Donald Trump and the Tide of History

American Thinker.com ^ | August 18, 2020 | Chet Richard

[Kaslin]

Leo Tolstoy, in an essay about War and Peace, debates whether history is shaped by Historical Forces or by Great Men. Indeed, War and Peace itself is Tolstoy’s way of exploring this dichotomy. He comes down on the side of Historical Forces. He downplays the importance of Great Men. Great Men, he says, are thrown up when needed by powerful Historical Forces that are beyond anyone’s control. If one historical Great Man didn’t exist, then Historical Forces would toss up another to take his place.

Powerful Historical Forces do exist, and we are caught up in them. The rest of Tolstoy’s thesis is problematic. There is something much deeper going on that I believe Tolstoy missed. He failed to ask what causes Historical Forces. He did not recognize that occasionally a single individual can be a pivot around which history itself revolves to proceed in an entirely new direction.

This pivotal individual might be the creator of an idea, or he might be a leader at a critical time.

Consider ideas. The insights of the great spiritual leaders engendered the great religions which have shaped human history. Much more recently the world has suffered from Karl Marx. His seductive ideas have spawned several competing secular cults: Communism, Socialism, National Socialism, Fascism, Maoism. Marx even deeply influenced Progressivism. Progressivism was an American creation, but, under the influence of Marx, it became equally pernicious. All these children of Marx promise the delusional perfectibility of mankind. All these Marxian cults are collectivist in nature. There is no room for the individual in the world of Marx or the progressives. Marx does not fit within Tolstoy’s thesis.

[Truthoverpower]

Our great and wonderful president Donald J Trump cares more about people and more about this great nation of the United States of America then every single Democrat to ever walk the planet

The evil stupid and corrupt Democrats, in their effort to oppose every wonderful thing this great man is doing , have shown their true colors to be the evil force of darkness that they are

Woe be on to those stupid areas of the United States and stupid states they continue to vote in these Marxist ideologues

[sauropod]

bkmk

[newfreep]

[ckilmer]

for trump to be anything but a speed bump on for the progressive steamroller—he has to win back the house and keep the senate. Otherwise his work will be undone as quickly as he has undone obama’s work.

as it is the democrats control the commanding heights in business, entertainment, sports, academia, media, the professional organizations. You name it. They own it.