In this interview for AlterNet, Allen Frances describes the various political, social, and psychological factors that led the U.S. to elect President Trump and create the national crisis we are experiencing today. Frances also discusses the importance of focusing on containing Trump and standing up to his administration, rather than diagnosing him.
“…I think our country is in distress. The cover of my book has an upside down American flag, a universal signal of lethal distress. Our country is in distress. My hope is that this will end the pattern of delusional denial that for these last 30 or 40 years has led us away from our responsibilities to the future, away from our responsibilities to the rest of the world.
The book also focuses on why we make bad decisions. We have wired into our brains the capacity to make the dumbest decisions. We’re very smart creatures. We can make remarkably dumb decisions and display remarkably selfish behaviors. If we can extend the altruism that’s in-built in the human constitution but usually focuses only on the family and the tribe, if we can realize that the world is now one tribe with the human species at risk and we do not gain by following ‘America first’ policies that makes some other culture lose. It’s a game where if they lose we will ultimately lose as well.”
