Trump has been reelected to the Presidency and people from friendly nations are asking: 'What happened?'
The election has left me enraged and depressed. Why? It's not just that Trump was elected to another term as President. It is that his election is a reflection of who we are as Americans. And what really hurts is that many of the people who supported him share my my religious faith.
The election between Trump and Harris involved multiple choices. Below are a list of choices that I observed. There are other choices which I have yet to recognize.
Partisanism vs objectivity
Talk to a Trump supporter, not just one who is a Trump voter, and you will easily detect a double standard. That double standard was best described by a black podcaster who attributed the standard to the protection of 'whiteness.' Below is part of statement. Unfortunately, I got this statement from Facebook and no name was given to the podcaster that I saw. If anyone knows who said it, then leave a comment so I can edit the article and give him/her credit for the statement:
He can't say enough racist things to be a racist. He can't commit enough crimes to be a criminal. He can't fail enough times to be a failure. He can't say enough stupid things to be stupid. The "christian savior" who doesn't know the bible...and steals from charities. It's the promise of the protection of whiteness he represents.
As I talked to one Trump supporter about whether Trump is a fascist and he said that the signs I presented raised no red flags for himself. What were those signs? They included being described as a fascist by at least two generals who worked with him during his first presidency, mental health experts from prestigious institutions who have said that he possesses dangerous levels of narcissism and authoritarianism, that Trump has expressed admiration for and even jealousy of dictators from both the past and the present to which he added that he wants the same kind of yes-man generals that Hitler had and that he wanted Americans to respond to him like North Koreans respond to Kim Jung-un, up until January 6th he tried to pressure the then Vice President into shirking his constitutional duties regarding the recognition of electoral votes, and there is January 6, 2021 and his attempt to overthrow a fair election. BTW regarding his comments about wanting Americans to be like North Koreans in how they react to their leader, he later said he was kidding. But why say that at all?
Now I asked the same Trump supporter about the criteria Trump used to determine that both Biden and Hillary were crooked. Realize that Trump was indicted and convicted in courts of law by citizens, most, if not all, of whom were not politicians. Then compare that with the Republican House of Representatives efforts to convict or put on trial both Biden and Hillary. With the slack they give to Trump, how is it that his supporters agree with his pronouncements on Biden and Hillary?
We may or may not attribute the disparity in standards that Trump supporters are using when evaluating any of the Democrats to any racial reasons like the black podcaster cited earlier in this article. But we don't have to show that partisanship was passionately embraced, fondled, and was united by many of Trump's supporters. The disparity in the criteria they used to judge both Trump and the Democrats is obvious. And it is that disparity that qualifies Trump supporters as to favoring partisanship over objectivity.
Simplicity vs Reality
I get it. Changes in times from being good to being hard causes many to find simple explanations for their change in fortune. We could scream 'WAFNA,' but some need more relief than that to adjust to changing times. And so they look for a scapegoat and a scapegoat for inflation did Trump supporters find: Biden and the Democrats. We should note that the post pandemic inflation has seriously hurt many individuals, couples, and families. The pain they suffered was and still is real--though inflation is now at around 2.5%. But putting that figure into context, a lower inflation rate with prices remaining high minimizes the significance of the drop in the inflation rate.
And as with the immigration crisis, Biden and the Democrats responded slowly. Their response to inflation appeared not to arrive from the horizon until the Harris campaign. And their response was the same kind of response that the Trump campaign had only with a different target. Whereas the Trump campaign scapegoated Biden and the Democrats, the Harris campaign scapegoated corporations with the charge of price gouging.
In reality, and both campaigns knew this, inflation is more of a product of supply and demand. And what the pandemic caused were failures in the supply chain which had little effect during the pandemic because the lockdowns had lowered the demand. But once the lockdowns ended, demand, especially for gasoline, shot up while fixing the failures in the supply chain took time. And one of the basic causes of inflation is when demand significantly outpaces the supply.
Of course there were other causes for inflation. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and its response by the West caused global supply problems for both grain that would normally come from Ukraine and fuel.
And corporate price gouging did not have to be employed for corporations to contribute to the rate of inflation because our economy is a shareholder-first economy. In other words, since our economy is based on maximizing profits for shareholders, especially major ones, the drive to increase revenue in order to eternally increase the ROI for shareholders is a natural influence that has organic ties to both the shrinkflation and the inflation we saw after the lockdowns ended.
Scapegoating is a simpleminded approach to finding relief during hard times. It is natural for all of us to believe that there is a single, and accessible, silver bullet that can ease our pain. And in this election, attributing causes for inflation or solutions for immigration, have simple causes and solutions. But reality is complex. And so those who bought into the scapegoating have basically denied reality. But they have done so out of fear. They fear the complexity that reality brings. Because what is implied by that complexities that the solution to our problems sometimes remain either out of reach or comes at too high a price.
Single issue voters also have often chosen simplicity over reality.
Democracy with Equality vs Authoritarianism with Hierarchy
Most of the West, that is all of Europe and the US, is experiencing a hard challenge to whatever degree of democracy that exists from authoritarianism with hierarchy. We should note that equality and democracy go together like love and marriage. We should also note that arrogance and ignorance go together like love and marriage too.
If equality and democracy go together like love and marriage, then we should distinguish the disparity in time that exists between America as just a nation from America as a democracy. But with that said, to whatever degree that the Western nations have had democracy with equality, it is now being strongly challenged by authoritarianism with hierarchy. And the latter was the winner in the 2024 Presidential election.
Here we should note that democracy without equality is just another form of authoritarianism with hierarchy only the hierarchy is some group of people who are defined by ethnicities, economic class, or the combination of the two. With many in America who believe that America was founded to be a Christian nation, it follows that today's America belongs to them more than it belongs to the other American citizens.
Here, authoritarianism with hierarchy received a shot of adrenalin from the 2015 Obergefell decision. It was from that point, that choices like the Benedict Option were being proposed so that Christians could wait in the wings until they returned to their "rightful" place of power and influence and restore Christendom. Here we should note that there are various degrees of control over society that Christendom could exercise.
What many of Christian supporters are not aware of is that, if my reading of the situation is right, Trump is more in favor of an oligarchy in Russia with religious overtones. What is meant by religious overtones is that there will be just enough religious favors and influence allowed in his policies in order for him to garner their "eternal" voting support. And so even if there is a partial restoration of Christendom in America under Trump's reign, it will play second fiddle to meeting the whims and wishes of some of America's corporate and financial elites.
Why do these fellow religiously conservative Christian brothers and sisters of mine favor authoritarianism with hierarchy over democracy with equality. It is because in a country in which they believe was created to be a Christian nation, they believe that this nation is not big enough for these brothers and sisters in Christ to share with unbelievers. That allowing such people to live in equality my fellow religiously conservative Christians as equals brings down the value of their nation. Please note here note not all religiously conservative American Christians embrace this inequality. But just as an overwhelming percentage of white, evangelicals voted for Trump in 2024, so too do a vast majority of my fellow religiously conservative Christians embrace authoritarianism with hierarchy.
In addition, we should note the emphasis that religiously conservative Christianity rightfully place on the need for Christians to follow the authority figures and structures that God has placed over them. Because of this emphasis, many or my fellow religiously conservative Christians have a problem with turning off the submission to authorities switch. As a result, not only do my fellow believers have problems seeing the place that equality could have in society, they can't distinguish between a biblical following of authority figures and structures from authoritarianism. That the latter exhibits both a heavy-handed form of centralized leadership along with hostile reactions to differences of opinions expressed by outsiders. Some of my fellow religiously conservative Christians have so passionately embraced authoritarianism that they believe that they have everything to teach unbelievers and nothing to learn from them. Such an attitude, in a more general setting was rightfully called arrogant and unjust by Martin Luther King Jr. At this point, my fellow religiously conservative American Christians should note that arrogance and faith are in a cotoxic relationship.
In the West, authoritarianism with hierarchy is taking various different ethnic forms. In America and parts of Eastern Europe the driving ethnicity in the pursuit of authoritarianism with hierarchy is religion--and yes, religion is considered to be an ethnicity. But in other Western nations, race, ancestry, language, and national origin are more important ethnic driving factors than religion.
Unfortunately, America has fallen to authoritarianism with hierarchy. For how long, no one knows. But it could be for significant length of time.
Opportunism vs Being Principled
From using outdated statistics to ignoring the context in which policies were pursued, opportunism did well. But that means us for us voters, principles were ignored, Both sides jumped at the chance to misrepresent the views and performances of the other side. Trump's tariffs, regardless of their problems, are not a national sales tax. On the other hand, it was supply-chain problems and post-lockdown spikes in demand that were most responsible for our inflation rather than the Democratic Party's government spending. In addition, while inflation at its highest rate is around 9.1 percent, it is now around 2.6 persent. But that change was not recognized in the advertisements.
Likewise, immigration had lessened but the Repubs did not publicly acknowledge that. Nor did the Repubs compare the crime rates of immigrants with that of natural born American citizens. And while Trump pushed the idea that the immigrants were only coming from mental health facilities and prisons, the reality is different. Many immigrants are trying to escape violence and poverty that was contributed to by US foreign policies.
And so here is the the issue for us voters. If a candidate is willing to cheat and lie to get into office, why should we expect them to be any different while in office?
Democracy vs Consumer Society
This final category has been inspired by the following Martin Luther King Jr. quote:
'We must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.'
King's assessment was made on the basis of his observing his times. The question becomes does his analysis still hold true? Consider this past Presidential election. What was most pressing on the minds of the majority of Americans? Was it the rights and needs of immigrants who are trying to escape poverty and/or violence, much of which was significantly contributed to by US policies? Was it the rights and needs of the LGBT community, which is just now beginning to achieve a fuller equality in society on their minds? Was Trump's antagonism and and threats against CRT, woke, and some modern forms of Marxism all of which concerns itself greatly with equality and social justice on the minds of the majority of voters more than inflation? Did the majority of voters care at all about the equal speech rights about those who promote CRT, woke and some modern forms of Marxism all of which are being explicitly threatened by Trump?
The majority of the voters cared about their pocketbooks and wallets more than about the equal rights of others. It's not that for many of those voters, their financial concerns are without merit. But those voters never expressed concern for the equal rights of others. And so it seems that King's claim still holds true.
What is this article about? It is a long-winded version of George Carlin's sentiments on elections. He stated that selfish, ignorant people elect selfish, ignorant leaders. And that is what this past election was about. That the election of Donald Trump is a reflection on the American people more than on any other thing. And it isn't until we reverse both our selfishness and our deliberate ignorance that we will see a change in American politics.
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