{"id":1009,"date":"2019-01-04T19:18:58","date_gmt":"2019-01-04T19:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/skywritings\/?p=1009"},"modified":"2019-01-04T19:18:58","modified_gmt":"2019-01-04T19:18:58","slug":"greatness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/skywritings\/2019\/01\/04\/greatness\/","title":{"rendered":"Greatness"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s nothing to admire in the slogan (or sentiment) \u201cI\u2019m the greatest,\u201d whether from Muhammad Ali or Donald Trump. <\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s an effective way to pump yourself up for combat if you’re a prizefighter, but that calling\u2019s not one to admire either.<\/p>\n

Muhammad Ali had at least had the real experience of being the victim of bigotry; his aggressive response \u2014 combat and braggadocio \u2014 is understandable, even excusable, since no one has written an etiquette book on how to behave politely when you are being systematically discriminated against.<\/p>\n

But Trump\u2019s life has been lucre, luck and lechery from the start, and the only thing it has inspired in him is the crudest form of narcissism and demagoguery. <\/p>\n

If the American electorate has any sense (and decency) it will award him the crashing defeat he deserves. <\/p>\n

And may all his undeserved fortunes fail him while he is still compos mentis<\/i> to collect the wages of his vicious and vacuous vanity.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s nothing to admire in the slogan (or sentiment) \u201cI\u2019m the greatest,\u201d whether from Muhammad Ali or Donald Trump. Maybe it\u2019s an effective way to pump yourself up for combat if you’re a prizefighter, but that calling\u2019s not one to admire either. Muhammad Ali had at least had the real experience of being the victim … <\/p>\n