Communicating

AMONG LIVE'S MOST FULFILLING experiences is meaningful communication. Meaningful communication with another sentient being, human or otherwise, with whom, for whatever reason meaningful communication is desirable. To finally feel the thrill of letting that feral cat or fox letting you get close to it. The first formal words spoken between new neighbors. A former friend from long ago, with whom you have been long estranged, finally sharing a pleasant word or two with you, even if you know it will never happen again. Thus must President Trump and North Korean supreme leader Un have experienced, must have felt something like this a few days ago when they shook hands at the border between North and south Korea, then walked a few feet into North Korean territory, and a few feet back into South Korean territory, making this the first time an American president has ever set foot inside North Korea. At least, we can hope they both felt that way; of the exhilaration of unexpected, successful communication, at long last consummated. For this, they both deserve credit. Even if the moment was purely staged, purely symbolic, purely theatrical, they both deserve credit, if noting else, for having done it, for having been there. It was enough to give the rest of us momentary hope, enough hope to hope that there might be mope, and the pensive wish that there had been more, sooner, between he two, with each other, and with many others, including us. Mr. Trump especially is well known for his normally ineffective communication, for his habit of slandering and insulting people, of engaging in barrages of verbal conflict with much of the rest of humanity, for his broken grammar, poorly constructed non sentences, and for his juvenile sounding phraseology. For him to simply shake hands with an adversarial world leader and to exchange a few civil sentences seems like a small step for one man, a giant leap for international diplomacy. The moment was fleeting, less than an hour, likely won't be repeated or enhanced, and, most obviously of all, entirely without substance. the truth is that Trump has accomplished very little with the North Koreans, let we lose sight, among all the smiles and handshakes, that the purpose is to convince Un to dismantle his nuclear arsenal, the ultimate purpose is to convince all nations to dismantle and destroy all their nuclear arsenals. Mr. Trump has come far, in a sense. He has come from hurling insults and threats at the North Korean leader to praising him as a person o whom he can talk, a person he likes. And might be much less than it seem.s Trump seems to have acquired the habit of destroying relationships, then repairing them, then giving himself credit for the repair work. What that means is that after all the bluster and fuss, he comes full circle, right back to where he was and should have been; with an opportunity for progress, but no real progress to show for it. Trump is no closer to disarming North Korea, nor anybody else in the world, than he was when he took office, no closer than Obama, Clinton, or any other American president ever was. What he has accomplished so far is nothing but symbolic bluster, with no tangible results. But who knows? maybe, just maybe, out of all the sound and fury, when all the hot air has finally died down, Trump will have accomplished the noble cause of making the world a tiny bit more peaceful and safer. At this point such a prospect seems little closer than ever, and indeed seems highly doubtful. but, who knows?