Originally Posted by flylock shox
I think your last sentence here speaks to a core problem with the American electorate: they've had it too good for too long and, accordingly, can't appreciate the privileges they enjoy. They simply take them for granted.
"What do you have to lose?" That's the line that Trump fed inner-city communities, but it's also the way a lot of the people who voted for him felt, i.e., things aren't great or getting better under Obama, so I'm willing to roll the dice on any chance because I've got nothing to lose.
I reckon anyone who comes from a war-torn or third world country would love to slap those people upside the head because they know what it's like to struggle, to not have democracy, to have their environments and their rights eroded, to live under authoritarian rule, to deal every day with propaganda from their governments, restrictions on their ability to vote or travel, and to continually watch the resources of the state being stripped down to benefit the powerful.
Americans - even poorer ones - have a lot to lose, but they're so removed from the experience of say, Somalis, Iranians, Syrians, Yugoslavians, Afghanis, that they think they have nothing to lose, and don't know what it's like to see their country actually go all to hell. So they're willing to take a chance on a clear authoritarian like Trump. An obvious Xenophobe. A likely racist. An unapologetic misogynist. A prolific liar. A tiresome narcissist. A man with fantastical promises - delivered with no explanation for how they'll be achieved - that even his supporters didn't really believe he'd actually follow through on.
Donald Trump is a bad person. It was obvious during the campaign, and it continues to be obvious today. "Change for the sake of change" is not a good reason to equip a bad person with the power to destroy not only the social and political institutions of one's own country, but the ability to destroy the actual, real-life, no-bull$#!+, mother%#$%^&% entire world. It is insanely, irrationally, crazily, suicidally irresponsible.
And even if you don't care about whether he takes your healthcare away, or lies to you daily about things that matter (like whether your democracy's voting system is rigged or whether his predecessor committed crimes) as well as things that don't (like the size of his crowds, hands, and penis), it is not only irresponsible but reprehensible that you would not care that he takes the rights of other people away, plays upon the prejudices and fears of the white majority, and foments hatred against Mexicans, Muslims, and any other group of brown-skinned people that might serve as a convenient fabricated enemy.
Those voters who failed to do this, who failed to consider the obvious impact this man was going to have on their country and the people in it - even if they were other people - and who voted for this guy "for the sake of change" or "for $#!+$ and giggles", need to take a long hard look at themselves and figure out what, if any, principles they actually stand for.
And the crazy thing is, even if those voters can look inward and honestly say "you know what, I'm in it for me, and screw everybody else", Trump is still a bad option because, unless they're rich and white he doesn't have those voters' backs either.
All that to say, I think we dearly miss the greatest generation. They fought and stood for something. It's a shame so many people today seem willing to throw those efforts and achievements - not to mention selfless sacrifice for the sake of others - to the wind, unconcerned about whether the civil society they created blows away for good.
But yeah. Hillary seemed kind of fake. That would have been way worse.
|