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.
***
Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One.
Bertram's Blog 