Alphonse M'bele, President of ______, a West African country rich in rare earths and oil and abysmally impoverished in every other way, was a a recent guest of the White House. The President, in a calculated political maneuver, invited M'bele to show the African American electorate that he was not uniquely European in philosophy, history, and political alliance, and that despite his only incidental interest in Africa and its diaspora, he saw that continent's leaders as at least equal to those of France, Russia, Britain, or Germany.
Most importantly, President Trump was interested in what he called 'The Triumvirate Of Legions'. In a nod to Roman imperialism, and the leadership of Caesar, Antony, and Pompey; in recognition and respect for Machiavelli who wrote the book on geopolitical power; and in an increasing sensibility for African totemism, he allied himself with the practitioners of these arts.
Vladimir Putin and he were on the same geo-philosophical page because they both were advocates of realpolitik - the modern interpretation and application of Machiavelli's The Prince, a disquisition on the use of power to further national interests and to do so only when these interests were in play and in jeopardy. Putin's reassimilation of Crimea into the Russian orbit, and his current war to bring fissiparous Ukraine to heel were examples of such bold nationalism. Donald Trump understood this completely, and he would do exactly the same thing if such occasions were to occur within the American hemisphere.
After all, the United States' hegemonic adventures in South America were no different. Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Cuba among others were in our domain and could not be allowed to dally with socialism and anti-American nationalism. Southeast Asia was to be America's region of influence and bulwark against arch-enemy Russia, so the war in Vietnam was understandable and justifiable.
The Special Relationship - the Anglo-American cultural, historical, and political alliance that had stood for decades - was always to be fostered and nurtured. Although Britain and its European allies were often drifting far from solid conservative foundations, there was a certain bonhomie among partners. NATO was only one expression of this mutual fondness.
Then came Africa - and no one knew exactly what to do with that cultural miasma. Because of the political importance of the African diaspora in America, billions of dollars had been invested in improving the lot of Africans. However, despite this fortune, the continent not only did not improve, it declined into dysfunction, totalitarianism, and abject poverty.
It was worth little on the open market - it had since independence produced nothing, done nothing, influenced no one. Because it had natural resources and only because it did, the United States persisted in its developmental aid.
There had to be more to it than that, reflected the President to his foreign policy advisors, one of whom had family origins in Cameroon, the source of Brazilian candomblé and Haitian voodoo, and who insisted that tribal conjuration was not just a fantasy, but a longstanding reality. African shamans and high priests were indeed able to conjure spirits and engage them in worldly affairs. The Duvaliers of Haiti, longtime rulers of the country, had not been deposed and removed just because of political maneuverings, but because of tribal indifference. The Duvaliers had gotten too big for their boots, and the forces of the African forest had been brought to bear. And this was but one example.
Of course the President demurred, thanked his advisor for his contribution, but returned to business as normal; until he met President M'bele who was not only an important political leader but an ordained shaman, brought up, educated, and initiated into the Yoruba dark rights. The African world was not the hopeful Western-invested place that Americans believed, but one of spirits and untold spiritual power. European monotheism and Enlightenment rationality was not the End of History, the final evolution of human potential, but only one. African totemism should not be overlooked.
The reason why the African slave diaspora had never made it out of the ghetto, and was still African in its social and cultural mores was not because of white racism or vestiges of colonialism, but because the African descendant still was ruled by the powerful Yoruba, candomblé, and voodoo gods. Any money invested in the black inner city was simply throwing good resources after bad.
More importantly, this African socio-religious potency could have geopolitical influence. Rather than look at Africa as a basket case, a miserably failed continent of Neolithic backwardness and pre-human nature, one should mine its unique resources.
After giving the idea some thought, the President began to come around. That benighted, miasmic continent must have something of value, he mused. These jungle people have been practicing dark arts since Lucy and the origins of mankind, so what are slums, dire mismanagement, corruption, and impoverished misery compared to native power?
The President drew M'bele aside and asked him about his background, his upbringing, and his religious inspiration. He was circumspect, respectful, and only suggestive about his real interests, but the African quickly got his meaning.
'It is all true, Mr. President. All true'.
M'bele said it with such directness, candor, and sincerity that the President had to take notice. In his own way, he probed and pried until he was satisfied that there was indeed something to it. M'bele pressed a token into the President's hand and said, 'May the gods of Africa be with you'.
The President held the token tightly and hugged M'bele warmly. 'We will talk again', he said, 'very soon indeed'.
'Express your most heartfelt desires', M'bele said, holding the President's hand. 'And they will be granted'.
There were a number of world crises facing the President - Ukraine, Palestine, the resurgence of ISIS and Islamic terrorism, North Korean nuclear threats, China saber-rattling over Taiwan and Tibet, and much more. Although he felt confident in his ability to confront, negotiate, and win out over his opponents, he like every other persona of power and influence, looked for that bit of cutting edge.
He invited M'bele for another White House meeting, but this time without the pomp and circumstance of an official visit. The two leaders met privately and without aides. Whatever they concluded would be between them.
It was no coincidence that his most troublingly insistent critics on the Left went out of their way to praise him. AOC, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, the Puerto Rican ankle-biter who had been after him for years in pursuit of her own White House ambitions, had some nice things to say about him, some remarkably generous comments about his international acumen and national insights. And both Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris, both indomitably opposed to anything the President had ever done, were as kind as can be when it came to his National Guard initiatives.
Both lived in Washington, DC, had been assaulted and mugged on a number of occasions, and were happy that they could walk home from Starbucks without being assaulted.
Had they simply seen the light? Had they removed their political armor and actually paid attention? Or were they swayed by something 'other'?
We will never know; but at the very least Africa, land of miserable slums, dictatorships, and abject, irremediable poverty, had shown some style. For all the elitist bashing, Africa turned out to have something, other than oil and rare earths, of value.
M'bele of course did not return home without 'recognition' - a nice fat no-questions-asked grant to do 'fuck-all'; but that was the way international development had been practiced since it began.
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