Open Letter to Donald Trump

Mr Donald Trump, this is a response to your press release titled 'Donald J. Trump Statement on Preventing Muslim Immigration' of December 7, 2015, published less than a week after the San Bernardino mass shooting and less than a month after the Paris attacks. Mr Trump, why again are you running for US presidency?

Running a business is not the same thing as running a country. In the world of business, land, people, and money are simply assets -- chips -- you can wager and the only thing at stake is the bottom line. That's not the case when running a country. When you run a country what's at stake is the very souls of the citizens. Yeah. And it's why Plato argued for rule by philosopher-kings, as opposed to by regular kings.

My I assume that you running for presidency is directly linked to your need for power? Now, you see, you needing to run for presidency doesn't necessarily mean that you should. On the contrary. No philosopher-king would volunteer himself to a position of power for the simple reason because he doesn't have the desire to be in that position. He has been there, done that.

You see, the philosopher-king craves for the higher and finer things in life: love, truth, knowledge. He desires enlightenment, and not just for himself but for everyone else as well. And because of that leadership under him would center around the idea of making man great again by way of expanding the mind of his subjects to the greatest extent possible. He would create freethinkers. Lots and lots of them as well.

But you are no philosopher-king. Yes, you're one in the making, but then again so is everyone else. Mr Trump, you're but a regular king, or you'll make for one should you get elected to presidency. Now, and what would that entail?

Your subjects, under your power-driven leadership, would become mired in darkness. You would lead them away from Love and into the eager clutches of Fear. Instead of freeing minds, you'd add to the bonds that keep people a prisoner to Plato's cave. Already your words are drawing deeper sectarian lines -- tightening the bonds in Plato's cave -- with no hope of things improving anytime soon either.

You promise to make America great again. But no, you won't, you won't make America great again. Not because you don't want to, but because you can't. Your desire for power will see to that.

You're a good man. Fire yourself while you still can.

With best regards,

Laurens Sipahelut
#KekekalanLatenFasisme, @PionirBooks

Kekekalan Laten Fasisme

Tulisan di atas diturunkan dalam rangka terbitnya Kekekalan Laten Fasisme, esai filsuf Belanda Rob Riemen yang mengingatkan terhadap bahaya laten fasisme di Eropa dan menunjuk politikus Geert Wilders sebagai prototipe fasisme masa kini. Untuk info terkini tentang Kekekalan Laten Fasisme pantau kicauan ber-tagar #KekekalanLatenFasisme pada Twitter. Kekekalan Laten Fasisme dapat dipesan pada Pionir Books dan outlet daring pilihan.