At the heart of Trumpism is the perception that the world is a dark, savage place, and therefore ruthlessness, selfishness and callousness are required to survive in it.
New York Times
The Opinion Pages | OP-ED COLUMNIST
A Gift for Donald Trump
David Brooks FEB. 10, 2017
My goodness. David Brooks could have been writing about me. This is why I started writing this blog: to stop thinking this way.
I don’t know if it’s only New York City, or if this is true in other towns regardless of size. In New York, my friendships seem to come and go depending on the activities I engage in. I make friends readily enough but as soon as I stop doing a specific activity (Toastmasters and pick-up soccer come to mind), those friendships fade away. It can be exhausting. However, since I am generally replacing one activity with another, and in the city there’s no shortage of activities and interesting new people to meet, I quickly make new friends all over again and, well, truth is, I replace the old friends with new ones.
That said, there is absolutely nothing so pleasant as being around people I have known for a long time, or with whom I’ve experienced significant life adventures. Also, there’s nothing so incredible as the long-term friend who sticks with you through thick and thin. We tend to associate that person with a spouse or some other sort of best friend or partner. Whatever the title, the friend who won’t stop liking you in spite of all your faults, is a wonderful friend.
I have a few friends like that. I don’t necessarily understand why these friendships have endured for as long as they have. There’s no business incentive, no romantic interest, no discernible advantage to the friendship, it simply seems we enjoy talking and connecting with one another.
I’m meeting one of these friends for dinner in a couple hours. Another, I spoke with briefly on the phone today.
It’s really quite marvelous, the human interest and capacity for long-term friendship and desire for community: evidence of a friendly universe.