Are you curious which real villain from history was most like you? Then sit back and enjoy THIS QUIZ.
The World Dictator Quiz
What Can We Expect from President Donald J. Trump?
So three days into his Presidency, we have a few Executive Orders, some Cabinet appointments, and essentially an Inauguration Speech to go on. Is it fair to draw any comparisons yet?
I say it is. Not only was there a President very much like Donald Trump in the not-so-distant past, but there was one very much like his predecessor. Yes, I am talking about Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover.
The Barack Obama-Herbert Hoover Connection:
President Hoover was an Intuitive Thinking (INTJ) President who was elected during a time of massive economic turmoil in order to restore economic prosperity to the nation through radical means. He was an intellectual (a former Stanford University professor) with ties in East Asia (China) who decided to use untested Keynesian economics to fight the stock market crash of October, 1929. In spite of a scandal-free Presidency, growing poverty and ecological crises (the Dust Bowls and heat waves) marred his Administration and he ranks among the most hated of all Presidents.
President Obama was also an Intuitive Thinking (ENTP) President elected shortly after the second worst economic meltdown in 100 years. Also an intellectual (a former Harvard Law Professor) with ties to Asia (he attended elementary school in Indonesia), people hoped his fresh approach to politics would restore integrity to government and rejuvenate the US economy. Although statistical economic indicators showed that the economy had rebounded and his Administration was squeaky clean, true poverty in America increased by close to 50% and racism cannot be dismissed for the massive hatred and contempt many people expressed toward the Obamas. It did not help matters that President Obama did little to change the hawkish policies of the previous Administration that he promised to eliminate when he was elected. The Obama Administration will most likely not be remembered fondly.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Populist
Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1930s was not the politician we read about in history books, the one who delivered inspirational speeches as America was attacked at Pearl Harbor. FDR was a rich New Yorker who belonged to a political party mostly populated by… let’s be blunt here… poor white trash from the South.
He was brash and impulsive and disobeyed orders from President Woodrow Wilson (the head of his party) not to run for U.S. Senate in 1916. (He lost that race, by the way.) He was a womanizer whose wife hated the spotlight (but could masterfully manipulate the media when she put her mind to it).
Does this sound like anyone?
FDR, Techno Junkie
In 1930, radio was a brand new technology and the majority of households in the United States did not yet own one. In spite of its reputation as a decade of poverty, the 1930s saw an explosion of technological advances in the realm of crystal radio technology and even television broadcast technology. By the end of the 1930s, most American households owned at least one radio.
President Roosevelt took advantage of this new technology to disseminate his propaganda directly to the American public live on the airwaves via his Fireside Chats.
Eighty years later, what would be the equivalent of a fairly new technology like AM Radio? Perhaps…
FDR, the Family Man
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was not afraid to involve his children in his Administration. His son, James Roosevelt, often walked him to the podium when he delivered historically significant speeches, such as his “Infamy” speech on December 8, 1941.
President Trump has left the care of his business affairs to his eldest son, Donald Trump, Jr., and speculation is that the formal duties of First Lady will be left to his eldest daughter, Ivanka Marie Trump-Kushner, so that his wife can devote her full time to taking care of their youngest son.
FDR, the Hate-monger
Don’t say you didn’t see this one coming. In 1942, President Roosevelt ordered the internment of all civilians of Japanese descent, including women, children, the elderly, and even babies.
This marked one of the worst civil rights periods in America since the end of the Civil War. Although some German immigrants were also interned, the government was quite a bit more selective about whom it locked up, basing policy purely on immigration status, rather than on racial traits.
Perhaps President Trump was looking at this model as a blueprint when he decided to offer a wall between the United States and Mexico in his campaign speeches.
What Does All of This Mean?
I think I have thoroughly made my case documenting why Donald Trump, intentionally, or unintentionally, will be very similar to Franklin Delano Roosevelt as a President. I am talking more about pre-WW2 FDR, not hawkish Roosevelt, so don’t start thinking apocalypse and nuclear war.
- President Roosevelt was not really a very good Chief Executive. He pitted his Cabinet members and staff against each other like a competition and nothing really got accomplished.
- Because of FDR’s isolationist policies, the Depression lasted much longer than it needed to. One only need look at The Netherlands or Nazi Germany (reprehensible as that nation was) to see how quickly other nations rebounded from the stock market crashes in the 1920s. President Trump has already stated in his Inauguration Speech that he plans to repeat such isolationist policies in his Administration.
- FDR borrowed a lot of his predecessor’s failed policies and re-branded them as his own (like the New Deal). We can already see that Trump plans to do this with Obamacare.
- FDR did take advantage of Great Britain’s military/economic crisis at the advent of WW2 to loot their economy, bringing prosperity to the United States. We might see a similar situation with one or more major European nations if the European Union dissolves.
- President Roosevelt managed to keep the United States out of WW2 for nearly three years while it raged on in Europe and longer in Asia. Do not assume that President Trump will be a war hawk.
It is easy to look back at trends from history and see them repeat in the future. Life is not that mysterious when you know what you seek. It is pretty predictable.
War is for Sensors, Peacetime is for Intuitives, Part One
While recuperating from an illness recently, I had time for marathon of a great 1980s series I haven’t seen since… well, the 1980s. It was a British series about female POWs in the Japanese concentration camps during World War Two. The series is called Tenko.
If you would like to read up on the series without watching it, please catch up here.
There were 31 episodes, including the five-year reunion episode, which are all worth watching. I would prefer that you watch them and read my blog afterwards, as this is a very important historical topic and this blog is loaded with spoilers.
REPEAT, THIS BLOG IS LOADED WITH SPOILERS. CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED.
Before I go on, here is the series, starting with Season One.
When you have another ten hours of free time, go ahead with Season Two.
Season Three deals with the end of the War and communist insurrections in Singapore and Malaysia. You will not want to miss it because you can find out who made it out of the camps alive.
THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO STOP BEFORE THE SPOILERS.
First, of course, let me divide the characters up into MBTI types.
The Sensors:
Guardians:
Artisans:
The Intuitives:
Idealists:
Rationals:
TURN AROUND NOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT ANY SPOILERS
You were warned.
I must say, Tenko succeeded in creating the most diabolical ENFP I think I have ever seen on camera in my life (other than a few Third World dictators on the evening news). I don’t think I have ever seen such a sweet personality type resort to such malice on film before. Only in a prison camp could The Helper become the arch-villain who sells out the life of The Fieldmarshal for a jar of jam and leave you feeling sorry for said Fieldmarshal in the process. Oh. My. God. And I’m not just saying that because I’m an ENTJ myself. Okay, maybe a little. But still.
Beyond the emotional reaction to this series, the first two seasons were devoted to the actual course of the war itself, and the last season took place during the months immediately following the war as the survivors settled back into their homes in Singapore and returned to England. And yes, the series does take place in Singapore and on a nearby island in Indonesia (Sumatra?). This is probably why there are so many ENTJ characters in the series – Singapore has the highest concentration of this personality type in the world at over 5%, compared to 1.5% worldwide. There were some other characters in the series as well, many “red sweaters” who died before their characters were fully developed, some who were not really much different than the others being discussed here.
Before the War:
Sensors:
The Guardians:
Dorothy Bennett lived a cloistered, sheltered life with her husband and infant daughter, Violet. She was invisible and essentially disappeared among her husband’s possessions. Marion and Clifford Jefferson had a very troubled marriage and were discussing a separation so that Marion could spend more time with their adolescent son in England. Clifford’s military career was stagnant as a Colonel. Nellie had a cryptic love life and a very promising nursing career. Verna ran a high end hotel. Not much is known about Captain Sato or Miss Hasan.
The Artisans:
Colonel Yamauchi’s daughter recently moved to Nagasaki to marry. Sylvia Ashburton lived a privileged life in a class-conscious society. Blanche Simmons did not.
Intuitives:
Idealists:
Lady Joss Holbrook was a Suffragette actively protesting around the world to earn the right to vote for women in England and North America. Domenica Van Meyer married an older man for money and the two despised each other because she could not bear a son for him. Jake Haulter had been kicked out of an exclusive school in England for having a tryst with a maid. Stephen Wentworth did volunteer work for the poor in Singapore. Lillian Cartland and Marion Jefferson had been roommates in private school as children – the popular Marion thought Lillian was a rather weird child.
Rationals:
Rose Millar had overcome her scholarship background to become a wealthy journalist. Her boyfriend, Bernard Webster, had a popular radio show in Singapore. Dr. Beatrice Mason was the chief of surgery in a hospital in Singapore and decided to throw herself into her work to compensate for her awkwardness with either gender in the dating world – and given enough alcohol, she shows definite proclivities toward both, it is clear. Kate Norris was looking forward to building a future with her boyfriend, Tom, while working hard at her nursing job. Dr. Natalie Trier moved to Indochina to escape her brother’s radical politics and do her medical research undisturbed. Christina Campbell was dealing with her mother’s recent death and starting to face the realities of being biracial in a very racist society.
War Sets In:
Sensors:
Guardians:
Dorothy Bennett loses all of the relationships that hide her true self and discovers her own identity. She learns to become a businesswoman on her own, selling herself, literally, in the camps. Marion Jefferson has her chance to shine. She becomes the leader of the women in her camp and becomes the popular girl she has craved to be since she was a teenager, even though she just lost her best friend in a shipwreck. Colonel Jefferson jockeys for promotions and becomes Brigadier Jefferson by the end of the war. Nellie, Verna, Miss Hasan and Sato, however, lasted through most of the war by being other people’s henchmen and lackeys, but died by the end of the war.
Artisans:
Sister Ulrica and Colonel Yamauchi manage to survive the duration of the war, although they suffer internal conflicts because of their strong feelings and the horrors that are going on around them. Sylvia and Blanche are repeatedly punished for their stubbornness and eventually die in the camps.
Intuitives:
Idealists:
Lady Joss Holbrook is repeatedly punished for her passive resistance in the camps, but always manages to survive. She seems to understand her limits. Domenica Van Meyer complains incessantly throughout her incarceration. Shinya seems desperate to prove his bravery even though he is ill-suited for warfare, first by shooting and maiming a popular prisoner, then by taking a fatal wound during an Allied strafing of the camp shortly before he is scheduled to transfer out to a combat unit. Stephen Wentworth disappears. Lillian Cartland engages in one of the most evil informant acts I’ve ever seen in a concentration camp movie, as she sells out two prisoners for a jar of jam for her son, who is not even that hungry compared to the other prisoners.
Rationals:
Dr. Beatrice Mason must cope with a lack of medical supplies when treating her patients. She is humbled when she meets Dr. Natalie Trier, who has done a far better job under the same circumstances. Dr. Trier, however, is sent back to Vichy France and certain death under a repatriation program, and Dr. Mason must take over her research. As her eyesight deteriorates, Kate Norris begins to take over her duties as doctor and decides to pursue medical school after the war ends. Meanwhile, Rose Millar mourns the loss of everything she has acquired as her life deteriorates from bad to worse. As she and Bernard sneak out of the camps for a rendezvous in the wilderness, they are caught and he is killed and she is severely wounded. Her spirit broken, she never recovers and eventually dies a few months later. Christina Campbell has a privileged status among the prisoners as Colonel Yamouchi’s personal assistant and translator because of her mixed race. She begins to discover her biracial identity.
After the War:
Guardians:
Marion Jefferson drifts into alcoholism as her friends drift their separate ways. She feels like “everything is uncertain” and no longer knows what meaning her life has. Brigadier Jefferson feels overwhelming guilt that his wife suffered the brunt of the war while he was in an office behind the lines. After some initial setbacks, Dorothy Bennett’s career skyrockets.
Artisans:
Sister Ulrica reunites with her friends while recuperating from the war. Colonel Yamouchi is visited while awaiting trial for war crimes. It is implied by the final episode that both are killed as society returns to normal.
Intuitives:
Idealists:
Jake Haulter meets up with the group and helps the ladies adjust to life in Singapore. Stephen Wentworth runs a welfare society for the poor in the Chinese section of town and recruits Lady Joss Holbrook, Dr. Mason and Christina Campbell to help. Lady Joss Holbrook is accidentally killed during a mugging after surviving so much throughout the war. Domenica Van Meyer returns to her home and is eventually widowed and remarried to a British officer in Malaysia.
Rationals:
Dr. Beatrice Mason copes with her deteriorating eyesight by volunteering at the clinic at the welfare society. Kate Norris begins medical school. Christina Campbell teaches English to Chinese students at the welfare society, but eventually becomes enraptured by communism and destroys her life by becoming a militant radical and ends up in prison after her friends probably killed Sister Ulrica.
The Universal Conclusion:
Sensors seemed to do better during the war up to a certain critical point, at which everyone’s life began to deteriorate. During crisis situations, Sensors seemed to come out ahead. When the crisis passed, the Sensors seemed at a loss what to do, and Intuitives once again regained the advantage in life. There were certain personality types that just did not seem to do well under any circumstances. Enneagram Type 8s seemed to fare the worst under POW camp circumstances, followed by Type 3s.
As our society adjusts to peace after an extended war in the Middle East and hundreds of thousands of Millennials return and readjust to civilian life, shows like Tenko (which was based on the wartime memoirs of a POW camp survivor) offer a mini-paradigm of what to expect in the next few years. Some personality types that did very well under wartime conditions might not fare so well in civilian society, whereas those who were least successful under battlefield conditions might shine when they return home.
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