Well, it's happened. Something I certainly never believed could happen in America: we elected an openly dishonest con-man to be our president.
He didn't win the popular vote but neither did George W. Nowadays Republicans need the electoral college to win the presidency because the majority of America really does see the base venality at the core of their party.
What will happen under a Trump presidency? I honestly don't know. What I expect, however, is a quick erosion of rights and human dignity. Old, white men will start claiming dominion over women's bodies and ultimately their lives. Blacks, Hispanics, immigrants will stop being people to many and become talking points. Already Trump paints black neighborhoods as nothing but criminally violent drug arenas.
We have a majority of politicians who don't really know who Americans are and don't really care. They know money and getting paid off and if you think political corruption is bad, let's check in and see it in two years.
The press is already being beggared and they're rolling on their backs like abused dogs and offering their bellies. Hate crimes are rising. Antisemitism is the new black. (Bomb threats galore called into Jewish Community Centers)
I keep saying it will be okay because Trump won't last the four years. But what if I'm wrong? What if Donald Trump becomes the new normal? What if there are enough people in America who prefer hucksterism to actual change?
Walls will be built... but through neighborhoods, schools and churches. People will protest and others will discover that breaking up protests with violence is fun. We'll see more pictures of bloody Americans and headlines claiming the protesters were at fault.
Welcome to the new dark ages folks. There are some candles by the door, grab yours before they all flicker out.
Power is the main thing that drives our history, and not just America, but throughout the world. Always there have been men who could con their way to power, grasp it firmly and refuse to let it go.
ReplyDeleteTrue history is a depressing read and what's even more depressing is that people don't or can't learn from it. (However, it is true that the victors get to write the history; similarly those who grasp power without a war get to do the same. School texts are mostly lies.)
The fall of the Roman empire will be a mere blip in a few years.
History is indeed depressing, and progress (social, moral) is slow--but it happens.
ReplyDeleteIf I may suggest a read... (via Open Culture)