During his long reign as the King of France (1643-1715) Louis XIV is said to have remarked, "L'État, c'est moi" ... or "I am the State." The implications were clear: Bestowed with the divine right to rule, as France's head of state Louis XIV could draw on the resources of the nation to do what he wanted because his best interests, it was believed at the time, were France's interests.
So, yes, in many ways, Louis XIV was The State.
While history tells us that no monarchs power was absolute, compared to the liberal democracies we have today, there were few countervailing powers in feudal France during the Sun King's reign. Merchants vied for royal favors. Commoners sought out the benefits of the royal touch, which made "L'État, c'est moi" very real in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Fast forward 300 years and we find ourselves in a not too dissimilar - albeit twisted - situation.
Commenting on the many unfilled positions in the State Department, Donald Trump dismissed the empty foreign policy making positions, replying: "The only one that matters is me ... I'm the only one that matters ...".
Echoes of "L'État, c'est moi," indeed.
But let's not delude ourselves. Donald Trump doesn't understand diplomacy. What he clearly doesn't understand is that while foreign policy is what he's supposed to do, diplomacy is how we do it. It takes a school of talented and dedicated diplomats and career professionals to make foreign policy work.
Without diplomats and a team experts, foreign policy stumbles and often fails. We often don't see the negative effects for years, if not decades.
During the McCarthy Era, the Southeastern Affairs division of the State Department was gutted in the 1950s. Communists in the attic, as it were. Political hacks and novices were left to staff the division and provide advice. People who didn't understand the difference between nationalism and communism were in control. People who could care less that Ho Chi Min was an admirer of Thomas Jefferson and the U.S. Constitution were calling the shots.
The debacle known as the Vietnam War followed.
One can hardly blame Trump for thinking the way that he does. Unless they're retiring or have the gravitas of a Senator John McCain, our spineless GOP-led Congress sees no reason to stand up to him. They let him get away with thinking he is The State because they believe he's their best chance for getting the legislative gifts they've wanted for years. This might make him a puppet more than a tyrant, but you get the picture.
We fought a revolution to end this kind of thinking. The Declaration of Independence was clear on this: "A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people."
Yet, here we are, once again.
Sigh ...
- Mark
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