Trump's Madness Theodore Dalrymple
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The The quarterly magazine of conservative thought Trump’s Madness War in the Yemen Artificial Intelligence Theodore Dalrymple John Deverell isn’t so intelligent Mark Griffiths A Belief in The Closing of the Witches? Universities Come Back Benny Hill James Ackhurst Margaret Brown Jane Kelly SPRING 2018 £6.00 Vol 36 No 3 Contents 3 Editorial Articles 21 Social Justice for South Paws Penelope Fawcett Hulme 4 “Time for your Injection Mr President” 22 The Closing of the Universities Theodore Dalrymple Margaret Brown 6 British Involvement in the War in Yemen 26 Reliable Knowledge John Deverell Brian Ridley 7 Toad Hall on the Thames 28 Why Artificial Intelligence isn’t Intelligent James Monteith Mark Griffith 9 HS2: the Great Anglo-Chinese Railway 29 Mervyn Matthews 1932-2017 Brendan Sharp 30 Trump’s ‘Shit Holes’ 11 American Father Alistair Miller Mark Mantel 31 Come Back Benny Hill 13 Gay Marriage Down Under Jane Kelly Daryl McCann 33 The EU: ‘Not Holy, Not Roman, and Not an Empire – 15 Hyde Today, London Tomorrow Yet’ Lindsey Dearnley Niall McCrae 17 Charged with Illegal Staring 34 From the Bedside Alex Claridge Berenice Langdon 18 A Belief in Witches? James Ackhurst Arts and Books Columns 39 David Twiston Davies on the Establishment 35 Conservative Classic — 69 40 John Jolliffe Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind: Why Good on Oliver Letwin People are divided by Politics and Religion 41 Scott Grønmark 37 Reputations — 58 on Adam Smith and David Hume Arthur Bryant 42 William Gisby on Roger Scruton 43 Celia Haddon on Edward Lear 44 Anthony Daniels on Mental Hospitals In future subscription payments by cheque should 45 Alistair Miller be sent by post to on Brexit Opportunities The Salisbury Review, 47 Martin Dewhirst 48 Kingfisher Road, Shefford, SG17 5YQ on Russian dirty tricks 48 Penelope Tremayne Changes of address or other enquiries should be on Pakistan sent to the same address or emailed to 49 Alexander Adams [email protected] or by phone to on the Soviet Nomenklatura 01462 234279 51 Peter Mullen Credit card payments by phone on Real British Values 01462 234279 52 James Monkton on the perils of Brexit 53 FILM Jane Kelly on Darkest Hour 54 IN SHORT Editor: Myles Harris Managing Editor: Merrie Cave Consulting Editors: Sir Roger Scruton, Jane Kelly, Alistair Miller Artist: Lindsey Dearnley 48 Kingfisher Road, Shefford, Beds, SG17 5YQ Tel: 01462 234279 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.salisburyreview.com hen the BBC smugly announced that two The surgeon of a famous hospital might be ordered to ‘British’ Jihadists with Arabic names accused confess he was poisoning his patients on the instructions Wof torturing, crucifying and beheading of the CIA. Once he had confessed – under such pressure unarmed civilians had been captured in Syria, many nearly all did – the victim was paraded through the British listeners were enraged. What could be less streets in a dunce’s cap and forced into some humiliating British? What would foreigners think we as a nation activity such as licking a lavatory bowl clean, and then had come to? sent to forced labour. In a country where ‘face’ is often This type of slap in the face is intentional, frequent a necessity of life, many committed suicide. and part of the left’s postmodern project to deconstruct A teacher in Britain in 2017 addresses a classroom our way of life. If you tell a people they no longer have of girls as ‘girls’. One of the girls objects, saying she any say in who lives in their country, you will destroy has redefined herself as a boy. The school authorities their idea of nationhood. A country that does not feel are involved, suspend the teacher and issue a press itself to be a nation has no borders. statement saying he has breached equality policies and A skilled interrogator will tell you it is not difficult will face disciplinary procedures. An unusually vicious to change the meaning of highly emotionally charged twitter storm, backed by several transgender support words such as ‘British’. Show somebody a picture groups, erupts. His life is made a nightmare and Britain’s of a cat, tell them it is a dog, then put psychological education authorities ban the words ‘girl’ and ‘boy’ in pressure on them, either by inducements, threats of all schools. If you can persuade millions of people that imprisonment or physical pain to say it is a dog, and a girl is a boy, or frighten them into keeping quiet about you will be surprised to see how many hesitate and some the fact it is not true, you have your hands on the levers even agree. If everybody else in the room absolutely and of power. Last year in Canada, a bill was passed making convincingly insists it is a dog, the victim will come to it an offence to call a girl a girl or a boy a boy, if the one believe it even sooner. If you don’t care if it is a dog or addressed did not wish you to. a cat, you will not be easily persuaded, but if you are But, you protest, we do not parade political figures deeply emotionally invested in the one or other belief, or through the streets wearing a dunce’s cap. Where are afraid, you are vulnerable. Which is why many in Britain, the mobs? fearful of the pointing finger of the left, are persuaded Have you never heard of a twitter storm? Have of an obvious lie; but not all. Patriotism burns deeply in you been the victim of one? How many times in many an Englishman’s heart, and to be told a medieval the last six months have you watched public figures killer with an Arab name who spits on the idea of our apologising unreservedly for some chance politically country is British is the equivalent to a blow in the face. incorrect remark or previously innocent action and Mao Tse Tung realised that words were society’s then resigning? Victims of Nazi, Soviet and Chinese anchors, and if rooted up, nobody would know what Communist brainwashing recalled that the only effective anything meant anymore. China would then descend into defence against such methods was an unshakeable a state of anarchy over which only the head gangster, but unrelated belief in something else. Jehovah’s Mao himself, would rule. What was needed was the Witnesses were notable survivors of the Nazi death pointing finger of shame. Which was why in the cultural camps. Fundamentalist Baptists resisted Mao’s mobs. revolution prominent political figures and academics The weakness of our Maoist opponents is they have no were cornered in their offices or homes by chanting beliefs; they are just a mob. We are not a mob; we are a mobs demanding they confessed to accusations which nation, with traditions and history. Time we spoke out. were clearly totally untrue – the more untrue the better. The Salisbury Review — Spring 2018 3 “Time for your Injection Mr President” Theodore Dalrymple sychiatric diagnosis is a dubious enterprise at illuminating flash: he was suffering, poor man, from the best of times, let alone when conducted delusions of honesty. A delusion is a fixed, false belief Pat a distance and the psychiatrist has had that is impervious to evidence or reason, and that is out no personal contact with the human subject of his of keeping with a person’s culture. Mr Blair seemed supposed skills, or even with to believe, all the contrary anyone who has had such evidence notwithstanding, contact. Nevertheless, the that he was an honest temptation for psychiatrists to man: but whether this was diagnose public figures from out of keeping with his newspaper cuttings, glimpses culture is another question. of them on television, and Increasingly, delusions of so forth, is very strong, and honesty seem an advantage, I doubt whether there is a if not an actual requirement, psychiatrist in the world in the upper echelons of our who has not had a diagnostic public administration; and crack at Donald Trump. Not, therefore, strictly speaking, of course, that he would care are no longer delusions but a jot if they had: indifference rather normal beliefs. to the opinion of others in this With regard to Mr Trump, instance is entirely justified the diagnosis, superficially, and indeed laudable. at any rate, is easier to make. American psychiatrists He is suffering from, or rather discredited themselves he makes others suffer from, mightily in 1964 when 1,189 his narcissistic personality of them (out of more than disorder. But here we must 12,000 surveyed, most of enter caveats. them not bothering to reply) delivered themselves of the The first is that Mr Trump may be a very different opinion that Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican person in private from what he is in public: in other candidate for the Presidency, was psychologically unfit words, his public persona is an act, a cunning and to be President. This was at the high-tide of Freudian calculated self-presentation designed to achieve certain psychiatric and cultural influence, but it is unknown to ends. No one, surely, can deny his cleverness: he could what extent the opinion of the psychiatrists put anyone hardly have got where he is without any ability. Given off voting for Goldwater who might otherwise have his cleverness, then, his public persona might be an act: done so. It took a few years for the psychiatrists as a perhaps in private he is modest, charming, considerate, body to attain sufficient insight (as we psychiatrists call witty, self-effacing and so forth.