Yes, it is one in the same, Donald Drumpf, AKA The Donald. I have been pondering how incredible his ascendancy is. Back in January I wrote about the rise of the amateur and in particular the rise of the amateur musicians who fancy themselves true musicians and they lack any kind of theoretical background. Well, what we are seeing now in Mr. Trump is the rise of another type of amateur. A true amateur, not merely a dilettante. And a huckster, a showman and a buffoon. And factor into this the angry white vote, the voters who feel disenfranchised by their shrinking majority, the latent and overt racism and fascist inclinations. Yes, all this has given us Donald Trump. His followers are what is the worse about this country. Let them spout their hatred of immigrants, the xenophobia. And harken back to the mid-nineteenth century and the xenophobia of the Know Nothing Party. And think for a minute what the name of that party proudly boasts. Know Nothing (and they did). I think we are seeing the rebirth of the Know Nothings in the guise of a populist movement that has more in common with the KKK than with the Republican Party, the Grand Old Party, the party that forever banished the insidious taint of slavery. That taint of slavery that is still with us today. The Republicans spout crazed theories about reversed discrimination but what you really hear is them losing their grip on the locus of power. Having an African American as a president has not magically eliminated the racist overtones in the national conversation. They can proudly point to that presidency while holding the police state of Ferguson, Missouri intact.
All this has me worried. As a student of history I am overwhelmed by Mr. Trump's politics. His shameful pandering to the lowest common denominator. His statement, which honest to God was "I love the uneducated" should have been considered slanderous and not a compliment for his supporters to embrace. They are the Know Nothings. They spew venom in the name of free speech but it is very much akin to yelling fire in a crowded theater.
Let's consider the oxymoron that is Trump and his followers. Here is a billionaire who has played the system brilliantly, going through bankruptcy not once, twice or three times. Four bankruptcies (five if you count his moral state). Yet his followers adore his role as an outsider and a shrewd businessman. Conniving is more like it.
Now let it be said I am a Hillary supporter. I like Bernie but not enough to vote for him. Yes, Hillary is a little too hawkish for me, but Bernie is a little too pie in the sky. Here is my platform. I think we should abolish the graduated income tax and replace it with a 10% flat tax (Shades of Henry George). I would love to see health care reform in the guise of a single payer plan, much like Medicare. I would love to see universal free education through college. A 10% flat tax with no loop holes would provide the revenue to rebuild out crumbling infrastructure and guarantee free college and health care for all Americans. A flat tax would be more equitable and would ensure the wealthy would actually pay their fair share. Bernie is the idea man but I believe Hillary could execute the changes necessary to rebuild our country. We need to remake America, not make it great again.
What country gave us the notion of universal education (Hint: it isn't in Europe)? What country gave us the New Deal that built this nation back from the brink of poverty? I have been to Europe, East and West, and I am amazed by their progressive models that they have liberally taken from the American Ideals. Granted they have a more homogeneous population than the United States but we need to use that diversity to our betterment. Not exclude whole segments of the population from basic human and humane rights. We need a Roosevelt and not a Trump. We need anyone but him.
Trump, again, is a laughing stock in Europe and our neighbor to the north, O' Canada, who are proudly building their wall to keep out the flood of Americans they will see flocking to their borders if Trump is elected (See: www.maplematch.com ). The Right is even blaming the Left for the rise of Trump but, baby, it is all on them. The Know Nothings.
What we need to do to avoid a Trump presidency, which might see the end of the Republican Party as we know it, is to GET OUT AND VOTE and GET OUT THE VOTE. I am hoping I am preaching to the choir. Enough with the name calling of Trump. Let us engage as a country to defeat the evil empire of ANGRY WHITE MEN... I am often criticized for my liberal politics, my PC stances but I hold them near and dear. I believe this country has better things to do than to devolve fifty years, nay sixty years, for the good old days of the 1950s. The days when there was segregation and Jim Crow Laws. And yet under an African American president we saw the gutting of voting rights laws. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was needed and still is needed to ensure all Americans, regardless of race, gender, or economic state, be treated equally UNDER THE LAW. We need to rekindle that spirit and build on what is good with America. Get out and vote.
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