Trump, His Fall: When Birnam Wood Comes to Dunsinane Hill

Study for the three witches in Macbeth by Henry Fuseli, oil on canvas, circa 1782 (credit: Auckland Art Gallery / Wikimedia Commons)

(Author’s Note: This is a revised version of a post that appeared in 2019. The author believes it is especially relevant today.)

The First Apparition (“an armed Head”) warned him to beware the Thane of Fife. The Second (“a bloody child”) prophesied that none of woman born could harm him. The Third Apparition (“a child crowned, with a tree in his hand”) counseled him to assume the mettle of a lion:  

                                                          Take no care

Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are.

Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until

Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill

Shall come against him. (4.1.89-93)

From then on, his purpose became firm and clear. He seized Macduff’s castle and the dominion of Fife. To ensure the end of Macduff’s issue, he resolved to kill “his wife, his babes and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line” (4.2.1-87).¹

If Democracy Dies, So What?

Robert Ivie’s new op-ed, “If Democracy Dies, So What?”, appears in Common Dreams (May 23). It develops the point that, whether we like it or not, the 2024 general election is a referendum on Joe Biden only insofar as he represents the alternative to authoritarian rule. If he wins as the candidate for democracy, the politics of persuasion in a pluralistic polity and governance by checks and balances continue; if he loses, rule by demagoguery and coercion begins.

Read it here: https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/democracy-vs-authoritarianism

Special Offer on New Article by Dr. Ivie

Robert Ivie has published an article in Javnost—The Public on the authoritarian threat to democracy and the role of deliberative dissent in reassembling a demoralized and dispersed democratic majority.

The article, “Recovering the Democratic Value of Public Discourse,” can be downloaded from the Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group) website at no charge for the first 50 individuals who download it.

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The Common Good of Democracy

America in One Room: a demographically representative sample of the voting electorate assembled to discuss policy issues. (Credit: ritvsihu45 / Wikimedia Commons)

“A nation is formed by the willingness of each of us to share in the responsibility for upholding the common good.” Barbara Jordon

“In a politically diverse nation, only by finding … common ground can we achieve results for the common good.” Olympia Snowe

“Democratic politics should serve the common good.” Amy Gutmann & Dennis Thompson

These are fractured times that imperil democracy in the Western world and beyond. The authoritarian surge of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement is the imminent menace in the US. His notorious plans for a second term in the White House are flagrant and wholly antidemocratic. There is no provision for the common good in Trump’s autocratic scheme nor any corresponding sense of common ground, and compromise is out of reach. Perhaps more importantly, we the people are at risk of forgetting democracy’s contribution to the common good.

Reassembling the Scattered Majority

U.S. House of Representatives Voting to Impeach President Donald Trump for Incitement of Insurrection, January 13, 2021. (Photo credit: U.S. House of Representatives / Wikimedia Commons)

Donald Trump’s authoritarian MAGA movement is “an existential threat to American democracy,” writes Salon’s Chauncey Devega. That is not news, but it is an important reminder as we enter a general election year.

The dark force of Trump’s demagoguery, his dictatorial aspirations, his dishonesty, and his incendiary proclivities are notorious. His political base for ruling the Republican Party—what Devega calls his “diehard followers”—consists largely of (ultra)conservative white Christians. His rallying cry is tailored to their sense of divine favor, fear of displacement, and vision of apocalyptic salvation.

All of this is well known by now but perhaps not sufficiently assessed for its repercussions. Trump’s harangue to his diehard followers is more than just an angry lament. It is a recipe for violence that typifies his authoritarian cant and culminates in the destruction of democratic institutions.