Bashar al-Assad as a poker player
The idea of a left wing government has a dynastic element always seemed like a wrong idea. Clearly there are more to the dynamics than meets the eye but hereditary rule is surely the one thing progressives are against? Anyway, Bashar al-Assad is a beneficiary of this abomination of an idea and it clearly shows. He has no way of surviving for the good of the nation only for his well being and for his entourage.
As a poker player Bashar al-Assad would clearly be a wild crazy fish with a large wedge of money, probably stolen by his dad and a reckless belief that he is entitled to win every time. He plays with gay abandoned because he has a large pot of money to dip in. His losses will not be tolerated but then he goes to the bank (his country’s exchequer) and draws out some more cash to massage his ego. When he wins he see’s that as vindication that he was born to win and when he loses it is due to some evil doing of the person who won.
Bashar al-Assad has no idea of the wrong that he is doing as he was brought up to believe that he was always right and that anything that does not facilitate his will is wrong. He is a bit like your typical royal member. Being showered with the idea that they are brilliant and when they are faced with real competition they will always lose, because they have no concept that they could be wrong or even have doubts that there maybe a different point of view.
The origin of Bashar al-Assad power is quite an interesting one and was all down to the Ba’ath Party which was a pan-Arab movement with a socialist agenda. The movement held sway in Iraq and Syria. That is why Iraq could easily have a war against Iran since they were non Arab (Persians) and they wrapped themselves in a religious fervour (anti-rational). However, in each case the down fall of Ba’athist movement was the reliance on hereditary leadership and the rise of irrational thinking such as people talking to god on a regular basis.
It is quite funny that in an age of great scientific advances and more information than anyone can handle, we have a mass return to illogical thinking, religious hostility and bigotry. I suppose that this is Bashar al-Assad best chance of survival is the last thing the world needs is another religious state which has direct orders from god to go and kill non-believers and take their wealth. It is funny that all the leaders of religious movement always seem to have great wealth and luxury living.