One of the school assignments my grandkids had this summer was to read Animal Farm by George Orwell. We all decided to read it and hold a mini book group to discuss it. We were all shocked to notice how prescient Orwell was 80 years ago. My granddaughter found the last sentence of the book to be the most stunning: “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” The question I have is, how close are we to not being able to discern the difference?
To our surprise, the edition we read had a foreword by Ann Patchett, which she wrote in 2003. She was reflecting on the parallels in Animal Farm to Nixon’s Watergate crimes in 1975. She cleverly crafted comparisons between the abuse of power in the Nixon administration and political corruption described in Orwell’s classic. Little did she know that Nixon was just a warm-up act.
What was jolting to me was the reminder that Orwell published his book in 1945 to expose the horrors of Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco. While we haven’t yet seen the human toll of their authoritarian regimes in our new reality, we are seeing a level of cruelty and brutality that can lead to atrocity if it is not stopped.
To provoke a deeper discussion with my grandkids, I distributed the characters in Animal Farm on the 9 points of the Enneagram Personality Test. It turns out that Napoleon, the authoritarian pig, was a type 8, which describes the characteristics of a “boss man” or tyrant. Snowball, who was advancing an idealistic vision of what life might look like without white men in charge, was a type 1 reformer or improver. The dogs, who enforced Napoleon’s power, were type 2’s who, in their distorted view of being “helpers,” simply acted as fools and tools of the regime. The sheep were type 9’s who were committed to keeping the “peace” even if that meant being obsequious cowards. If you haven’t read Animal Farm lately or taken the enneagram personality test, I highly recommend it. You will find the book more chilling and disturbing than when you read it the first time and the test enlightening if you haven’t taken it.
If you can’t find the time for either, here’s my view of how the themes are playing out in our country now: The pigs have unleashed the dogs, the sheep are not only gleefully watching it happen but also singing the chorus, the Reformers have been sidelined, and the loyal workhorses (type 6’s) keep working harder and harder even though they will ultimately be sacrificed to enrich the pigs. Fortunately, we have some workhorses, like Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, and Wes Moore, who remain loyal to our constitution and are delivering sharp rebukes to Trump’s abuses of power.
As someone who lived through Vietnam and the Watergate trauma, I’m saddened that what we are witnessing now reveals how little we have learned since then. The lessons of Vietnam were forgotten in Iraq and Afghanistan. The lessons of Watergate have been erased in MAGA-gate. It seems to me that too many people don’t even realize we have passed through another gate into an unknown world. As bad as those times were (I never thought I would say it), I’m actually missing Nixon and Reagan and Bush.
Look, I have examined my privilege; I have tried to reconcile my ideal self with my real self; I have made an effort to find quiet in the midst of noise, and I have tried to stay focused on timeless issues instead of daily disasters. AND, I still feel the need to name as clearly as I can what is happening. If you want to hear a blinding glimpse of the obvious, listen to the Ezra Klein podcast on August 27, 2025. He describes in vivid detail how Trump is building his own paramilitary force. What we are seeing, in Klein’s words, is memeified fascism. For example, we are naming inhumane and unjust detention camps Speedway Slammer, Alligator Alcatraz, Cornhuster Clinker, and Deportation Depot as if the names were clever and something to be joked about. I don’t need to expand. We get daily gut reminders that democracy is under assault.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump remains a free man. He is not only free from the clinker but also free from conscience, free from care, free from consequence, and free of any competence required to build long-term trust-based relationships. He operates with impunity, immunity, and rapidly diminishing acuity. And he has lived his whole life with a free pass.
Essentially, impunity implies a lack of accountability for harmful actions, while immunity involves legal protection. Acuity refers to the level of a person’s sharpness or keenness of thought and the degree to which it affects daily functioning.
People acting with impunity often ignore laws, ethical standards, or accountability, which can lead to a range of negative consequences. For example, politicians engaging in corruption may use their power for personal gain—undermining public trust, diverting public funds, and eroding democratic institutions. Leaders may misuse their authority to suppress opposition, manipulate elections, or violate human rights, leading to political instability and repression. Officials may bypass legal processes, resulting in injustice, miscarriages of justice, and a loss of public confidence in the justice system. Sound familiar?
In Trump v. United States (2024), the Supreme Court decided (6-3) that any president had immunity during his or her presidency. This ruling established that presidents have some immunity from criminal prosecution, but it does not grant total immunity for all crimes. The court created a three-tiered framework: absolute immunity for acts tied to a president’s “core” or “exclusive” presidential powers, presumptive immunity for other “official acts” taken while in office, and no immunity for “unofficial” or private acts.
The Court also ruled that individual judges could no longer issue blocks on government actions nationwide. In another decision, the court overruled Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. NRDC (1984) by ruling courts, not agencies, should decide legal questions based on their own judgment, reducing the authority of federal agencies over legal interpretation. This change limits the scope of agency discretion previously afforded by the Chevron doctrine. It also undermines the power of civil service professionals to exercise discretion based on their deep experience and expertise. All of these decisions put more power in the executive branch and courts, which, in this case, frees Trump to act unilaterally and to assign loyalists who will do his bidding without the “interference of experts.” Perhaps even more dangerous, this administration believes it has immunity from facts and science.
The consequences of impunity and immunity are in direct proportion to the amount of power the person wields. In our current reality, Trump’s tsunami of actions has eroded democratic norms and institutions, corrupted the integrity of the office, suppressed dissent, and violated human rights, leaving in its wake political instability, social unrest, and the loss of public trust in government.
Compounding the problems of impunity and immunity, Trump’s acuity is limited to bullying, bluffing, blustering, and babbling incoherently on social media. As a student of leadership for 50 years, I am seeing almost zero competence in any characteristics that matter to me, for example, humility, honesty, and humor.
In Animal Farm, Snowball emerges as the visionary architect of the animals’ rebellion. In the Enneagram framework, he embodies the idealistic drive to create a just, principled, and orderly society. Snowball believes in the power of collective effort and is committed to building a culture of interdependence, where each animal contributes to and benefits from the common good. His visionary leadership is most evident in his plans for the windmill, which symbolizes innovation, shared prosperity, and a future where animals would work less and live better through cooperation and technological progress.
However, Snowball’s reformist zeal and reliance on rational persuasion make him vulnerable in a world where raw power often prevails. Napoleon, representing authoritarian pragmatism, undermines Snowball’s leadership by exploiting fear, propaganda, and force. Instead of allowing Snowball’s interdependent vision to flourish, Napoleon drives him out, labeling him a traitor and scapegoat. With Snowball’s exile, the farm loses its chance at building a cooperative society guided by ideals of fairness and mutual responsibility. His sidelining demonstrates how easily visionary reformers can be displaced by those who manipulate insecurity and consolidate power, turning potential cultures of interdependence into hierarchies of control. We are in desperate need of more Snowballs who won’t melt away in the heat of battle or get torched in the process.
I’m hoping that, at some point, Trump’s free pass will be revoked and he will suffer the consequences of his behaviors. I’m hoping that Ann Patchett will write a new foreword to a new release of Animal Farm that describes what is happening today as well as she showed the parallels between 1945 and 1975. And I’m hoping my grandkids will continue to discern the difference between piggish behavior and humane actions. May it be so.
P.S. In case you are interested, here’s a chart that shows the primary positive and negative characteristics of each of the nine Enneagram types:
| Type | Primary Positive Characteristics | Primary Negative Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (The Reformer) | Ethical, diligent, reliable | Critical, perfectionist, judgmental |
| 2 (The Helper) | Caring, empathetic, generous | People-pleasing, possessive, needy |
| 3 (The Achiever) | Ambitious, adaptable, energetic | Image-conscious, competitive, overly concerned with success |
| 4 (The Individualist) | Creative, authentic, sensitive | Melancholic, self-absorbed, moody |
| 5 (The Investigator) | Analytical, independent, insightful | Detached, aloof, reluctant to share feelings |
| 6 (The Loyalist) | Loyal, responsible, cautious | Anxious, suspicious, indecisive |
| 7 (The Enthusiast) | Optimistic, spontaneous, adventurous | Impulsive, distracted, avoidant of pain |
| 8 (The Challenger) | Assertive, confident, Protective | Domineering, aggressive, confrontational |
| 9 (The Peacemaker) | Calm, accepting, patient | Apathetic, complacent, indecisive |
Wow! One of your best my friend! Thank you!
amazing, thank you!