Saturday, May 26, 2018

Why the Rest of the World is Right to Detest Trumpism

There was a strange, yet morbidly fascinating, trend that has been growing for decades, yet which came to a head once Donald Trump rose to power in the United States. Tensions between the United States and Europe had been growing steadily for decades, even predating the end of the Cold War. There were signs of this tensions when DeGaulle kicked out the American military from France, and again under Mitterand, we saw France express obvious distrust towards the United States, and the American military in particular, when it refused to allow American jets to fly over French airspace en route to a military attack on Libya.

For the most part, these kinds of tensions remained in the background, and often, they were simply examples of the tensions which existed between the French and Americans, particularly. These tensions indeed were real, yet they were not the same as tensions between, say, Americans and the Soviets, or Americans and Nazi Germany, or more recently, the tensions between Iran, or North Korea, or Afghanistan under the Taliban. I actually heard one American - a supporter of Trump, actually - suggest just what kinds of tensions between France and the United States these were, and why they were not as serious as those others. She related them to family arguments, harkening back to this notion that there is more that unites the two countries, more that they have in common, than what separates and divides them.

However, those tensions grew more serious in the years immediately following the end of the Cold War, particularly between France and the United States but, more generally, between Europeans and Americans. This was especially true shortly after the events of September 11th.

Under President George W. Bush, the United States pursued a war of aggression in Iraq, suggesting it was a "preemptive strike." It claimed that it was not just necessary, but urgent to take immediate action. The United States had been attacked, after all.It was a different world, and now, it was necessary to engage in behavior that Americans had mostly avoided to that point. So, Americans suddenly were in favor of wars of aggression, of stretching the definition of torture to allow more, and in building detention centers which bore an eerie resemblance to concentration camps to indefinitely hold what many Americans would refer to as "bad people." Given the long history that Europeans had with such approaches, they were understandably skeptical, but Americans dismissed these concerns, to the point that we had Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld suggesting that "Old Europe" was out of touch and irrelevant, for all intents and purposes. 

Clearly, the tensions were real, and more prevalent than they had been in many decades.

But those tensions have blown up way out of proportion since the rise of Trumpism in America. The trend towards systematic suspicions and distrust, and the obvious tensions and conflicts that arise from these, has led to a definite break in what remained of goodwill relations between the United States and Europe. Within hours of meeting with now President Trump, several European leaders stated pointblank that they no longer felt that the United States was a nation that they could rely upon, and urged Europeans to rely on themselves. This, of course, was largely ignored by Trump himself, as well as his tens of millions of supporters back here in the United States. Even the Pope looked visibly dismayed and discouraged after meeting with President Trump, who evidently was even able to try the religious leader's patience and hope with his trademark, ridiculous antics.

Obviously, these are not the only examples of nations and leaders of the world acting in alarm in regards to Trump, and Trumpism in general. Trump has been slighted time and time again, with prominent members of the parliaments in both Ireland and the United Kingdom blasting him as a racist, and with him getting the dubious distinction of not being invited to the Royal Wedding. Mexico's leader rescinded an invitation to meet with Trump. Iran feels that Trump cannot be trusted, and that what he did in withdrawing the United States from the Iran Nuclear Deal was tantamount to breaking an international agreement, one signed by the United States itself. And, of course, much of the world has condemned Trump's actions and decisions quite consistently throughout this long year and a half or so since he came into office.

So, is the rest of the world being unfair? Donald Trump certainly seems to let it be known that he feels he is being treated unfairly, both by political opponents internally, and by other world leaders. It's almost amusing, frankly, that someone who so quickly blasts others for being delicate and oversensitive "snowflakes" himself seems to have such thin skin that he has a meltdown anytime that he suspects he is being slighted in any way. Seriously, has he ever restrained himself even once from going on the attack with his ridiculous tweets anytime he feels he has a score to settle with someone, even when the criticism is legitimate and, frankly, most deserved?

Let's face it: Donald Trump is a very different kind of leader than anyone we have ever seen in this country before. Everything that he does is done extremely loudly, which in itself is a stereotype of the United States at large. After all, this is a very loud culture. Loud and flashy, and if we are honest, often times crass and even increasingly trashy. With this reality television star now in office and so focused on ratings at every turn - seemingly to the exclusion of all else - that is not likely to change anytime in the near future.

This, however, was not always the case. The United States has, until fairly recently, had some inspired and quite enlightened leaders at the helm. When the thirteen colonies won their independence from Great Britain, the American experiment in democracy began. It was far from perfect, obviously. Yet, things generally consistently got better over time, and our elected leaders represented these improvements.

From the wisdom of the restraint of the Founding Fathers, particularly our first president in George Washington, but also extending to the brilliance of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, the earliest leaders for this nation were men who did the country proud by their example. They were not without their faults, yet they overcame personal egos and put their nation ahead of their own narrow interests, and the nation clearly benefited from this. We had Abraham Lincoln, who saved the country from the brink of an abyss that it very well might never have recovered from, and appealing to the "better angels of our nature," revealing a wit and wisdom that the nation has rightly taken pride in ever since.

Theodore Roosevelt aimed to make America's role in the world larger, and although this also seemed to reveal certain imperialist ambitions, his domestic policies reflected a more enlightened approach. He was a champion of the common man, and worked to place safeguards against big institutions, particularly banks and corporations, to protect the common folk. Also, he began the political conservation movement, establishing some of our first national parks. Woodrow Wilson was a very learned man who made a strong appeal to set up a world government body in order to try and promote peace, and this vision of his became a reality. He receives credit and is honored for this even today, even though we now know much more about his racist tendencies. Franklin D. Roosevelt lifted the nation out of it's worst economic crisis, and he led the nation through the most brutal war in the history of the world. He also championed the common people, and tried to set up an Economic Bill of Rights which was realized in other countries, but not here in the United States, unfortunately. We would be a better country for it had he succeeded. Dwight D. Eisenhower fought tyranny in that same war, and he showed restraint and stability during his years in the White House, and was seen as a war hero and a figure that could be admired and trusted.

Then, of course, we had John F. Kennedy, during the glory days of Camelot. Arguably more than any other modern American leader, Kennedy embodied the very best that Americans had to offer, at a time when the United States was the envy of the entire world. Kennedy seemed to exude a youthful energy, spirit, idealism, and wild image of success, which both inspired and seemed to represent the nation that he led more generally. His words stirred the entire nation, In short, Kennedy was himself the very picture of success, at a time when the American experiment with freedom and democracy as a whole seemed to have come to fruition as the best possible model for the rest of the world.

Yes, the United States seemed to have succeeded on a wild level by the early 1960's, and President Kennedy seemed to symbolize that success. It was far from perfect, yet the United States had seen a consistent expansion of rights to include more and more people. And many of these elected leaders, from Washington to Kennedy, indeed embodied the best that the country had to offer. Unfortunately, the trend largely seemed to end then and there.

I would argue that the leaders in the White House in particular since then, with the exception of Jimmy Carter, have all left something to be desired. Johnson was bogged down by a war that added skepticism to a general public that already had shown skepticism towards the official account of the Kennedy assassination as reported by the Warren Commission. Nixon's behavior and illegal actions cost him his presidency, and added still more skepticism. Reagan was wildly popular, yet he seemed to be style over substance, an actor playing the part that the public wanted to see, while his actual policies ultimately led the country down a road that it has not diverted from since, and which has led to a demonstrable decline in almost every aspect.

Reagan had been seen, quite rightly, as a sharp right turn politically for the nation. Yet his successor, George H. W. Bush, went even farther to the right. Bill Clinton was seen as "Republican light," and progressive politics truly seemed to be dead by this point. Plus, Clinton's personal conduct was reprehensible, and the man was untrustworthy. George W. Bush promised to restore confidence in trustworthy leadership in the White House, but did the exact opposite, lying in order to justify a war that was morally wrong, and fought under false pretenses. His entire approach seemed like a bumbling effort, and corporate scandals and corruption were through the roof. The nation's economy was hurting throughout most of the Bush years, and towards the end, the nation hit the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and the economy very nearly was run to the ground. Obama was hailed as a savior and loved by much of the world, yet like Reagan, he seemed to be playing a very specific role, while his actual policies were more of the same, geared towards benefiting the rich and powerful.

You might think that after decades like this, Americans might finally wise up and realize that tax benefits and cuts for the richest and most privileged Americans does not work. Indeed, for a while, the rebel Bernie Sanders, bucking conventional political trends seemed to have momentum in the 2016 Presidential race with precisely this message.

Instead, the wrong rebel won. Trump also bucked political norms, but he did so while touting an even more elitist, more cutthroat extreme capitalist policies and approach. Instead of finally wising up and taking first steps to contain the damage and reverse the trends, we elected a man who, figuratively speaking, put those policies on steroids.

Trump is the most extreme version of what has been a culmination of a steadily worsening standard for our elected leaders. Where Washington showed the wisdom of restrain, Trump champions no limits. Where Jefferson wrote brilliant words and incredible vision, Trump betrays an incoherence and an inability to think beyond what is in his immediate best interests. Where Lincoln saved the country with wisdom and appealed to the "better angels of our nature," Trump divides the country with empty rhetoric and appeals to the very worst that we have to offer. Where Roosevelt championed the common folk at the expense of the elites and worked towards conservation, Trump champions the elites at the expense of the common folk and an attack on conservationist thinking. Where Wilson tried to push the world towards peace, Trump seems intent on pushing the world closer to war. Where FDR lifted the nation out of poverty, championing the cause of empowering common Americans, and also led his nation through the worst war in history, Trump seems intent on bankrupting the nation and returning the same policies that came close to bringing the country to it's knees again a decade ago, and he seems unstable enough that another World War hardly seems unthinkable. Where Eisenhower earned the world's respect and trust with stable leadership, Trump earned the world's distrust with clear instability. In demanding respect, Trump actually undermines the case for giving him that respect. Everything about this man is fake, not real. From his ridiculous hair to his fake tans to his claims of being the healthiest man ever in the White House, and his own claims to being a virtual superman, while he very clearly is as far from that as one can get, this man personifies a lack of dignity and honesty about himself that he carries into his approach towards others, whether in business or, now, on politics.

With Trump, unlike with some great leaders in our past, absolutely nothing is as it seems. He claims to be worth 10 billion, yet most people in the know feel he is worth far less, maybe even a quarter of his claims. Since there is no transparency with Trump, there is no way to know for sure. In short, nothing that Trump says can be taken literally.

In many respects, that is the same with our country at large. We speak of ourselves as being the "shining city on the hill," the example for the rest of the world to follow. Yet, we are the only industrialized nation that fails to provide it's citizens with some form of universal, affordable healthcare. We speak of stability, law, and order. Yet, we are the only industrialized nation that has gun violence on the level that we see it. We speak of being the beacon of freedom, yet we have far and away more people imprisoned here than any country in the world. We still speak of our diversity and our welcoming people into our country from the world over, yet we have seen a decidedly anti-immigrant stance and xenophobia prevail. We speak of inclusion into our society for all races, nationalities, religious beliefs and creeds, yet we have elected someone who wanted a registry for people of a certain religious faith, and who seemed to have a problem denouncing Nazis marching on American streets.

I have used the following quote numerous times already here on this blog, but it seems especially fitting for this post. Here is an incredible summary of what the rest of the world sees in Donald Trump, as expressed by Paul Thomas, a journalist with the New Zealand Herald (quote taken from "The Greatest Threat to America? Republicans" by Paul Thomas, published on July 17, 2015):

"Trump personifies everything the rest of the world despises about America: casual racism, crass materialism, relentless self-aggrandisement, vulgarity on an epic scale. He is the Ugly American in excelsis."

Has there ever been a man with as little to complain about as Donald Trump? Like it or not - and his supporters seem to conveniently forget this inconvenient fact - Trump is not from a typical background. This is a man who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He never had to wonder where his next meal was coming from, and he inherited a fortune by his father. Trump was born into wealth, and I guess to his credit, he was able to grow that wealth to make a bigger fortune out of it. But the family connections helped, as did his name. Again, Trump has benefited from extreme good fortune all of his life, and e has been blessed with many things that the vast majority of us never get within sniffing distance of. Instead of being appreciative, or the least bit humble, this man not only wants more and more, but he complains - very loudly complains - about when he does not get what he wants, when he wants, just like a child. In fact, he talks about himself as if he is actually a victim, such as when he actually suggested that he had been treated more unfairly than any politician in history. Just one more laughable notion by a man who never seems to decline the opportunity to make a fool of himself.

Likewise, the United States has little to complain about as a nation. Here is a country that has been blessed with an incredible abundance of natural resources, and which benefited from a relative isolation in terms of proximity to other powerful nations. Other powerful nations and empires throughout history generally shared borders with serious threats to their power. The Romans had rivals across the Mediterranean, and they had barbarians that obviously came to infiltrate the empire. China was invaded by rising empires right next to it, with the Mongolians and the Manchurians. The various empires in Europe had one another to contend with. But the United States did not have any strong rivals, and they benefited from this. No nation in history grew in power and influence as quickly as the United States did from 1870 to 1970, roughly, and Americans enjoyed a higher standard of living than any other nation had ever achieved in history during this time. Even with a noticable decline, Americans generally still enjoy a very high standard of living. Yet, many Americans complain that they want more and more, even when this emphasis on more betrays both a lack of appreciation of what they have, not to mention a measure of humility, but also a greed that has clearly undermined the very greatness that this nation once possessed. Like Trump, everything that America does is done extremely loudly, so that the whole world hears. And by turning to a man like Trump, Americans have collectively betrayed this characteristic of immaturity and selfishness and, ultimately, a self-destructive streak.

I hate to say and write these things about my fellow Americans, but I feel I have to at this point. You see, quite a number of the people who I grew up with in high school, and at least as many coworkers, are part of this problem. I had real hesitations to criticize Trump personally lately, because it seems that is exactly what his supporters want, to confirm Trump's interpretation that he is being singled out and victimized. But there is something wrong in this country, and the fact that Trump was elected to the top office was the most undeniable symptom yet of that sickness, that rottenness inside of the country. Famously, Trump referred to Mexicans as drug dealers, criminals, and rapists when he announced his candidacy for the White House. That did not shake people enough, and Trump was taken seriously. He advocated a registry for all Muslims in the country, and a ban for all Muslims trying to enter the country. People still were not shocked, an Trump's numbers grew. Trump infamously mocked a disabled reporter, yet this, too, was not enough to wake people up about who he really is. Trump has insulted decorated war veterans, famously questioning John McCain's status as a war hero, even though he himself used his bone spurs as an excuse to dodge the draft and avoid Vietnam. Trump also insulted gold star families. Not even a blip on the shock radar among his supporters, though. He showed staggering levels of crassness and immaturity, from name calling to bragging about grabbing women by the pussy, yet that also was not enough. When Nazis marched in American streets, waving Confederate flags and even swastika banners, he suggested that they were good people, and he refused to single them out for condemnation. Still, he is quick to condemn black players who peacefully protest racial inequality and violence against black men by taking a knee during the national anthem. He referred to nations of Africa and Central America, as well as Haiti, as "shithole nations," and still, few seemed to change their minds about Trump. This man claims to know more about ISIS than his own generals, he explains his version of science regarding hair spray and clearly does not believe the consensus of the world's scientists that climate change is real, pulling the United States out of the Paris Accord. Still nothing. Trump withdraws from another international agreement with the Iran Nuclear Deal, and still, no one seems shocked or appalled. Trump threatens to wipe another nation off the map before the United Nations, and still, his supporters seem emboldened, not discouraged. I just saw one person, an old high school classmate, literally post an illustration of a bearded Trump in a superhero outfit, apparently seen as some kind of heroic savior, despite all of the utter nonsense and idiocy that I just mentioned, which he surely must have seen and heard about, as well.

But the worst of it was that Trump warned us about this, did he not? After all, he outright said that he could point a gun and pull the trigger and kill someone on the streets before tons of people, and still he would have strong support. Trump keeps referring to himself as a "very stable genius," and this seems laughable. Yet, let's face it: Trump has a very special skill, and he is indeed a master at it. It is the art of manipulation, of getting enough people convinced that he is more than he actually is, and they bow down to him, time and time again. Not everyone, of course. Not even close. But obviously, enough people were convinced that he won the White House. And indeed, if that is not a sign that something is seriously wrong with this country, then I do not know what is.

If Kennedy had seemed to embody all that was right with the United States during it's seemingly finest hour, when it was enjoying it's golden age and served as a mostly positive example to the world, Trump represents exactly the opposite. While the American experiment during the 1950's and 1960's embodied an attractive alternative to the previous forms of government tht had oppressed much of the rest of the world, and a lifting of the common folk economically and politically, Trump now embodies a clear rolling back of those lofty standards of living, not to mention human dignity more generally. Trump is the living, breathing stereotype of how absolute power corrupts absolutely. He seems to symbolize an enthusiastic intoxication from power, allowing yourself to lose all sense of control, and to simply let your tongue and actions run free, ramifications and the opinion of others be damned. Like many corporations, he manages to make it sound attractive for many people, to make it sound enabling, even while his actual policies work to further erode the standard of living in the United States, all so that he and his friends can line their pockets at the expense of the rest of us. Trumpism champions vulture capitalism, where the elites feast on whatever pieces of the dead carcass  once known as the American Dream, so that they themselves can grow fatter still. This approach has failed the country for decades now, and it continues to take away from the dignity and sense of collective responsibility that many Americans worked so hard to attain.

To me, it seems that the United States has slid into a steady decline, ever since the glory days of Camelot, and the Kennedy White House. But with Donald Trump, we have been hitting all-time lows never before seen. It seems that tens of millions of my fellow Americans not only seem fine with that, but indeed, enthusiastically support Trumpism. Despite his proven untrustworthiness on a personal and professional level, far too many Americans have completely bought into this illusion of success. And we are worse off for it.

But the rest of the world has the valuable outside perspective, and this allows them to see what is happening more fully, and with more objectivity. And they see Trumpism for what it is. Indeed, they are right to reject it, and to dread what is happening here. Understandably, they want to avoid something similar in their own nations.

Can you really blame them?

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