Day of Awaking, 21st of Childwinter, 526 M.E. (Castor): The Buddha's first noble truth is the existence of suffering. Some people interpret this to mean "all is suffering" or "life is suffering," but I don't see it that way. We have moments of joy, of satisfaction and happiness, and we have moments of sadness, of dissatisfaction and pain. One does not negate the other, but it's the suffering for which we would like a cure.

The Buddha explained suffering as not getting what we want and associating with what we don't want. There are a lot of things with which I don't want to associate, including cancer, my old college roommate's old girlfriend (a nightmare), and car problems. Also, I could do without old age and death even as I recognize their inevitability. 

I once heard someone tell me about a woman here in Atlanta whose wealthy husband provided her with a new BMW every year. She was complaining, however, that financial times were somewhat harder this year, and although her husband still gave her a brand-new BMW this year, it wasn't a top-level M-class model but a lower-tier E- or 2-series car. That sounds shallow and superficial (and it is), but her suffering was real, even if self-imposed - she wasn't getting what she wanted and was suffering as a consequence. 

The Stable Genius wants to "own" Greenland. Never mind that the Greenlandic people have no interest in being "owned" by the U.S., or that it is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, which does not consider the territory up for sale to anybody. Never mind that Denmark, a member of NATO,  has been fully accommodating to the U.S. with regard to military bases, and has said it will grant the US permission for more bases and additional troops, and would be glad to cooperate with mineral sales and extraction. The U.S., in short, could do almost anything within reason it wants in Greenland, it just can't own it.

And that's a BMW 228i that just doesn't satisfy the Stable Genius. A malignant narcissist and a full-blown megalomaniac, he simply can't accept "no" as an answer, and telling him he can't buy Greenland just makes him want it all the more. Like that ridiculous BMW lady, he's suffering because he isn't getting what he wants. His goal is ludicrous - it's arguably better to have full access to a territory without all the responsibilities that come with ownership. But someone said "no" to him, and his ego just cannot accept that.

So he's suffering, but the difference between his suffering and yours and mine is that he has full command of the U.S. military. And the nuclear launch codes. And a much lower resistance to disappointment and pain than like 99% of the human race. Combine that with limited intelligence and stunted maturity, and we  have a problem, and now we're all suffering due to the pervasive presence of a President with whom we don't want to associate.