Trump: The Perfect Storm
As a Canadian, I find it hard not to sit back with condemnation of what we see happening to our neighbors in the South. There is probably no political race that has us buzzing around the water cooler like this one. Sure, we all sat back in awe as the United States ushered in an African American POTUS but even that didn’t polarize us like this current spectacle.
I think many of us witnessed just how deep the anger runs, in watching what can only be described as a freak show at a carnival — with Donald being the ring master. The adjectives, whether founded or not run from bigot to misogynist, xenophobe, corrupt, arrogant, narcissistic and the list goes on. The anger hit one of our University campuses this week when a young man felt that anger and, possibly the fear of the masses when he chose to wear a hat with the slogan “make America great again.”
I don’t want to talk about freedom of speech. I want to make that clear right now. Do I believe the young man had the right to wear the hat? Yes. Do I believe that hat promotes hate? Absolutely not. Whether the man’s motive for wearing that hat was a statement on his beliefs or merely to stir the pot — he has every right to wear and express himself as he sees fit. To use conjecture to suggest this person is a bigot because of a slogan that may or may not refer to racial purity is absurd at best.
What I find interesting about the state of the political mess in the United States right now is that it is completely self imposed. A system that has been procured and groomed almost to perfection over the past 50 years. It’s two party system, it’s derisiveness and it’s absolute reliance on a corporately run media system to promote a closed and questionable Democratic system.
You can’t blame Donald for using the system as it was designed. He’s the master puppeteer. The media is the puppet. If you take a moment to really sit back and watch what he’s done over the past year, it should be no surprise that we are now on the precipice of watching one of the most dangerous individuals, probably since Hitler, take control of one of the most powerful nations on Earth.
There is nothing more dangerous than underestimating your opponent. Going into this race, many dismissed Donald and his buffoonish ways. Early on, all his opponents laughed and openly mocked him and, the media parroted this.
Who has the last laugh now? Anyone really think that Donald doesn’t know or understand the optics of what he’s put forth? Say what you want about him — based on his actions and what the media has told you — he didn’t get this far because he’s a moron. And based on some of his campaign theatrics, it’s doubtful he’s a racist unless he’s one of the most evil sociopaths the world has ever seen.
As an armchair critic, sitting back and watching this all play out; I can’t help thinking that his campaign, while highly unusual has actually been developed, scripted and produced for television consumption. Like season after season of his wildly successful television show, the script panders to the lowest common denominator. People love drama. They love conflict. They tune in to see a good fight.
The Perfect Storm. The two party system (when in fact there are 2 more candidates) put forth by the media and both candidates are questionable, highly unlikable and…wait a minute. Is Donald really unlikable? The current polls suggest otherwise. And as for Hillary, she is almost completely unlikable because of all the controversy surrounding her. She lies. Everyone knows she lies but…she’s a woman. She’s a strong woman. Maybe we should give her a chance…no, wait. That’s not it. If we don’t vote for her — the other option is simply not bearable.
There is a small segment of the American population that are being referred to as spoilers. Those people who are intelligent enough to realize that it’s not a two party system and that they actually can park their vote somewhere else. I remember not too many years ago when friends of mine told me a vote for Nenshi was a wasted vote. The internet and social media turned politics on its ass that day. If you’re not from Calgary and don’t know the reference, I would suggest a quick google search.
The rhetoric is much the same. Only yesterday I was reading a piece from Bernie Sanders where he tells anyone thinking of voting for Libertarian or Green that their votes are being wasted and they could be responsible for Trump getting into office. His suggestion being that they get behind Hillary and, once she wins the election, they can move forward to improving America and the system. Where have we heard that before?
I hate to break it to you but, barring Trump dying mysteriously or getting assassinated — he will be the next president. The movement is simply too strong and his campaign has so much momentum that it would take grievous misfortune to change the plot of this story.
Watching the media scramble in an attempt to stave off the inevitable has been as entertaining as the race itself. It’s too late and I suspect they know this. In this era of online accessibility and social media, people no longer rely on the direction they are being given. Something the mainstream once relied on is now defunct. Sure, there are still pockets of people out there that consider what they’re being fed as gospel but there is a major shift. Those who are fed up with the old system, the old boys club, the back room favors and the lies are willing to throw the dice. The gamble being that Trump will be far more transparent and forthcoming and that perhaps, he may be the tipping point to “Make America Great Again”.
Personally, I don’t think America has a choice. Hillary is just as scary and perhaps more dangerous. The idealist in me wishes that, like here in Calgary, they found the underdog and flew in the face of the system and brought it down. In the 11th hour, it would be amazing if the people of America tuned out the noise of the upcoming debates and put all their energies into one of the two alternate candidates…but I’m smart enough to know that kind of stuff only happens in the movies.
Whatever happens, let’s just cross our fingers that the collateral damage (of being their closest neighbor and ally) is limited regardless of which of these two get elected.
