Member-only story
Trump’s Magical Meme Presidency
The fairy godfather and rainbow memes will make America great
There’s self-confidence, and then there’s self-entitlement.
There’s truth telling, and then there’s meme making.
There’s responding to problems with informed action, and there’s wishing the problems away.
Ever hear of the concept of the power of positive thinking? That’s right, Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote a book on the subject.
In 1932, Peale started his own church based on his program of positive thinking. He situated his church in an affluent neighborhood of New York City, selling an early form of the prosperity gospel that is so popular with televangelists today. Indeed, Peale would have been a televangelist if television had been a viable medium. He took to radio instead, spreading his gospel and selling books such as You Can Win. Just believe and think positively and you can win, was Peale’s message. Must be magic!
Guess who the church pastor for Donald Trump’s family was when Donnie was a little boy? That’s right! It was Norman Vincent Peale. Peale’s prosperity gospel of winning through positive thinking was formative for little Donnie’s thinking. And don’t just take my word for it.
