Speaking of articles on Slate.com, there's this, which addresses my number one concern in the age of Trump; the real possibility that there might not be any more ages after Trump.
As suggested by its headline, the article starts out calmly enough, by detailng a compelling case for why classic nuclear deterrance therory would suggest that we do not have to worry about a nuclear war between North Korea and the United States. Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator, is first and foremost a survivor, and he (as well as the people around him with influence) know perfectly well that North Korea's dozen-or-so nukes are absolutely no match whatsoever for the literally thousands of American nukes stationed all across the globe. I have no problem accepting that case, as well as accepting the premise that much of what Kim has done recently with missle-testing is meant largely to set the interenational stage for other demands, primarily ones of an economic nature rather than a military one.
All well and good. But then there's the other half of the nuclear equation here. In other words, there's Trump.
To begin with, Trump possesses not only a staggering ignorance of how the world works, including the workings of international politicians, but, far worse, a staggering ignorance of his ignorance. That means he knows and cares nothing about theories of deterrance, or the state or Kim's mind, or the strategic needs of North Korea. True, he has people around him who could tell him about those things, and who have no doubt tried to do so. But, over and over again, Trump has shown no capacity to listtening to anything, other than to poll ratings and whatever interior dialogue that goes on in the disco that passes as his brain.
And that's where it gets even worse. Trump is drive solely by an overwhelming need for short-term popularity, regardless of the reason or the related results. If polls show that he would become the most popular President in history by nuking North Korea, he would want the nuclear codes on his desk, stat. And in the ensuing worldwide nuclear frenzy that would follow, it just might be the last decision he or any President ever made.
This is why Donald Trump needs to be removed from the Oval Office without delay. Not because he is a Republican. Not because he got only 46% of the popular vote. Not even primarily because (as I have written elsewhere) because of the likelihood that Putin is pulling his strings. But because, ultimately, Donald Trump answers to no one but Donald Trump. And he has, at his command, the most powerful weapons of mass destruction in human history.
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