The Myth of the Strongman, from my newly published book.
Here's Chapter Eight of First We Destroy the GOP.
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IN POLITICAL REPORTAGE, there's one term I want never again to encounter used to describe a would-be tyrant or dictator.
That one term is Strongman.
As, for example, in headlines like the following: “Manuel Noriega, Panamanian strongman toppled in U.S. invasion, dies at 83.”
How did this term “strongman” come about? And what’s the impact of its use upon public political discourse?
Here’s what one online dictionary has to say about it: “If you refer to a male political leader as a strongman, you mean that he has great power and control over his country, although his methods may sometimes be violent or morally wrong.”
Tyrants love being referred to as strongmen.
Avoid such words at all costs when referring to Americans in positions of political power.
Trump is a case in point. Like all bullies, his bullying compensates for unplumbed reservoirs of fear, cowardice, weakness, and uncertainty. Trump’s a quivering jellyfish.
There is no strength of any kind in him.
Insecurity? That’s Trump’s middle name.
Which observation leads me to include here a lesson to headline writers everywhere.
When you’re writing about a doltish guttersnipe like Trump, never use power words to describe him. Do not buy into his delusions of power and might.
Fact of the matter is, such so-called leaders are nothing but quivering blobs of existential emptiness. There’s naught behind their blustering ego masks but pants-wetting cowardice.
So instead of writing "Trump Rages," for example, write "Trump Throws Another Hissy Fit."
Instead of “Trump Explodes at So and So,” write “Trump Wheezes and Fizzles at So and So.”
Please take this lesson to heart.
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https://www.amazon.com/First-Destroy-GOP-Determination-Compassion-ebook/dp/B07GYBBW7R/
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