By David K. Shipler
In the
last week, both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have treated the world to fantasies
and fables so pernicious in their implications for global freedom and security
as to defy satire. Both men, aided by sycophants, have anchored us firmly in an
era practically unmatched in modern times, where completely fabricated narratives
cause wars and shape governments.
In a televised speech, Putin
declared the West guilty of designs on Russia’s very existence, implicitly
threatened nuclear war if Russian territory is attacked, then made sure it
would be attacked by orchestrating a forced “referendum” to annex Ukrainian territory
in the Donbas region, thereby converting it into Russian land worthy of the
ultimate defense!
Trump told Fox News that he could
declassify the nation’s most sensitive secrets just by thinking to himself that
they are no longer secret, and that the FBI—in its raid on his luxury club Mar
a-Lago—was really after Hillary Clinton’s emails! And, of course, elections
should not be trusted (unless he wins), because the 2020 election was stolen.
Late-night comedians cannot laugh
away this parallel universe, because millions of Russians believe Putin, and
millions of Americans believe Trump. We are on the brink of a wider war between
Russia and the West because of Putin’s imaginary tale of American and European
preparations for attack. We Americans are on the brink of losing our precious
democracy because of Trump’s imaginary tale of election fraud and his Republican
Party’s calculated program of placing partisans in official positions to create
actual fraud next time around.
It almost doesn’t matter whether Putin and Trump are convinced of their own lies, or whether they are just clever manipulators. Enough of their citizens are spellbound by their rhetoric and charisma to intoxicate the two men with the illusion of broad and righteous support. Neither the recent cracks in Russia’s enforced unanimity nor the polarized hostility of American politics has induced moderation in either of the fabulators. Each has doubled down into his manufactured world of unreality.
