AMERICA'S COMPASSION BY-PASS ...

The one thing Donald Trump has been successful in eliminating from America’s international relations has been the very characteristic that set it apart from other great powers, compassion.

There have been many proud examples of American compassion on the international stage: the Lend-Lease deal with Britain in WWII described by Churchill as “the most unsordid act in the whole of recorded history”; the Marshall Plan after WWII to help rebuild Europe; the Berlin Airlift to break the Soviet blockade in 1948-9; and the Peace Corps created by JFK in 1961.

In recent years, America has continued in this vein: its humanitarian aid, especially in natural disasters; its acceptance of refugees, especially those fleeing violence, like Syria and Afghanistan; its global health programs, especially to combat AIDS and malaria; its educational exchange programs, like the Fulbright scholars; and its disaster relief programs (eg Ebola, tsunamis, etc).

Then came Trump reading from the Project 2025 manifesto.

In just a few months, Trump – supported by his tech thugs and his doctrinaire back-up singers - has worked tirelessly to eliminate compassion from all levels of his administration.

Sadly, it seems that it’s the one area of Trump 2.0 where he’s succeeded, both at home and abroad.

The resulting damage will be long-lasting and widespread and it will place America in the same category as Russia and China in dealing with its own citizens and with other nations.

MAKING ANZAC DAY OPTIONAL?

Last week the parents of the kids at Sherwood Ridge Primary received an email from the principal telling them that attendance at the school’s Anzac Day service, planned for April 10, was optional.

Sherwood Ridge Primary was established in 2004 at Kellyville in north-west Sydney. It educates kids from Kindy to Year 6 and its motto is: “from each their best”.

The school is clearly conscious of its own brief history. Its website highlights that it was built on the site of an old settlers’ cottage, dating back to 1883, “built by Frank Sherwood and Jim Armstrong, who cut their own timber and built it out of slab and clay”.

A couple of weeks ago the school celebrated Iftar (the meal Muslims have at sunset to break their fast after Ramadan).

And that’s a good thing, fostering unity and celebrating diversity.

But, after a small group of parents requested that their kids be “exempt” from commemorating Anzac Day, apparently on religious grounds, the school decided to make their day of remembrance optional.

As you’d expect, this has sparked the usual reactions from both ends of the spectrum.

Let’s take a more measured view. One of the corner pieces of the jigsaw that makes up what it means to be an Australian is an understanding of the meaning and significance of Anzac Day.

It doesn’t glorify war. Quite the contrary. It’s a day of reflection on the sacrifices made by so many to preserve the liberty which all Australians enjoy today. The spirits of those who made the sacrifices live on in each of us.

The Shrines at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, the Anzac Memorial in Sydney’s Hyde Park and on Melbourne’s St Kilda Rd all represent this reflective gratitude.

To understand where you’re heading, you need to understand where you’ve come from.

 Sherwood Ridge’s school pledge reads:

“I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people,

Whose democratic beliefs I share,

Whose rights and liberties I respect,

And whose laws I will uphold and obey.”

 Surely it makes sense for all the kids who pass through Sherwood Ridge to understand who gave them the “liberty and democracy” they pledge to respect and uphold?

TRUMP 3.0? … SURELY NOT

Perhaps the most frightening development to emerge from the Trumposphere came this week when he started testing the water on a possible run for a third term.

Trump would be 82 at the end of this term but he’s been dropping hints that he may run again in 2028.

This comes despite the fact that it would be in direct contravention of the 22nd Amendment to the US constitution, introduced in 1951 after FDR had been elected four times in a row.

The amendment is clear: “No person shall be elected to the office of president more than twice.”

Trump claimed American voters would support a third term because of his popularity. He claims to have “the highest poll numbers of any Republican for the last 100 years”.

As with so many of his claims, this is false. George W Bush hit a 90% approval rating after the 9/11 attacks and his father, George H. W. Bush, reached 89% after the Gulf War in 1991.

Trump’s highest approval rating in this term has been 47%, despite his claims to have hit the high 70s “in the real polls”.

As always, facts in the Trump world don’t matter. The real concern is that he may be serious in his designs on a third term.

Some are suggesting he may try to circumvent the constitution by having Vice President JD Vance run for the top job then hand it to Trump.

But academic experts believe that tactic would be defeated by the 12th Amendment, ratified in 1804, that states: “No person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president shall be eligible to that of vice president of the United States”.

Let’s hope Trump’s posturing is aimed at projecting strength at home and abroad to alleviate the problems of presidents in their last term, when they’re regarded as ‘lame duck’ leaders.

If it’s not, and he’s serious about another run, America and, more importantly, its allies, should be not only alert but genuinely alarmed!