How Trump Represents the American Ego

Like many Americans, I tuned into the first presidential debate, hoping to hear a real exchange of ideas between two men vying for the most powerful position in the world. Instead, what I and millions of viewers witnessed was an embarrassing spectacle of epic proportions.

It would be an understatement to say that Donald Trump, the current occupier of the White House, utterly humiliated himself in this “debate” with his flood of childlike interruptions, his outlandish lies and his avowal of white supremacy.

Unfortunately, the sheer outrageousness of his behaviour, words and positions were not only a great embarrassment to himself, but also to the nation. Beyond the absurd theatre of politics in the age of COVID-19, Trump’s brazen disregard for the norms of human decency, humility and compassion was a shocking reminder of just how much our culture seems to celebrate the expression of unchecked ego.

In retrospect, it is not really surprising that Trump acted in such a crude and ridiculous manner on a national stage, before countless viewers. After all, a disturbing pattern of divisive comments, heartless actions and crass behaviour has long defined his time in power. The true surprise is how many Americans continue to come to the defense of this increasingly desperate ruler.

It is true that many concerned citizens and journalists have been quick to condemn the president’s brazen conduct during the debate, but the fact remains that far too many people still make excuses for his disgraceful behaviour.

How do we know this to be true? According to numerous public opinion polls taken in the days following the debate, Trump’s support among his very solid base of supporters didn’t wither in the slightest. If anything, the barrage of negative coverage that many mainstream news outlets have lavished on the president may prove to further galvanize his band of die-hard followers.

Our unmindful state of awareness

The fact that so many Americans still continue to support this clearly selfish and morally inept man raises the following question: Is President Trump really just an extreme anomaly who happened to rise to power—through the circumstances of crushing poverty, visited upon disgruntled workers by the cruelty of late-stage capitalism, as well as persistently held bigoted beliefs by many Americans—or is he the farthest thing from some cosmic glitch in the system, and a mirror reflection of our collective state of unconsciousness?

In the first year after his election, I sincerely believed his rise to power was a result of the former. However, as time has marched on, I have begun to more deeply reflect on the nation’s current predicament. I have concluded that while poverty and xenophobia (delivered through sophisticated channels of propaganda) surely played key roles in his ascension to power, more than anything else, Trump’s support is best explained as a mirror of our collective ego.

The painful truth is, we are Trump. And the president is simply a reflection of our unmindful state of awareness. To the extent that we should be horrified by Trump’s narcissism, callousness, ignorance and divisiveness, we should also be horrified by our own, and our culture’s collective displays of narcissism, callousness, ignorance and divisiveness.

Whenever the president acts like a petulant little child in front of millions of people, we should retrieve archival footage of ourselves fighting, trampling and even killing one another to get what we want during Black Friday shopping sprees. Whenever the Commander-in-Chief viciously lashes out at journalists or personally attacks one of his political opponents, we should revisit our own social media feeds and see how often we harass and attack others who disagree with our beliefs and ideologies.

And, whenever the president shamelessly boasts about his own immense wealth and implies that money defines the man, we should examine our own mindless pursuit of material profit and recall the instances when we may have looked down on those who go without. Simply put, Donald Trump is an icon for a narcissistic and spiritually immature culture that has for too long worshipped the path of ego.

Our culture’s collective delusion

Ram Dass, the infinitely wise and beloved spiritual teacher, noted as much in one of his many heartfelt lectures from the early 1990s. In almost prophetic terms, Ram Dass referred to the then real estate mongrel as a prime example of our collective state of unconsciousness.

Crucially, this beautiful teacher also explained, through his characteristic combination of wit, humour, and undying compassion, that we can’t respond to someone like Trump and the mindset he represents with anger and hate. For not only does he too suffer, but he is just a reflection of our culture’s collective delusion.

Instead, Ram Dass suggested that we must all turn deeply within ourselves and acknowledge that place where we are also one with Trump. This great sage then explained that after acknowledging this uncomfortable truth that we too are him, we can begin our own spiritual work on ourselves to transcend the state of unconsciousness that gave birth to the kind of mindset that Trump now flawlessly represents.

Though it is very clearly not his intention, in a way, Donald Trump and his presidency may wind up becoming one of our greatest spiritual teachers.

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