Our country is experiencing incredible turmoil, the likes of which I have not seen in my lifetime. I was too young to comprehend the war in Vietnam, and I was born during the final years of the Civil Rights Movement; it’s possible that those periods manifested the same mood of fear and hate that is so ubiquitous today. I personally did not experience that. Now, I am struggling to understand the disturbing behavior of so many of our citizens.
Politics have held little interest to me over the course of my life, perhaps with the exception of the television show, “The West Wing.” The show portrays a president, Jed Bartlet, whom is extremely intelligent, has a strong moral code, and believes in serving the people he represents. This is in sharp contrast to our current, real life president.
Though one may argue that it’s not fair to compare a real-life sitting president to a fictional one, the juxtaposition does help to highlight important topics, such as what kind of character do we expect our leaders to have, and where do we want them to lead us? What made Jed Bartlet such a powerful character was that the show managed to portray his struggles with complex issues, taking advice from the experts around him, admitting when he was wrong, and showing restraint especially when personal reasons dictated otherwise. Despite his large ego, he was a character of compassion and intelligence, intent on serving the people and not his self interests.
This is where I struggle to understand where we are today. How could anyone support our current president? President Trump is the exact opposite of Jed Bartlet. Every speech he makes is filled with lies, misdirection, and are often filled with hateful, divisive language. He thinks it’s okay to grab women by their genitals and has numerous allegations of sexual assault against him. He has cheated in his businesses, not paying contractors for work done. Trump University, labeled a “massive scam” by the National Review, eventually shut down amidst numerous lawsuits and complaints. Over half of his cabinet have been accused of ethical issues. Trump and his father were sued for racial housing discrimination in connection with 39 of their properties in New York. He broke the law with hiring undocumented workers, paying substandard wages, not providing safety equipment, and then threatening deportation when they complained. The list goes on and on, truly. This does not sound like presidential material. So how did someone like this get into office, and why do so many support him?
Trump had good timing. The country was ready for someone just like him. We have failed to take care of our own citizens. Fewer and fewer Americans can afford to buy a home. Many have no healthcare. Our educational system is poor with only the wealthy being able to afford college. The middle class is disappearing and there is a small group of the very wealthy with power, and a large group of the poor with few resources. Trump had good timing.
Like other fascists before him, Trump has managed to use the predicament of the populace to his advantage. People are struggling and he has given them a place to focus their frustration and anger. He creates divisiveness to stir up anger, claiming that the minorities and the liberals are to blame, that they are the cause of our problems. He attacks anyone that questions him, and has very effectively convinced much of the public to doubt the media, and to give credence to news sources of poor repute and little integrity. Trump is now calling into question mail-in voting, saying that it is very susceptible to fraud, without any proof and contrary to all of the experts. Despite his statements, Trump votes by mail; but hypocrisy is the least of his transgressions. The real concern should be what comes next. Will we continue to let him grab power and hurt others? Do we want to live in an authoritarian government?
Despite having some understanding of the progression of this madness, it is difficult for me to understand how someone could vote for Trump. It seems so obvious what is going on. These are the same tactics used by Mussolini and Hitler to come into power. We’ve seen this before. Is our fear and ignorance so great that we will allow this to happen again?