Trump, Mueller and the approaching meltdown.

Donald J Trump has two very distinct traits which coexist, diametrically opposed to each other, within his persona. We know on the one hand he has a very thin skin, and yet on the other hand looking by the comments on his post he has a panache to ignore the noise he does not like. While this sounds like a complicated contradiction in a confused man, he functions in a manner that allows him not to switch on and off from each trait, but simply to let them coexist as strange bedfellows.

He has handled the Mueller probe into Russian meddling in US elections pretty much ignoring his once close buddies fall one by one and his ability to simply be indifferent to their plight On the other hand any direct comment to his own possible involvement or that of his family has provoked sharp reactions. Some time back at the start of his election campaign he seemed to draw two red lines; do not attack my family and do not probe into my finances.

By bringing the family not only into the campaign but also into the White House he essentially he positioned them into an arena where their actions are fair game to comment on. His intransigence over disclosing his true financial position along with the tax returns has a great deal to do with the supposed shady past of his fund raising for his businesses.

However, with the Mueller investigation a collision course is inevitable between Mr Trump and Bob Mueller. While it would be far fetched to conclude that Trump himself directed and participated in interference by the Russians, his knowledge of certain events, which he denies, may be exposed. While this would honor him with the Noble Prize for deception and lying it may well not carry the weight of enough wrong doing to be impeached.

However, there is an achilles heel to Trump and that is his son Donald Trump jr, who it is established did encourage and even participate in contact with the Russians to dig up dirt on Hilary Clinton. Is that an offense? We wait to see what concludes on that legal aspects. But it would seem that Mueller might indict Trump jr. for multiple counts of lying and misleading the FBI and the special counsel probe. Even if he does not disclose who those two phone calls were to on or around the time of the meeting with the Russians in the Trump Tower, there may well be enough for Mueller to at least make some charges stick on the junior Trump.

Now were this to happen, which seems highly likely, Donald Trump, the President, will completely lose his marbles. His rage will not be via a Twitter storm, but more likely by wielding his Presidential powers. This could be a general pardon for his son, Paul Manafort and a whole host of people who would be under the Mueller probe. Firing Mueller is difficult and perhaps too late as some suggest the indictments are already made and under seal. It is also possible that Trump will in his rage fire the Assistant Attorney General, go after his own party leaders for not supporting him on stopping 'this witch hunt' as he calls the probe.

Trump would feel emboldened by his now near fanatical base, even though in the scheme of the nation its small, but noisy, and take measures that would be tantamount to a dictator in a third world country ensuring he and his cohorts are above the law. Legally there is no denying that he has the legal power to pardon any one he chooses to and does not have to assign a reason for doing so. While some may argue a pardon would have political fall out Trump cannot afford. That may be true in so far as we talk of Manafort and others, but when it comes to his son, Trump would not care of fall out. His base would say 'well what do you expect a good father to do other than protect his son?' and Trump has disclaimed the investigation enough times to simply say his pardons protect peoples lives being wrecked by the Mueller probe.

If we have seen Trump mad we have noticed that all pretense of being Presidential goes out of the window. In the event Trump Jr is indicted his worst rages thus far will look quiet and calm as the pianist at the lobby of one his hotels. What we will see is blood seeking rage and the man will tear up the Constitution, the White House and even the whole country till he feels he has got his own way. This is the reality of Donald J Trump and soon we will see a day of reckoning when he will have to choice to accept the circumstances of the indictment and let the court deal with the matter, or he will take matters in his own hands (small ones) and rip every one around him to shreds.

The Breaking Up of the United States.

Nations are not only defined by the borders they live within but by the traditions and values of the institutions they build and the values that become the guiding principles of society. Democracy flourishes when these institutions and values not only become the ethos of the nation but also something that in a sense remains inviolable and sacred.  The traditions of a free and independent press, a fair and just judiciary, a politically educated population and the respect for the rule of law all become pillars upon which democratic nations rest.

Since 2015 the galvanizing of political support during the US Presidential elections set in motion a trend of intolerance, divisiveness, and a political cult of hate which continues to this day. The fact that a hyperbole of fear was created through lies and misinformation is often ignored even by people who defend it knowing that they are defending lies shows the extent to which the manipulation of political consent of the people continues. At the center of this erosion of values that define democracy is a man none other than Donald J Trump, the President of the United States.

For those of us who though the electioneering rhetoric would be replaced by a more Presidential Mr. Trump, were rudely awakened to his first lie about the size of the crowd at his inauguration. That blatant lie carried two very important insights, one, that he had no problem with lying, and two, he was going to be obsessed to shown he is more popular and a better President that Barrack Obama. However, it was not that alone; he continued his attack on the Press, calling anyone who disagreed with him as Fake News, and blatantly made derogatory remarks about who ever offended him.

The confrontation with a CNN reporter after the mid term elections, and then the use of a doctored video to justify the withdrawal of the press pass of the reporter all indicate troubling times for the way US values of democracy are being chipped away by this man. His ardent supporters will continue to buy the doctrine of 'fake news' that is espoused by Trump and his close circle, ignoring that the majority of reputable news networks cannot simple peddle fake news. Admittedly, some of them do have a bias and this is quite normal in a free press environment, but to expect them to be lackey's of the White House, as some claim Fox News has become, is stretching the imagination too far.

What is all this doing to the soul of the United States? Without a doubt the average American is a decent hard working, and even if not having a worldly view, is still a human being with values for life and liberty. While the shape and tone of tolerance may vary across America, it has never been afraid to confront the issues that sat uncomfortably with the norms of democracy; thanks largely to  free press. The issue of segregation, the protests to the Vietnam war, the over sight of misuse of Presidential power by Nixon, the unbecoming behavior of Bill Clinton as President, all were under the scrutiny of the press and brave reporters and journalists became the voice of the 'unheard'.

More importantly, the free press always held President's and their administration accountable, even though one may argue at times the press manufactured 'consent' as it did over the WMD issue and Iraq, on balance it kept a check on a president going rouge. This is not the world Donald Trump wants or respects, and him calling the press the 'enemy of the people'. To students of history this is a shocking reference as through history it has been used by totalitarian governments and fascists with alarmingly similarity to President Trump.

In 1794 during the French Revolution a law was passed that people who spread 'false news, (yes the same term was used back then) were the enemies of the people and such crimes were 'punishable by death.' Hitler and his cohorts repeatedly called Jewish writers guilds and other groups opposed to the Nazi policies as 'enemies of the people.' Stalin in a closed door address to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union called journalists, thinkers, and intellectuals who opposed the government as 'enemies of the people', and carried out the most repressive measures against them.

Donald Trump does not read, and certainly does not read history, his entire knowledge of history can perhaps be put on the back of a postage stamp and leave space to spare. He perhaps does not realize in his bid to consolidate power he is using the tools of trade used by dictators and his supporters, much like the millions of German's who not only stood by, but adopted the Nazi slogans are doing exactly the same. These are otherwise very rationale and perhaps intelligent people who, when it comes to Trump, abandon all logic and anything against him is seen as unpatriotic. Interesting that all dictators equated criticism of them as leaders to be the same as being unpatriotic.These parallels are chilling and at the heart of it they are dividing the United States.

People have become less tolerant of political differences, they have given up years of friendship just become one is a Republican and the other a Democrat. While the Democrats may well carry the burden of their own rhetoric there is no denying that the fuel to the fire that today divides America comes from the mouth of Donald Trump alone. He instills fear in the people, like the migrant caravan, which suddenly today, a week after the mid term elections, is not even spoken off. He has no issue with dropping words that have racist tones and then plead normalcy in his speech.

The United States needs to take back the values that make it such a great nation. It needs to stop this division and the behavior that ferments this hate and stand up for the freedom of the press. Sadly few realize that the fissures that Mr Trump has been driving into the social fabric of American society will not only become massive cracks, they will divide the country up in a manner where generations will pass before the healing sets in.

Pakistan: Aasia Bibi verdict and its lessons.

The acquittal of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman accused in Pakistan of blasphemy and sentenced to death, brought home some truths about the prejudice towards minorities. While the Supreme Court of Pakistan found no evidence of her alleged crime in its momentous decision highlight the need to understand the issues that plague minorities in our society. The extreme elements of radical mullahs want none of this and believe the woman should be hanged and have taken to the streets, ignoring that the basic tenant of Islam is that she should have been proven to be guilty without a shadow of doubt, they have taken to agitation and openly calling for the general to revolt.

All this took me back to my own life in Pakistan and I recalled an incident that happened when i was about 12 years old. Every summer we worked on my father farm harvesting wheat and one day being very thirsty I reached for a glass, poured some water in it and drank it. A man who was a villager working on the farm came up to me and said I just drank from Yunus Masih's glass and he is a Christian. I said "So what? He is a human being?" The man told me it was 'na Pak' (unclean) to drink or eat from a non muslims utensils. I told him its OK, and walked off.

At the root of the case against Aasia Bibi is the incident where two Muslim women accused her of using their utensils and being a Christian they felt she committed a grave crime and the argument flared from there. Now, over 40 years since my little incident I researched this subject. There is nothing in the Quran or the Hadith that forbids a Muslim to eat or drink from the utensils of a Christian or a Jew (People of the Book). A Hadith only mentions if you know a plate has been used to serve pork and there is no other alternate then you may wash the plate and use it.

We as Pakistanis fail to accept the influence of Hindu culture and practice in our society, because to all intents and purpose hundreds of years ago our ancestry is Hindu or at least influenced by Hindu's. Hindus, especially strict Brahmins, believe that a certain section of society, even Hindus, who engage in menial jobs are 'untouchables' and it is forbidden to even touch them. This whole concept on Pakistani society that Christians are not allowed to touch our plates or glasses etc come from the over hang of this concept of 'untouchables' that was in society in undivided India, and to this day exists in India.

My mother was a convert and her acceptance of Islam was a private matter and nothing she advertised or boasted about. She retained her maiden name of 'Amita' and wore a sari all her life. However, now with hindsight I often wonder how much of this played a role in my father, a highly decorated officer, not being promoted to Major General? (Perhaps it did not help matters that my mother was a very outspoken on women's rights). Growing up alot of my friends were Parsi or Christian and not once did I personally feel any difference from them or towards them. My curiosity to their different faith often resulted in my mother telling me to read about their faith and understand it.

Somewhere in the convoluted history of Pakistan all this changed and intolerance became the hallmark of being considered a 'good muslim', the mullah, assumed the role of the apostle for the uneducated and his word the gospel. The intolerance that followed mixed with the history of a nation that never quite faced its own demons resulted in all Christians and Non Muslims to be considered outcasts. These uneducated self appointed guardians of our glorious religion do not know or appreciate the role of minorities in the service of Pakistan. Names like Justice Cornelius (a Christian), Justice Dorab Patel (a Hindu) , Raja Tridiv Roy ( Buddhist), Jamshed Marker (a Parsi) and many more mean nothing to these men whose ignorance is only matched by their intolerance. These and many more are the names of men who had principles and stood for what Pakistan was to its founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah. These men, without a doubt, paid a huge personal price to make that vision of Pakistan that is now being chipped away with each sermon from these extremist mullahs.

I have had my personal journey too, and come to the fold of Islam in my own unique way, and in the process learned from my mother that you cannot be a true Muslim till you clear your doubts by questioning them. But then one cannot be on some crusade to point fingers at others and yet have the courage to speak up with in the name of Islam people like these mullahs in Pakistan condemn a woman to death on false charges. Where they use religion as a tool to manipulate the masses to meet their own political ends.

Aasia Bibi's case has brought to our conscious that the Supreme Court found her non guilty on all counts and they, rightfully said in their judgement that they are the highest court in the land not just for Muslims but for all those tried under the laws of Pakistan. The three judges have done their part now for the vast majority of Pakistani's it is time to stand up and tell these miscreants on the streets making a noise that they cannot hijack the verdict, they cannot change the writ of the law to suit their own motives. Failure to do so will only play into the hands of these elements who are a disgrace to a religion that seeks fairness to its minorities, and after decades of mistreatment this verdict takes a giant step towards making things right. But, its only one step, the rest we all have to take together.