American Exceptionalism, Part II

The US is truly exceptional. What other country could have produced a leader as exceptional as Trump, a man who combined the talents of a gangster, grifter, bully, bullshitter, liar, pedophile, rapist, racist, fascist, traitor.... and elected him to the highest office in the land -- not once but twice.

Under Trump.2, the US has become more exceptional than ever. His bellicose actions toward Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Greenland, Iran, Cuba, and Nigeria are merely the latest examples of American Exceptionalism. 

"American Exceptionalism" derives from the argument that the USA is fundamentally different from other countries; that it is superior to them, "Number 1," "The Greatest Country in the World." The reality is reminiscent of Orwell's 1984.

American exceptions abound:

The only wealthy country without a system of universal health insurance coverage. Existing health insurance plans verge on robbery. Under Trump 2, millions have lost even the most minimal health coverage. 

A Department of Health and Human Services led by "Worm Brain" R.F. Kennedy Jr, doing its best to revive diseases previous generations had virtually eliminated and to bring us more epidemics and pandemics. Measles is the latest revived disease, thanks to anti-vaccine propaganda. You would almost think the Trump regime is trying to kill you.

A Department of Défense (War?) led by "Whiskey Pete" Hegseth that thinks indiscriminate killing of civilians around the world is "legal" and Christian. 

A Department of Homeland Security under "Who is it Today?" that spends most of its time terrorizing and killing the American people. Now adding airports to its mission in a bid to destroy the airlines by making flying increasingly dangerous. 

A Department of Justice under Pam "Hide the Epstein Files" Bondi, devoted to undermining existing laws, eroding human rights, and protecting pedophiles. 

A minimum wage far below the level of a "living wage."

A railway system far inferior to that of every other developed country. Poor public transit in much of the country.

A deteriorating public education system, which helps the GOP to repeatedly con illiterate voters. 

A government friendly to pedophiles and other sexual predators.

Number 1 in billionaires.

Number 1 in medical bankruptcies.

Number 1 in mass shootings.

Number 1 in Covid deaths.

The US is currently in the grip of Christo-capitalist fascism. Its evolution into this obscene system did not begin with Trump. It is the result of decades of far right brainwashing and the gradual erosion of constitutional and legal protections of political and human rights. 

Trump is a product, a symptom, of the current malignant version of American Exceptionalism. He did not create it. It will not go away when he does without radical reform of the political, economic, and cultural systems.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to become a follower of my blog, just click on the blue "FOLLOW" button on the right side of the first page. Below there you can also find my previous posts. Thanks!

The New Declaration of Independence: From Trump

 

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The present  state of the USA demands a new declaration -- against Donald Trump and Trumpism. 

The original declaration of 1776 blamed George III for the conflict. Most of the blame lay with Parliament, but focusing on the king made the argument for independence simple: the people versus a tyrant. The argument is much stronger today than in 1776, because Trump, unlike George III, truly is a tyrant. Ironically, just recently, George III's descendent, Charles III schooled Congress on the importance of the ideals proclaimed in the declaration.   

Charles did not mention that the original Declaration of Independence, in the part few read today, listed a long series of "repeated injuries and usurpations" it ascribed to George III, designed to establish "an absolute Tyranny over these States." 

Today, a New Declaration of Independence from Trump should be drawn up, with a similar list of the injuries and usurpations he and his MAGA toadies have inflicted on the USA. I propose something like the following:

He has repeatedly violated the Constitution and corrupted the system of separation of powers and checks and balances.

He is destroying the fabric of American institutions designed to advance education, health, and the general welfare. 

He has attacked and is attacking freedom of speech, the press, and assembly. 

He has violated the norms of diplomacy and human rights, killing and arresting people without evidence of any crime. 

He has made enemies of traditional allies and friends of the USA.

He is destroying one of the strongest economies on earth.

He has repeatedly violated the norms of human morality.

He has brought the USA into global contempt.

He has praised and assisted the enemies of human freedom, decency, and democracy.

He is a felon guilty of bribery, rape, pedophilia, tax evasion, extortion, and other crimes. 

He is a six times bankrupt who has repeatedly failed to pay his creditors.

He golfs on the taxpayers' money while the country burns.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to become a follower of my blog, just click on the blue "FOLLOW" button on the right side of the first page. Below there you can also find my previous posts. Thanks!

A Poetic Piss-Potpourri: In Honor of Donald Trumpstein

Global Warming

As the world heats and burns  

My mind once more returns

To more honest times past

And it comes to me at last

They called it global warming

They meant it as a warning

Of terrible things to follow

If we continued to wallow

In our carbon-fuelled delusion

Promoted by careful collusion

Among oil and auto guys

Who peddled us sweet lies

They calmed our silly fears

And we returned to our beers

Global warming? How strange

When it’s only climate change

The King of Slime

Algae in the Reflecting Pool

Is really not exactly cool

Slime in time begets more slime

And all upon the nation’s dime

Please, don’t look the other way

Or slime will cover you some day.

c.2026

 

Epstein’s Files

The wind was a source of power and cleaner energy,

The sun was working daily to make cheap electricity.

The moon was quietly giving us the power of the sea  

And the Epstein Files came riding –

Riding -- riding

The Epstein Files came riding, up to the PEDO's door.

c.2026 8647 Apologies to Alfred Noyes

How can we release the Epstein Files

When they're controlled by pedophiles?

Pedophiles with tons of money

Billions, maybe trillions, honey

Money like that equates with power

Soak Congress with a golden shower

A SCOTUS bought can be relied on 

To save the ass of Don the Con

Iran away from the Epstein Files,

Documents, piles upon piles,

Those Files will seal my fate,

Unless I show that I am great.

Now I'm stuck in Hormuz Strait,

Iran away from the Files I did,

Now I'm caught in Iran's Grid.

Trump and Vance say he's a dope

I'm sure you know I mean the pope. 

Pope Leo's ignorant of theology,

They sneer with no apology.

He prays for peace and love,

What's this crap about a dove?

Trump is Jesus, Vance a Catholic,

What a pair, they're psychopathic.

Trump! He loves me! This I know,

Cause His MAGAts tell me so.

Little ones belong to him,

They are young, He is dim.

Trump He loved me! yes I know,

When I was down at Marlargo,

Saying, with me on his knee,

“Epstein brings great kids to Me.”

Trump He loves me still today!

Lying 'bout me every day.

The Second Coming; Or, Yeats Manhandled

Things Fall Apart; the world cannot hold

On through such insanity, I am told

Pure anarchy is loosed upon the world

Torrents of blood and passionate intensity

The best show spines of little density

The Epstein Class Coming is at hand

The Rough Beast old and in command

Here's a little advisory

I will keep it cursory

Just a brief summary

Send Trump to the nursery

Before he steals our bursary.

Oops, too late.

You can't always get what you want, 

You can't always get what you need,

But if you try sometimes,

You might get what you deserve.

The Epstein Files are waiting, 

And they will make you bleed.

America Once Beautiful

Once beautiful for spacious skies,

And amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties,

Above the fruited plain,

This land is your land,

This land is my land,

At least it used to be.

Till oligarchy stole it, 

From sea to filthy sea,

America! Amerika!

Republicans stole all grace from thee.

America! Amerika!

God mend thy biggest flaw

Make Trump our Orange Master

Obey the God Damn law!

Let Trump our Great Disaster, 

Example Nature's claw.

America, Amerika!

Let’s go against the grain,

Make America Beautiful Again.

 

In 2026 we took a little trip, 

To Iran in a really bigly ship. 

We won the war in a day or two,

Gave 'em hell, I swear it's true.

Killed eyetullah the first night,

Next day they resumed the fight.

Missiles, drones a' flyin' round,

Some of 'em even hit the ground.

Then they closed the Hormuz Strait,

Cuttin' off the world's oil freight.

Now the world is mad at Trump,

They all agree he's quite a Chump. 

From the Halls of Orange TACO

To the shores of Great TOFU;

We fight for Mango Wacko

To keep PEDOTUS clean.

We are proud to claim the title

Defender of the Great Buffoon. 

Trump's Proposals rejected by Tehran,

And Hormuz Strait still closed by Iran. 

This "excursion" is costing US

Billions, but we hardly fuss.

Here in Trumpistan, on this date,

The Epstein Files still sit and wait. 

There once was a place called Iran,

In truth, a mere flash in the pan. 

I set out to end it, 

Or at least to pretend it.

Why did God create, 

Such a narrow strait?

Iran closed that gate,

Trying to seal my fate.

Damned Hormuz Strait!

It's you that I hate. 

Mine eyes have seen the gory of the coming of the Trump

He is trampling out democracy, the nasty, lousy chump.  

He hath loosed the hateful people scoured from a dump

His lies are marching on

I have seen Him light the fires of a million burning homes

They are building Him a ballroom from piles and piles of bones

I have heard His muddled sentences in ever noxious tones

His crimes are marching on 

Refrain: 

Gory, Gory, Can he screw yah?

(repeat 2 times)

His lies are marching on

I have read His Chinese bible, printed on the cheap

And sold to His supporters, a bleating bunch of sheep

From tricks and other trinkets, huge profit did He reap

My God! Trump's still marching on

He has blasted out a promise, Iran to defeat

Nothing  under heaven will get Him to retreat 

Oh, be swift, my legs to flee from Him, and His smelly feet

Trump's scent is marching on.

Gory, gory, how he'll screw yah

(Repeat twice)

His crimes are marching on

 

What is wrong with the US?

Why is it such a flaming mess?

Don't expect corrupted Congress

Trump's madness to redress.

The Supremes have even less

Inclination, to act, or impress.

Only this can end the distress:

The people must stop saying yes.

Iran away from the Epstein Files,

Documents, piles upon piles,

Those Files will seal my fate,

Unless I show that I am great.

Now I'm stuck in Hormuz Strait,

Iran away from the Files I did,

Now I'm caught in Iran's Grid.

Put some boots upon the ground!

And lots of bombs, I love the sound. 

Their boom is always most profound, 

They will help me to get crowned.

Trump is the god of cheaters, 

And all the bottom feeders.

The Dems, he says, just tax and spend,

He taxes us, gives it to his friends.

He provides bankruptcy for us, 

Then wonders why we cuss. 

Onward MAGA soldiers, marching as to War,

Trump's our Royal master, at least he was before.

Alas! Poor Donald's hurt his little toe,

Forward into battle he will never go.

At the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's hordes don't flee,

Where, oh where is NATO, to bring us victory?

I quickly won the Iran war,

Now I need $200 billion more.

Iran has closed the Hormuz Strait,

In effect it's shut the gate.

The price of oil is gonna rise,

Hit the roof and then the skies.

NATO countries refuse to join,

That's a kick right in my groin.

At least one vile crime a day,

Keeps the Epstein Files at bay.

Even more keeps them away,

What will it be today? 

Annex Cuba, I dare say,

Or put Iran back in play

Whatever helps me, anyway.

Now that I have crushed Iran,

Fixing Cuba's my next plan.

That's already in the can,

Courtesy of ME the MAN. 

I can't get Fidel, he's gone, 

But Raul will do for Don.

Forget the Epstein Files my KKKlan,

Watch as sh*t now hits the fan.

To lock up all the pedophiles,

Just release the Epstein Files.

Not redacted and in full,

Time to cut out all the bull.

One big beautiful dump,

And we can say goodbye to Trump.

Another day, another crime,

They haven't done a day of time.

Trump and Netanyahoo,

Nature's natural bits of slime.

Netanyahoo's tail wags Trump's dog,

And gets his war, the whole damn hog.

Trump and Netanyahu, you're the same, 

There's simply no one else to blame. 

You kill and starve all ages, sexes, 

And joyfully you love to vex us.

A cursed pair of poor pretenders, 

You talk as if you're our defenders.

Carrying out the will of God,

While stealing other people's sod. 

Off

There once was a Bondi named Pam,

Trump's AG she was, and a sham,

Pam went up to Capitol Hill, 

And lied in a voice most shrill, 

Pam's now in a bit of a jam.

You may be Good, you may be Pretti, 

To Trump you are no more than shitty.

A man who diddles little chillun', 

Won't fret about a little killin' 

I broke the law again today,

Blew the constitution clean away!

Congress no longer has a say,

Amerikkka's mine with which to play.

My name is Donald Trump

You know, it rhymes with dump.

The US must take Greenland now,

This Denmark must us allow.

Polar bears are a danger great,

A fact you must appreciate.

TRUMP IN DAVOS

Trump has gone to Davos, 

To turn a few centavos.

The rich and powerful are all there, 

Lining up to get their share. 

Or have they just come to see,

Trump shower them with golden pee?

They watch as things fall apart,

Do any of them have a heart?

He'll destroy Iran's theocracy,

And bring it real democracy.

At home he likes autocracy, 

Combines it with plutocracy, 

And adds corrupt bureaucracy.

It's nothing but hypocrisy,

Let's thank the idiocracy.

Who decides what's moral?

No need for any quarrel!

Trump guides our morality,

He equates it with brutality,

Cheers every new fatality,

And welcomes more mortality, 

Some call it rank insanity,

Others pure banality.

It's all a mere formality, 

Just the new US reality. 

Congress has no vitality,

And SCOTUS no legality,

BlueSky requires frugality,

Thus I end with some hilarity.

Trumpy Dumpy! Oh so Lumpy, 

How does your garden grow?

With racists and rapists, 

And a FAT ORANGE PEDO. 

Lined up in a felonious row.

I introduce Vice Charlatan Vance,

Who decided to take a big chance.

He married a liar named Shitler,

Who once he had called Herr Hitler,

What a wonderful MAGA Bromance! 

Great Fatsby achieves a new low,

Whenever he puts on a show

At His Christofascist bordello,

That pile he calls Mar a Lago,

A gold and turdish farrago.

There once was a prince name of Andy,

Who reputedly leaned towards randy.

Prince Andy fell down, 

And off went his crown,

Isn't this story just dandy?

Hey kids! Come along to Mr. Trumps’ Neighborhood

You bet you should, and I promise I’ll be good.

My friends Jeff and Ghislaine will make you tea.

We’ll have such fun at Epstein Island By the Sea.

THE BALLAD OF WHISKEY PETE

Gridley, you may fire when ready,

God man, why's your hand unsteady?

Fire the missiles, Pete's ordered it!

I must tell Hegseth they've been hit.  

But Admiral, can't you see?

They're only fishing boats to lee;

We'll blow them all to smitheries, 

Just as we did at Wounded Knee.

Gridley, dammit, move aside,

Such cowardice I can't abide.

Killing drug lords is our job,

So missiles at them we must lob.

I'll press the button and send

Them on their way to wend.

Watch them blaze across our bow, 

That's it -- the battle's over now.

Oh, damn, some are still alive!

Pete said no one should survive,

Another salvo'll do the trick,

Send them down to bad Old Nick.

Our God FOTUS will be clapping,

Lots of backs he'll be a'slapping,

Put some lefties in the pen,

Gridley, America's Great Again.

Chicago, Blues Brothers Town,

Where ICE will be a'goin' down.

Chicago, City of Broad Shoulders, 

Will not welcome rebel soldiers.

Chicago, Noble Windy City,

Will crush Orange Turd the Shitty.

Chicago, Chicago, Toddling Town,

Will in its river fascists drown.

The Epstein Hoax is such a Joke!

Says Agent Trump a'snortin' coke,

I know the truth believe you me,

Ask Madame Maxwell, yes siree, 

At Epstein Island by the Sea.

The FBI hired me to show, 

That Epstein ran a bordello.   

I love tariffs, they're so good for me, 

Slap them on all countries they are my enemy.

Tariffs with my coffee, tariffs with my tea,

Send me golden trinkets to match my golden pee, 

I love to threaten tariffs when I am on TV. 

I like my women on the younger side,

12 to 17 I can abide.

Epstein stole the best from me,

But still I had a bigly spree,

At Epstein Island by the sea.

There once was a FOTUS most arrogant

Who spewed nonsense incredibly arrant

His mind is quite broken 

His knowledge mere token

And his brain like a wrinkled currant.  

This fellow named Trump is quite comical

With words he is not economical

They flow from his rump 

Like a fast-flowing dump

What a marvel he is anatomical.

God has sent us a wonderful gift

To save us all from devilish drift

He may be a rapist,

A crook, and a racist

But God knows we're not very swift.

Trump's a fascist his critics declare.

Trump says my MAGATS don't care.

In fact, they quite like it.

No way shall I drop it,

When my fascism they all share.

There once was a FOTUS named Trump,
Who called the White House a dump.

"There's no golden potty

It's driving me dotty
I guess I will just have a hump."

Trump wanted to buy Greenland I've heard.

Denmark said, "that's completely absurd."

His deal thus upended, 

Herr Trump was offended, 

And acted once more like a turd.

Awful somethings happening here

But what they are ain't exactly clear

There's Trump the BIG Mouth over there

Telling me I got to take care

I think it's time we stop

Trump, stop that sound

Everybody look, we're going down

There's battle lines being drawn

We're all right and Trumpkins are wrong

Smart people speaking their minds

MAGAts speaking from their behinds

Paranoia strikes deep

Into our life it done creep

It began when you were afraid

Step out of line, ICEMAN come and shoot you today

The GOD-KING of Dumbfuckistan

I present His Majesty and Savior, The God-King, divine instrument of the Lord, chosen to lead America to the Promised Land of Dumbfuckistan via Proposition 2025.  

Dumbfuckistan has NEW RULES. 1. Worship the God-King. 2. Obey the God-King. 3. All other rules are hereby repealed. 

The God-King's road to total power as FOTUS was greatly smoothed by the six SUPREME SAINTS of SCOTUS. Directed by God, they ruled that he can do anything he wants, from stealing classified documents and inciting insurrection, to rape, bribery, theft, and pedophilia. His powers include shooting someone on Fifth Ave  -- as long as he is president.   

In his quest to unify the USA, the God-King chose as his vice-president a man dedicated to the values of the Lord's People. Magas love that he hates immigrants. They are less thrilled that he is married to one. 

Like his Superior FOTUS, the Senator from OWHYO defended the peaceful tourists who visited the capitol on January 6, 2021 to get some souvenirs. He dutifully calls the UK a "Muslim country" but magnanimously decides to vacation there. He showed the same compassion to the deprived people of Vermont and LA.

In 2016, Senator ADVANCE denounced the God-King as "America's Hitler" and "an idiot." But that was before GOD sent the senator an epiphany on the Road to Washington. A huge donation from a billionaire, and polls showing Trump was likely to win changed his perspective. Like St. Paul, ADVANCE shifted to the side of the Angels of Trump.  

Some Americans who voted for Trump in 2024 have been confused by recent events, especially Trump's refusal to release the Epstein Files, which he told them were filled with the names of Democrat pedophiles. But most of them will forgive the God-King for that minor lapse. They have drunk the Kool Aid and internalized the Gospel of Trump. Their evolution to that godly state was helped by endless hours of watching and listening to FOX News.

Image: Trump astride his Golden Throne. 

Robert Burns and Women's Rights

The 25th of January is the birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796). On the evening of that day, millions of his fans around the world gather for a "Burns' Supper" in his honor. After a meal of haggis, neeps, and tatties* they drink a toast of whisky to "The Bard" and listen to some of his poems. At midnight on January 1, much of the world sings "Auld Lang Syne," the song based on Burns' poem of that name. They pledge to "take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne!" 

Kindness appears in short supply around the world these days, and the supply is dwindling as rapidly as the number of eggs in Trump's USA. I wonder how many MAGAts sang those words about kindness this New Years with sincerity. 

But kindness, however crucial, is not my main theme here. It is human rights. Burns was a staunch defender of the rights of women as well as men. He wasn't always sensitive to that need. He was something of a womanizer, to put it bluntly. 

Before he became famous for his poetry, he had decided to take a job as an overseer and bookkeeper on a Jamaican sugar plantation, which was worked by enslaved Africans. He changed plans after his book of poetry was published to great acclaim in 1786. It is not clear if he ever denounced African slavery, at least directly. But he denounced injustice and inequality, notably in  "A Man's a Man for a' That."

For a few years after the publication of his book, Burns was the toast of Edinburgh, mingling with and lionized by Scotland's elite. That changed after the French Revolution began in 1789. Like many young men in Europe, he supported that revolution, and the earlier American one. The Scottish elite did not, and most of them distanced themselves from the radical Burns. He left Edinburgh and returned to farm near Dumfries, close to his birthplace. He married and became an exciseman (collector of customs duties), a government job that may have restrained his political radicalism. 

In 1792, Burns wrote "The Rights Of Women." The first stanza sets the tone:

While Europe's eye is fixed on mighty things,

The fate of empires and the fall of Kings;

While quacks of State must each produce his plan, 

And even children lisp the Rights of Man;

Amid this mighty fuss just let me mention,

The Rights of Woman merit some attention.

The poem was highly topical. Thomas Paine had just published The Rights of Man and Mary Wollstonecraft A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. These works alarmed and horrified the elites of Britain and much of Europe. By echoing their rhetoric in poetry, Burns marked himself as suspect in their eyes. 

The last stanza of the poem quoted approvingly a rallying cry of the French revolutionaries, "ca ira!" ("it will be fine") and seemed to place the "Majesty of Woman" above that of kings. 

By today's standards, Burns' list of women's rights may seem rather conservative. The rights he demanded were not political or even legal. They included protection, decorum (good manners), admiration and respect for women's opinions and influence. Good romantic that he was, Burns argued that the power of women lay in their ability to soften the harsher aspects of man's nature. 

All that may sound old-fashioned and anti-feminist, and certainly the sentiments were seized on by Victorian conservatives as an argument against women's suffrage and legal rights. But juxtapose Burns' praise of women to MAGAt statements and behavior toward women, and the difference is stark. Burns may have been something of a womanizer, but he never claimed things like "Your body, my choice." 

On this January 25, let's "take a cup of kindness" and have a wee dram in honor of "Rabbie" Burns, recently voted "The Greatest Scot." He narrowly beat out William Wallace, "Braveheart." 

*Neeps are turnips, tatties are potatoes.

PS. The first Burns Supper took place in Greenock, the town where I was born, on January 29th, 1801, which the organizers mistakenly though to be his birthday. It was later changed to the correct date of January 25th and has been held every year since on that day.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to become a follower of my blog, just click on the blue "FOLLOW" button on the right side of the first page. Below there you can also find my previous posts. Thanks!

Easter Special: The Resurrection of The Orange God

I'm looking forward to the 250th Anniversary of US independence, to see how the God-King Trump and the red MAGAts spin his fascistic policies while celebrating a revolution against alleged tyranny and for liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness. 

I'm wondering how they will deal with the irony of such a celebration led by a president who is a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, pedophile, and insurrectionist. Can you imagine a Trump speech denouncing Benedict Arnold as a traitor? Arnold was a Boy Scout compared to Trump.

2024 was a leap year, and on November 5th, American voters took a leap into the abyss. A leap that is now producing AGONY for many of them, including his supporters. I mean, the price of eggs, FFS. 

IRONY, of course, is an enduring feature of the human condition, but the current world fairly drips with it. The world should be getting better, given our vast experience and knowledge, but it is getting worse.   

A presidential election in the USA is always a leap into The Twilight Zone, given the existence of the Electoral College and the massive fortunes spent on electing our political clowns. But this election outdid all the previous ones in its fantastically outrageous mockery of the democratic process, not to mention its sheer expense, lunacy and incompetence. 

When was the last time a convicted felon with scores of outstanding indictments against him ran for president? This snake oil salesman, father of 10,000 lies and nearly as many illicit affairs, sells bibles to the faithful to raise money for his campaign. The scenario drips with irony. Trump doesn't read and certainly doesn't heed the GOOD BOOK. He's broken virtually every commandment on a daily basis. 

"His" bibles are produced in China, a country he has repeatedly threatened and condemned. But they are cheap and profits are good. Never mind that a bible is a book you can get for free in the USA. Most churches give them away, or they did when I was an innocent kid.

Trump supporters swear that GOD sent him to save America from satanic "libtards and commies." Somehow, OUR godlike SAVIOR didn't manage to come up with a way to save a million or so Americans from the Covid pandemic. Bleach didn't work; or that horse medicine. The US, with 4% of the world population, racked up 20% of the deaths globally. How quickly we forget. 

To MAGAts, Donnie the Blessed is both savior and savvy, and most important, is opposed to gun control, their political litmus test. Trump agrees that guns are not the problem, people are. 

The solution appears to be eliminating people, because guns without people will not be a problem. With RFK, Jr. handling federal health services, that goal should be met before long.  

Another irony arises from the fact that Trump, a convicted criminal, ran against Kamala Harris, a successful former prosecutor. The felon should not have been able to run, but he won, which is all you need to know about the abject state of the USA as it heads into the 250th anniversary of its existence. 

P.S. Easter is a great time of year to test claims of Trump's divinity. Crucify him. If he comes back in three days, we will know he's the genuine article.

If you would like to become a follower of my blog, just click on the blue "FOLLOW" button on the right side of the first page. Below there you can also find my previous posts. Thanks!

 

    

America's Last King: A Far Better Man than Trump.

The July 4th holiday in the US always produces some reflections on America's last king, George III. Most of them celebrate the overthrow of a tyrant, allegedly a mad tyrant at that. 

In recent years, such denunciations of King George have often been expressed by Americans who desire to get rid of Trump. "We removed the tyrant King George in 1776 and we'll get rid of tyrant Trump as well." Bravo, but comparing Trump to George III is a distortion of history. It is like comparing a slightly tarnished pot to a completely blackened kettle.

Americans succeeded in booting out George III in 1776. They have failed twice to get rid of Trump. Why would a people who  rejected George III 250 years ago accept a virtual tyrant with powers George never had and did not try to get? 

Do the apparent majority of Americans feel comfortable going to bed with a president the Supreme Court has declared immune from prosecution for his acts? Charles I claimed similar powers in 17th century Britain. It cost him his head.

As a historian of Georgian Britain, I reject the claim that George III was a tyrant. In my opinion, the evidence shows that Trump is incomparably worse as a leader and a man than King George was. 

George III had flaws, but an urge to despotism was not one of them. He was sometimes obstinate but he was not a narcissistic sociopath. He remained faithful to Queen Charlotte, his wife of 60 years and mother of his 15 children, poor lady. Unlike most monarchs, he never took a mistress. Maybe it would have been better if he had.

George considered himself a constitutional monarch and took his job seriously. He venerated the (unwritten) British constitution. Unlike Trump, he understood his country's constitution. His father, Frederick, Prince of Wales, ensured he had a solid education in a wide array of subjects, including  politics and constitutional law. As early as age eight George could discuss current politics in speech and writing, in both English and German. He also learned French and Latin. He was the first British monarch to be thoroughly educated in science. 

As king, he was a strong supporter of the sciences and arts. He gave a large portion of his income to charity. He amassed a library of more than 65,000 volumes, and opened the collection to scholars including Samuel Johnson and Joseph Priestley. The collection is now part of the British Library and belongs to everyone.

Frederick, who died before his father George II, prepared his son George to be a "Patriot King," ruling in the interests of his people. Frederick believed, correctly, that the Hanoverian dynasty needed to improve its public image, and he passed that belief on to his son. 

The first two Hanoverian kings were highly unpopular. They preferred their native Hanover to England and spent long periods of time there. Many British people referred to both of them as "German George." 

In contrast, George III was born in Great Britain and considered himself British. At his coronation in 1761, he made much of the fact. "Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Britain." He made it clear that Britain and its prosperity would be his first concern. He spent his life of 82 years in the country. [Image: George as Prince of Wales, by Jean Etienne Liotard, 1754]

Initially, George III had little to do with the actions that angered the American colonists. They were devised by the king's ministers and approved by Parliament. The king opposed some of them, notably the Stamp Act of 1765. Part of that was personal. He detested the architect of the Stamp Act, Prime Minister George Grenville. 

In 1766, George was able to push Grenville out. His successor, Lord Rockingham, repealed the Stamp Act with the help of the king and the popular William Pitt. The king's efforts were applauded in the colonies. New York City erected a statue in his honor. 

In the following year, Parliament re-asserted its right to tax the American colonies. The furor the new taxes (Townshend Duties) produced led to all but a tiny tax on tea being repealed. Leaving the tea tax in place was intended to maintain the principle that Parliament could levy taxes on the colonies. (Image: George III by Johan Zoffany, 1771)

The king supported Parliament's right to tax the colonies. But it was Parliament's right, not his. After the Civil War of the 1640s, British monarchs could not levy taxes. That was Parliament's prerogative. 

The Declaration of Independence blames George III rather than Parliament for the conflict that followed, because it was simpler than explaining the bizarre intricacies of the British political system. The result was a distortion of reality that has become a standard meme of American history.

The Declaration listed 27 grievances against the British government. Most of them began with "He has...", personalizing the conflict into one of the people versus an overbearing king. It is worth noting that perhaps as many as half of the colonists were Loyalists who supported the king's government during the war. 

George III was no warmonger. One of his first actions as king had been to bring an end to the Seven Years' War with France and Spain at a time when Britain was winning victories everywhere. 

It is true that once the American war had begun, he was determined that it end in a British victory. He obstinately continued to support the war even after the disastrous British defeat at Yorktown (Oct. 1781), when most of his ministers urged him to give up. A few months later, he agreed and authorized peace negotiations.

Once independence was conceded he accepted, grudgingly, the new relationship with the former colonies. In 1785 he told John Adams, the first American ambassador to Britain, "I was the last to consent to the separation; but the separation having been made ... I have always said, as I say now, I would be the first to meet the friendship of the United States as an independent power." 

George III is often referred to as Mad King George, and people persist in connecting his loss of America to insanity. The problem with this view is that he showed no symptoms of mental illness before 1788, five years after American independence.  

British rule in the colonies was often insensitive and infuriating. The frustrations were increased by the immense distance between Britain and America. But no colonies of the time were as loosely governed by an imperial country as the thirteen who declared independence in 1776. They were also highly prosperous.

 

The timing of the revolution had more to do with the removal of the French threat from North America in 1763 than any actions of George III or the British government. Before then, the colonists felt the need for British protection. After then, they didn't. That emboldened them to push for change in the relationship between mother country and themselves. British actions exacerbated an already difficult situation.

The change to independent status made sense, but explaining it as the result of the tyranny of George III is misplaced. In 1785, an American Quaker, Hannah Griffits, provided an interesting perspective on the results of the revolution: 

The glorious fourth -- again appears 

A day of days -- and year of years 

The sum of sad disasters 

Where all the mighty gains we see 

With all their boasted liberty 

Is only change of masters. 

(Image: George III by Allan Ramsay, 1762)

Further Reading: 

John Brooke, King George III (London: Constable, 1972)

Stanley Ayling, George the Third (London, 1972)

Jeremy Black, America's Last King, George III (New Haven; Yale University Press, 2006)

Andrew Roberts, George III (London: Penguin Books, 2023)

 

The American Revolution Revisited: A War Between History and Memory

The 250th anniversary of the American Revolution and War for Independence is nearly upon us. It is destined to reach new heights of commercialism, with beer companies no doubt leading the pack. Corny commemorations and tall tales will all be a part of the celebration. Will there be room for calm reflection on the events of 1775-1783? Not much, I fear, especially in the Age of Trump and MAGA. In the best of times, dispassionate analysis of great events tends to be in short supply, overwhelmed and marginalized by the popular taste for hoopla. On this occasion calm analysis is likely to be obliterated by the Trumpets of MAGA. 

The revolution will be celebrated as a great victory for liberty and equality. It was, though more in the rhetoric of the Declaration of Independence than anything in reality. Awkwardly, it was also a war to preserve slavery. 

In 1773, British judge Lord Mansfield declared in the Somerset Case that slavery had no basis in English law. The Somerset ruling aroused panic among some slaveholders, mostly in the southern colonies. It helped unite them with the northern colonies, where the rallying cry was the more historically palatable "no taxation without representation." Traditional narratives of the revolution have tended to emphasize Britain's attacks on colonial liberty while ignoring the colonist's denial of liberty to the enslaved. 

Alarmed slaveholders denied the right of Parliament to pass laws affecting the internal or domestic affairs of the colonies. Slavery, they argued, was a domestic American issue. In 1775, on the verge of war, they accused the British of plotting slave revolts and Indian attacks as a means of subduing the rebellious colonies. In 1776, they decided that independence was necessary to prevent emancipation and loss of control over enslaved Blacks. 

In that sense the War for Independence had more in common with the Civil War than is generally acknowledged. Looked at from the perspective of the enslaved population, both were wars for liberty. Many Blacks absorbed the rhetoric of their white masters and saw the Revolutionary War as an opportunity to secure their freedom, by joining the British. Historians estimate that around 100,000 enslaved persons ran off to British lines between 1775 and 1783, 25,000 in South Carolina alone. They were not complacent bystanders, but active participants in the struggles that gave birth to a nation. 

History is often unpleasant, messy, and chaotic. It is seldom as simple as we would like it to be. Historical myth is the opposite: neat, generally pleasing -- at least to our prejudices -- and comfortably black and white. The myths are "alternative facts" or "fake history." Not surprisingly, myths tend to dominate if not smother actual history in the popular consciousness, the "public memory." By "actual history" I do not mean the "truth" but the result of painstaking historical research, writing, and interpretation. If well done, the result is our best current approximation of the truth. In that sense, history resembles science. Science is a more exact business, of course. Scientists can use repeated experiments to confirm their hypotheses. Historians do not have that luxury. They cannot repeat history. In most cases, they would not wish to. 

Historian Lewis Namier wrote that the writing of history "is not a visit of condolence." He might have added that the same is true of reading it. Learning our history is often difficult, troubling and confusing. If it never is, we are reading the wrong stuff. Some people avoid the problem by ignoring history, just as others avoid ethical problems by ignoring philosophy. Henry Ford is alleged to have said that "history is bunk." Apparently, he didn't say exactly that, but he did reject the past as dead and meaningless, not worth bothering about. 

Abraham Lincoln disagreed with Ford. In his Second Inaugural Address he declared, "My Fellow Americans, we cannot escape history." He understood that the terrible war nearing its end was the result of the country's failure to abolish slavery early in its history. Novelist William Faulkner held a similar view: "The past isn't dead. It is not even past." His characters are prisoners of their history, in this case the history of the Deep South. 

Karl Marx wrote in much the same vein in The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (1852): "The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living." Marx prefaced that statement with "Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past." One does not have to be a Marxist to agree with that statement. Our history, like our biology, constrains us, for good or ill.

Peter McCandless, REMARKABLE CHARLESTONIANS IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (Arcadia, The History Press, 2025)

If you enjoyed this post and would like to become a follower of my blog, click on the blue "FOLLOW" button on the right side of the first page. Below there you can also find my previous posts. Thanks!

"Don't Tread on Me": Christopher Gadsden and His Flag

Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina is best known today as the designer of the iconic "Gadsden Flag." The flag features a rattlesnake on a bright yellow background, with the words "DONT TREAD ON ME" at the bottom. The snake is coiled to strike. 

The flag's message was directed towards the British government: Step on the liberties of the American people at your peril. The snake has thirteen rattles, symbolizing the thirteen colonies that were soon to declare their independence. [Image: Gadsden Flag]

Gadsden displayed the flag at a meeting of the South Carolina Provincial Congress in February 1776 to great acclaim. It became a popular symbol of Patriot resistance. In recent years it has been appropriated by far right groups to show their defiance of ... whatever they are currently defying, usually the federal government and other conspirators against "freedom."  It featured prominently in the January 6 insurrection that led to the storming of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. [Image: January 6, 2021]

There is much more to Gadsden's story than his flag, however. First, a little background. Gadsden was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1724. His father, Thomas Gadsden, was a former British naval officer who had been appointed as customs collector for the port of Charleston. 

Thomas sent young Christopher to Bristol, England to be educated. Returning to America in 1740, he worked briefly as an apprentice in a Philadelphia counting house. He inherited a sizeable fortune when his parents died in 1741. During King George's War (1744-1748) he served as a purser on a British naval vessel. Afterwards, he became a merchant and planter. 

In 1767 he built a large wharf in Charleston. Gadsden's Wharf became a major receiving point for enslaved Africans. More than 100,000 were landed there between 1767 and 1808, when the legal slave trade ended. 

During the construction of the wharf, Gadsden quipped that he was going to "fill the foundation with imported Scotchmen, who are fit for nothing better." It was a joke, but it reflected his dislike of Scots, in particular Scottish merchants, who he viewed as undeserving beneficiaries of British trade policies. His dislike of Scots may also have derived from his service in the Cherokee War of 1760, when he clashed with Highland Scots officers. 

In the years leading up to the Revolution, many colonials accused Scots of conspiring to undermine their freedom. [Image: Scots Lord Bute and Chief Justice Lord Mansfield (in center) conspiring against American liberty, 1775. In fact, neither had any influence over British colonial policy at the time] 

  

In 1757 Gadsden was elected to the South Carolina Commons House of Assembly. He soon began to clash openly with the royal governors over British trade and taxation policies. In 1766, the assembly appointed him to represent South Carolina at the Stamp Act Congress in New York City. He was one of the most radical delegates at the Congress and formed an alliance and friendship with the equally radical Sam Adams of Boston, leader of the Sons of Liberty in Boston. Gadsden has often been called the "Sam Adams of the South."

Gadsden became a leader of the Charleston Sons of Liberty, who terrorized the town looking for stamps and other evidence of pro-British leanings. Among the houses they raided was that of planter and slave trader Henry Laurens. According to Laurens, they frightened his sick wife Eleanor half to death. He threw them his cellar keys and told them to help themselves to wine. They found no stamps, apologized and left. Laurens subsequently supported Gadsden and the Liberty Boys, but with some hesitation. 

In 1771, future Patriot William Henry Drayton called Gadsden a madman who ought to be in Bedlam. But Drayton was then defending the British Crown. After he abruptly switched sides in the early 1770s, the two became allies in the Patriot cause. 

As the conflict with Britain escalated, Gadsden was elected to the First and Second Continental Congresses in Philadelphia. In early 1776, he left Congress to assume command of the newly formed 1st South Carolina Regiment and serve in the South Carolina Provincial Congress. It was then that he first displayed his famous flag. He also brought a pamphlet written by a recent immigrant from England, calling for American independence, Common Sense by Thomas Paine. It was less well received. 

The interim President of South Carolina, John Rutledge, appointed Gadsden brigadier and commander of the state's military forces. In 1778 Gadsden helped draft a new state constitution under which he became lieutenant governor.  

When the British besieged Charleston in the spring of 1780, Rutledge left for the backcountry to rally resistance. Gadsden remained to help coordinate the defense of the city. 

By the middle of April, however, the British had nearly encircled Charleston. Benjamin Lincoln, the commander of the Southern Continental Army, decided that his only option besides surrender was to flee with his army while escape remained possible. 

Word got out to Gadsden. He and several of his councillors stormed into Lincoln's headquarters as he was discussing his proposals with his officers. Gadsden accused Lincoln of cowardice. Lincoln agreed to stay.  

In early May, the British unleashed a ferocious bombardment of the city. Gadsden led another delegation to see General Lincoln. This time, he demanded that Lincoln surrender to save the property and lives of the citizens. On May 12, Lincoln surrendered. It was the worst defeat for the Patriot forces in the war. The entire army, more than 5000 men, was made prisoner. 

The militia and many civilian leaders were initially given parole; that is, allowed to go free, as long as they did not continue to oppose the Crown. A few weeks after the surrender, however, the British arrested Gadsden and about twenty other rebel leaders on the grounds that they were plotting further resistance. 

Shipped to the British stronghold in St. Augustine, Florida, they remained prisoners until the following summer. The commander in St. Augustine offered them parole and the freedom of the town. Gadsden alone refused it. The British, he argued, had already violated their original promise of parole. 

In July 1781, the British released the prisoners on parole and sent them to Philadelphia. Gadsden returned to South Carolina in time to serve in the Jacksonborough Assembly in early 1782. At the time,  Charleston was still under British occupation. The Assembly elected him as governor, but he declined the office due to poor health. 

One of the most contentious items on the Assembly's agenda was drawing up a list of Loyalists to be punished after the war, which was nearing its end. Proposed punishments ranged from banishment and confiscation of property to amercements or fines. 

Gadsden shocked the assembly by urging leniency towards Loyalists. His words had little effect on the majority of delegates, who shouted him down. They demanded severe punishments. Some accused Gadsden of trying to protect Loyalists in his family. 

Thousands of Loyalists left South Carolina with the British or shortly thereafter. (Some were later able to get their punishments reduced and returned.)

Gadsden lived for another 23 years. He sat in the state convention of 1788 that ratified the United States Constitution. After 1798 he lived in Charleston at the house he built at 329 East Bay Street. He died in 1805 after falling from a horse. [Image: Gadsden House and Gadsden in old age]

 

 Further Reading: 

John Drayton, Memoirs of the American Revolution 2 vols., Charleston, 1821. Based on documents John's father William Henry Drayton had collected prior to his death.

The Papers of Henry Laurens. 16 vols., Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1972-2003. Volumes dealing with the 1760s and 1770s.

Stanly Godbold, Jr., and Robert Woody, Christopher Gadsden and the American Revolution (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1983).

Daniel McDonough, Christopher Gadsden and Henry Laurens: The Parallel Lives of Two American Patriots (Susquehanna University Press, 2000).

If you enjoyed this post and would like to become a follower of my blog, just click on the blue "FOLLOW" button on the right side of the first page. Below there you can also find my previous posts. Thanks!