The so-called real world and the imaginary world of the Wheel of Time are becoming intertwoven in my mind, so that I often see each in the other. More importantly, for the sake of this discussion, I’m beginning to see what is happening in our world as a reflection of the Wheel of Time.
I just watched a news reel where the commentator postulated that Trump and MAGA weren’t an accident but were a necessary response to the rapid political shift in the past decade on issues like immigration, crime, education, and national identity. He said that many voters felt as if the country was changing without them, ignoring what they believed in. Trump brought back into focus their basic ideals of secure borders, law enforcement, industry, and national unity.
The commentator further postulated that this mattered from a global perspective since nations competing in the world market need both unity and public trust. When a significant number of voters feel underrepresented, national strength declines and now, as much as ever, we need that strength. As the commentator said, “That’s why Trump functioned less as an anomaly — and more as a political correction. Not just politics. A system adjustment.”
This post isn’t about whether you or I agree with his comments. It’s not even about Trump or MAGA. It’s about the words “response” and “corrective” and “adjustment” and the chord they struck with me because of how they reflect the Wheel of Time.
In the Wheel of Time, there is a phenomenon called ta’verern, which is a necessary response to shifts in the Pattern. The Wheel of Time weaves the Pattern of the Ages, and the threads it uses are lives. When the weave drifts too far from the pattern, it chooses a ta’verern to make adjustments, to correct the weave. Though these people might choose to be leaders, they can’t choose to be ta’verern. The pattern chooses them, and for a while, regardless of what they want, all surrounding threads are forced to swirl around them, like a leaf in a whirlpool. In the case of the Wheel of Time, people hate the ta’verern, fear him, misunderstand him, conspire against him, try to kill him. Some follow him; some even see the truth of what he is trying to do. But love or hate him, he changes all their lives just by being ta’verern. Just by being.
I’m not saying Trump is ta’verern. Of course, I’m not saying he isn’t, either. Still, whether hated or loved, plotted against or followed, he does seem to be a focal point for much that is happening in the world today.
You might not find this reflection of the Wheel of Time amusing, but I do.
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One.
Bertram's Blog 
The “R” Thing
February 19, 2026 — Pat BertramI don’t know if I’ll ever post this because of . . . you know, the “R” thing. Still, I’m writing this for me because I think it’s interesting and because it’s something I’ve been noticing and thinking about.
I mentioned once or twice before that I sometimes listen to conservative black commentators. I started because I wanted to hear what they thought about white liberals insinuating (if not flat out saying) that blacks were too stupid to figure out how to get an ID in order to vote. Interestingly, most of those commentators ignored the issue, as if it had nothing to do with them because of course, it didn’t. The insinuation is merely talk from people who haven’t a clue what they are saying and no concept of how the world works.
I continued watching these commentators because they are smart and informed, they have great sources and resources, and they gave me a different slant on what was happening in this country. I especially wanted to hear things from their point of view rather than from the white liberals who are always telling us what blacks think (or what they should think).
That’s neither here nor there. It’s just something I did. But here’s what’s interesting: suddenly, I’m seeing a lot of these non-white people asking, “Where are the whites?” You’d think (if you listened to liberals) that living in a white-free world is what people of color want, but it isn’t. These commentators want what most of us want — to be known as Americans (or rather, United-States-ians since “American” suddenly means something different from what it always has meant), and they want to be part of a country where the races can intermingle. The first time I heard a mention of disappearing whites was from a black commentator who reviewed the half-time show. She said if it was supposed to be inclusive, “Where are the whites?” And then she admitted she missed seeing them.
Another black woman said that if it’s okay to promote black-owned business, then it should be okay to promote businesses as white-owned, but instead of doing either, she concluded, all these businesses should simply be promoted as “American-owned businesses.”
Then another black commentator noticed a white student being blocked from entering a “multi-cultural” area on campus and pointed out that “multi-cultural” by definition would include whites.
And yet another black commentator mentioned the difference between black pride and white pride — one is hailed as a good thing, the other evil.
And one often tells the history of slavery and mentions that whites are the only ones who fought to get rid of slavery, a practice that has gone on all over the world for thousands of years.
A prevalent comment left on these videos is from whites telling them they are betraying their race. Luckily, the commentators continue to voice their opinions despite this.
It seems ironic (or maybe fitting? I don’t know) in a world that’s trying to erase whites, where whites are made to feel ashamed of their heritage and skin color, where you can’t state simple facts if those facts include “whiteness,” where the European influence on the founding of this country is being overwritten, where an entire generation of white boys have been demonized for things that happened before they were born, it’s blacks who are pointing this out.
Maybe I am that “R” thing as so-called friends on Facebook once railed at me when I merely shared a post by a conservative black commentator who refused to be told what to think simply because her skin was a certain color.
Still, I think it’s an interesting turn of events, and apparently, since you are reading this, I decided it was interesting enough to post here on my blog.
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One.