good reputation over the substance of actually earning it is precisely why (well, ok, there's other things as well) he doesn't have one.
If this were an Orson Welles movie, it'd be fascinating. Unfortunately, the stakes are higher than that...
I'm not convinced Trump is motivated by love of self so much as self-loathing, to be honest. His craving for validation outside himself betrays an atrophied inner life. I'm not much of a fan of Douthat, but pressing this issue with Trump reveals some of the inner darkness, not malevolence so much as vacuousness, he carries.
I think this kind of self-love is the same as self-loathing. It's a form of despair.