Many moons ago, I studied American History, Literature, and Politics at University. One of the first books I read was The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper. The book delves into the complexities of ownership and identity and portrays the tension between civilization and wilderness.  It gave me my first understanding of the importance of an agreed set of laws by which a society or community can exist, both on a personal and community level. Relationships need agreed rules. Families need agreed rules. Without laws, courts, or a system of justice, there can be little common order.

I don’t know why I am shocked about Trump going into Venezuela…the US has a long legacy of bully boy politics (Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, Nicaragua, Afghanistan to name a few) but I guess it is because it is the first time that the US has taken over the actual running of another country without the approval of Congress. This and the fact that Trump and his cohort since his election have had so little regard for the law, both domestic and international makes this particular incursion particularly scary. What will they do next?

Trump has threatened to take over Greenland, Nigeria, even Canada. He has undermined international agreements. He has monetarized war, wanting to develop the Gaza strip and mine Ukraine’s minerals. Yet no one seems to know how to respond to his irrational and often illegal actions. It reminds me of Germany’s response to Hitler during the thirties. It seems to me that World Leaders don’t want to face up to the fact that Trump is not the pretence of The Joker but a real irrational narcissist who will destroy the basic tenets of our society on Earth.