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Autocrats On Parade
The more autocratic you are as a leader, the more important optics tend to be. For full-on dictators
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All 200+ countries share one big ball. Only four percent of the people on that ball live here in the US. Trump is making sure that none of the other 8 billion like us or want to do business with us. That, he will soon find out, will not make him king of anything.
Well, someone is stewing in South eastern Florida.
“Modi? You mean Modi!
That is supposed to be me!
Steve, what are you on vacation or something?
Do something about this!
And before Hannity on Monday evening.
Where’s the ketchup?”
I admit to a curated public persona, part of which includes downplaying that fact. I wish I cared less, but fact is I care enough to wish I cared less.
I want to be recognized, even modestly praised, if I deserve it. I don’t want to be unseen or necessarily “average.” But I don’t like attention generally. Like I could never throw a party for myself, and am not super comfortable being the birthday boy, even if that means nice gifts, some good laughs, and an excuse to eat cake. I mean I like all those things, but would rather they were accomplished under someone else’s spotlight.
So it’s very hard for me to imagine sitting for hours around a table of people I am paying with not my money to be more loyal than experienced experts and listen to torrents of bullshit praise from them, with cameras recording it all for posterity, no less. I mean, I really think I would prefer being roasted by pros like Anthony Jeselnik or Jim Norton about my many shortcomings such as my height, than subject to false phony praise like this.
But nor could I imagine being a multi-billionaire, or even a lowly centi-millionaire, and sitting at said table, listening to my peers debasing themselves while lowering my own personal bar of debasement. It was like some sort of reverse-roast where each roaster had to listen to the others go before them and hope none of their jokes, or in this case, obsequious phony praise, got stepped on. “Damn it!! I was going to say visionary! No one better say ‘paradigm shift.'” I mean how many houses, yachts and planes do you need before your own self-esteem starts asking for some consideration?