America and The Sonny Corleone Trap

A quick take on my concerns that we're walking into a trap

Watching events unfold in the Middle East, I have been reminded of a scene in the original The Godfather film. Or specifically, one story arc that culminates in the death of the Godfather's eldest son, Sonny Corleone. It is a famous, iconic scene that most people will be familiar with. Sonny, played by a young James Caan, drives up to a toll-booth on a causeway; the operator ducks for cover, and stereotypical gangsters with Tommy guns pop up on either side of Sonny and open fire, riddling him with bullets.

The scene in which the Godfather, Vito Corleone, laments his son’s death in the morgue by stating “look how they massacred my boy” has become something of an internet meme. However, what tends to be less regarded is the wider trap laid for Sonny, which ultimately results in his death.

In the narrative, Sonny’s hot temper, rage, and impulsive nature intimidate and scare the rival Barzini family. Having incapacitated the Godfather himself, they now find they have to deal with Sonny, who is a bit of a loose cannon.

Sonny’s volatile nature is displayed for all to see when he receives a call from his sister, Connie, who informs him that her husband, Carlo, has beaten her. Sonny drives, enraged, to their apartment, whereupon he proceeds to beat Carlo half to death in public. Despite his father chastising him earlier for not controlling himself in public and letting others see what he’s thinking, Sonny has done just that.

The Corleone family’s enemies now have more insight into Sonny’s psychology. Not only is he impulsive, violent, and prone to anger, but he is also profoundly devoted to his sister and his family, and he will throw caution to the wind if the right buttons are pushed.

Thus, the Barzini family recruits Carlo and orders him to beat Connie again. The bait is laid carefully in the trap, and true to form, Sonny rejects appeals to calm down and rushes off to kill Carlo, not knowing that men with less scruples have calculated his exact move.

Sonny’s arc in The Godfather is something of a retelling of Achilles’ story in Ovid. Achilles’ hubris and rampage after the death of Patroclus reveal to his enemies a weakness. Or, more famously, his heel.

Few people would dispute that Donald Trump is one of the most impulsive and bombastic politicians on the world stage in recent history. Similarly, few people would dispute that the Western elites, and the American elites in particular, show unwavering loyalty and devotion to Israel. They’re proud of it and signal this at every given opportunity.

We can assume, then, that if we have noticed that, then so too have others around the world. Trump’s impulsive nature, combined with America’s slavish devotion to Israel, may not exactly strike the same tones as a tough guy defending his sister from becoming a battered wife. Still, it amounts to something similar in a geopolitical sense. It is a weakness that can be exploited, not a strength.

One can delve into the broader incentives such as China’s Belt and Road project, Russia’s losses in Ukraine (primarily due to American and European armaments), and the wider emerging ‘‘Great Game’’ of the 21st Century. Still, one would have to be naive indeed not to place oneself in the offices and strategy planning of the BRICS nations and view the mountain passes and plains of Persia as potential killing fields for America’s hubris and arrogance.

Is this a prediction? No. It is a concern. The fact is that Western elites have become predictable and arrogant. They’ve become prideful, and, unfortunately, I fear that white boys from Alabama and even perhaps Teesside will bear the brunt of that fall.