It’s that time of year again. Time for all the holiday classics to be played ad naseuem on a station near you. And hoping to re-capture the magic of the original classics, Hollywood will recycle them, usually with less than stellar results.
Such is the case in today’s White House.
Much like the beloved character played by Macaulay Culkin In Home Alone, Donald Trump has been left to his own devices with no one to tell him what to do. Like Culkin’s character, Kevin McCallister, Trump makes bad decisions, eating poorly, watching trash television and making crazy phone calls.
Unlike Kevin, when faced with adversity, Trump is neither resourceful nor creative in his approach to problems, instead relying upon the same tried and true bullying that have helped him survive.
And why not? No one will tell him he’s doing anything wrong. Much like a spoiled child, those around him will insist he’s a “special boy with special problems”, making excuse after excuse for his errant behavior.
As an educator with over 30 years of experience in the classroom, I cannot stress enough how important it is to establish the rules from Day One. Failing to do so will ultimately result in chaos and a miserable school year. True, there will be those who will constantly test the rules, but the general demeanor of the classroom is manageable .
I make this comparison because, instead of explaining the role of the separate branches of government to Trump when he first entered the White House, Congress seemed content to let him do as he wanted. Republicans made the excuse that, being new to the job, he should be given some slack and time to grow into the role.
And so, no one explained the rules to him, hoping he would learn the ropes on his own.
Except he didn’t.
Like the spoiled man-child he is, he pushed back on the rules and conventions of the office. He ignored the Constitution and it’s system of checks-and-balances, insisting that the Constitution allowed him to do “whatever he wants.”
And no one stopped him.
Now, as we stand on the precipice of impeachment, Trump holds his breath and stomps his feet, insisting that the finger of blame be pointed at someone else. The parents (Republicans) refuse to admit they made a mistake by not reigning in his behavior sooner. Instead, they defend the man-child with excuses and try to deflect the blame onto others.
And so, we hope beyond hope that someone will address this outlandish behavior and save Kevin/Trump from his own failings. I’ll be happy when this movie is over, and I hope they NEVER try another re-make.