It’s raining this morning, but it doesn’t feel like a “normal” rain. The sky is so dark and ominous, and the rain hits the roof and windows like stones, like pellets. It grabs my attention so deeply it doesn’t feel like any other rain. It can’t be ignored. It falls like fear, like power. Like life itself.

The thunder and lightning shake my home. They shake the earth and seem to split open the sky. I hope it won’t split open my roof.

And the rain and thunder are not over there someplace; they’re not at any distance. They’re right here, speaking in words the size of the universe.

It’s raining as I think of Nepal. The flood that we now know killed over 1,114 people, that sent over 4,000 missing; and the pets, animals, all killed, homes, gardens destroyed, washed away, except for memories, except for the grief of loved ones. That flood was right out of my nightmares. Did you see the videos of it? When I was younger, I used to have nightmares of floods and of being totally overwhelmed. Of forces way beyond me.

And then there’s the flood in the Grand Canyon that killed 2, 1 still missing. 80 needing evacuation. Nothing like Nepal but so much closer to home. Floods all over the world this year. And to think we had a part in it? That climate change, human caused climate change played a big part in it? And that our present government and leader are actively pursuing policies that make the situation worse, that make such floods more likely and intense, deadly? That hurts.

And the rain and thunder send images of other sorts of rain and thunder to my mind. Like the thunder and lightning of the wars in Iran, Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, Israel, etc., etc. According to the Peace Research Institute Oslo, over the last ten years interstate conflicts have increased sharply. They show the world right now is facing more violent conflicts than any time since World War II. And although no one nation or leader is responsible, but rather a whole shift in international relations, our president is greatly contributing to the violence and undermining efforts to reduce it.

He’s ended what some have called the “Pax Americana,” undermined our diplomatic and “soft power,” which used to be one of our primary ways to exercise influence in the world. He’s done this by drastically cutting our diplomatic corps, our foreign aid, Voice of America, etc.

He’s done this by his clueless negotiation strategies. His “art of the deal,” or his “calculated unpredictability,” his public appearance as a “Mad King” crazy or greedy enough to do anything, might have worked at some point in his personal business operations to get what he wanted. But it’s not working now with international relations. As Andrew Roth wrote for the Guardian, his vague and contradictory comments, claims, and actions have failed to bring peace. His foreign policy has “fully passed through the looking glass.” He’s risked undermining the world economy and the lives of millions on a whim.

And he’s totally clueless about how to end what he’s begun. According to Congressman Adam Smith, his rhetoric has strengthened the hardliners in Iran and is designed to drive our allies away. What he’s succeeded in doing is increasingly isolating us and undermining our credibility in the world.

According to columnist and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, “[DT]’s mind has gone.” Maybe his “Mad King Strategy” is not a strategy at all but a description of the reality of his mind….

*To read the whole post, please go to The Good Men Project: