A different kind of peace plan?

My friend, a nurse, worked most of her career in long-term senior care facilities. She's exactly the kind of person you'd want taking care of your mom or your grandpa. She's gentle, kind, patient. Her patients mattered to her and she liked to make them smile. She knew which ones liked animals, who used to grow beautiful gardens, who'd been teachers or engineers. The nature of her job sometimes required her to work with patients suffering from varying degrees of dementia. The staff, learning quickly that one woman was soothed by carrying a baby doll, made certain she was never without it. Another man, an old soldier in his last hours, received a phone call from "the British government," thanking him for his valiant service in World War II. The call may have come from a nurse in the next room, but it was made with touching kindness and brought him comfort as he was dying. She did not work with many patients requiring more advanced Alzheimer's care, or in memory care units, but I visited one once as part of a series of articles I was researching. I remember the advice the staff adhered to, from the cafeteria workers to the cleaners to the nurses: Always agree. If they say it's 1972, it is. If you are their dead sister Polly, so be it. Aides would gently steer patients back to their rooms as the afternoon fades as many would "sundown," or experience the increased confusion and agitation that can be a hallmark of Alzheimer's or dementia. Memory care units are almost like stage sets. Hallways might have a few items that might trigger memories of brighter days for patients, when they felt younger, more vital: photos of young couples in vintage clothing, an antique table and old-style radio softly playing big band music. "It settles them," the staff told me. "It's something they recognize in their confusion." I started thinking of this recently as I've been watching the news. I'm not saying President Donald Trump has dementia, but some of the tactics used in nursing homes could be effective with him. Trump has always had a loose association with reality, but January was a banner month even for him. He posted a photo of himself as the "acting president of Venezuela." After nonstop ranting about not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, he beamed as the actual recipient, Maria Corina Machado, gave her his. Then came his bizarre address to the assembled world leaders at Davos, Switzerland this week, in which he mixed up Iceland and Greenland, and told many in the audience, which included Germans and many German-language speakers, that if it wasn't for the U.S. they'd "be speaking German," and that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials "called him Daddy." In reality, American stock markets plummeted in response to his many threats to invade Greenland and violate America's pact with NATO. The armies of Europe and Canada were vowing to defend the island nation. And Trump? Earlier he had sent notice to Norway, informing them that due to their Nobel Peace Prize snub despite his "stopping 8 Wars PLUS," he no longer had peace on his mind and would now be taking Greenland for the slight. Never mind that Norway is a nation, not a prize committee, and that it has nothing to do with Greenland, the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark that Trump finally stopped saying he might take by force. Also, for a man who bombed seven countries and is doing his best to antagonize a civil war inside his own country, I question his definition of "peace." It's exhausting living at the whim of a man's ego so delicate that hour by hour we are no longer surprised to hear: Is our once-great nation at war? Have we kidnapped the president of another country? Are we sending our soldiers into our own streets and turning them against our fellow Americans? But then I started thinking of his joy when FIFA — yes, the shady soccer organization — gave him that gaudy "peace prize" last month. Perhaps we should have learned from the obvious and leaned in to the fantasy world the president has tried to convince us of all along. What if we just pacify him with "peace" prizes? What if we fly him to a remote corner of Alaska, hold a ceremony, take lots of photos and tell him it's his now, Greenland gave in? What if, instead of blowing up more "drug boats," we just show him a loop of the deadly attacks they've already done? What if we film pretend takeovers of our major cities and tell him "mission accomplished"? What if reporters begin asking questions of him about the Epstein files as if they were already released, like they were supposed to be by law? He'd likely talk freely then. He has never let reality alter his view before, why would he question it now? I also think of what my nurse friend told me, several times over the years: It settles them when you just agree with their version of reality. They are no longer combative. It's not an ideal solution, but in the absence of a working Congress, I'd say it's the best we have. Think of the peace we could win for ourselves. Contact Chronicle-Telegram columnist Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com.