Many folks are wondering: Why did so many Americans support Donald Trump for President? As there has been a great deal of speculation regarding the answers to that question within the United States, I won't be bashful about offering a few of my own thoughts about answering that question.
I believe that a great many Americans are genuinely frightened and bewildered by the changes which they see taking place in their country. They see these changes as a threat to their family, religion, culture, government and livelihood.
For them, America's changing demographics is one of the biggest drivers of these unwanted changes. They see illegal, Spanish-speaking immigrants as: 1) a threat to their English-speaking culture, 2) competitors for scarce jobs and government resources, 3) a voting block that will eventually overwhelm what little political clout they have left, 4) increasing Catholic influence in a traditionally Protestant nation, and 5) a group which threatens to fundamentally change the racial/ethnic makeup of the nation they grew up in. Then, along comes a man who promises to build a wall to keep all of those foreigners out.
Likewise, globalization and trade are seen as real threats to the America which they knew as young men and women. Good paying factory jobs appear to be a thing of the past. Energy prices seem beyond their ability to influence and control. Much of what they consume is stamped "Made in China." And, along comes a man who promises to renegotiate those bad deals and bring back American jobs.
In similar fashion, segments of their society which were formerly looked down upon, openly ridiculed and whose rights were formerly curtailed/restricted now enjoy tolerance, protection and open acceptance from many quarters of society. For them, things like women's rights, homosexual rights and abortion rights are evidence that their society's moral/spiritual state has severely deteriorated over the last fifty years. Once again, along comes a man who promises to appoint justices to the Supreme Court who will uphold traditional values.
In addition to all of this, their beloved country has been ruled over by a very liberal Black man for the last eight years - a man whose father was born and raised in Kenya! Moreover, his embrace of the world - of working in concert with other nations - flies in the face of traditional isolationist tendencies and seems to undermine notions of American exceptionalism. Finally, along comes a man who promises to restore America's military might. reconsider NATO, discard the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Agreement on climate change, and erase most of the domestic "achievements" of the last eight years.
Some folks call these tendencies nativism or populism to make them seem more respectable/acceptable, but I see these things as evidence of us giving into our darker impulses and suggestive of other less-appealing "isms." Perfect love casts out fear. One of our greatest Presidents once told us that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Surely, we can all still see that things like compassion, empathy, tolerance, kindness and mercy represent the better angels of our nature. We can put the lipstick of nativism or populism on the pig, but it still looks like fearmongering to me!
I believe that a great many Americans are genuinely frightened and bewildered by the changes which they see taking place in their country. They see these changes as a threat to their family, religion, culture, government and livelihood.
For them, America's changing demographics is one of the biggest drivers of these unwanted changes. They see illegal, Spanish-speaking immigrants as: 1) a threat to their English-speaking culture, 2) competitors for scarce jobs and government resources, 3) a voting block that will eventually overwhelm what little political clout they have left, 4) increasing Catholic influence in a traditionally Protestant nation, and 5) a group which threatens to fundamentally change the racial/ethnic makeup of the nation they grew up in. Then, along comes a man who promises to build a wall to keep all of those foreigners out.
Likewise, globalization and trade are seen as real threats to the America which they knew as young men and women. Good paying factory jobs appear to be a thing of the past. Energy prices seem beyond their ability to influence and control. Much of what they consume is stamped "Made in China." And, along comes a man who promises to renegotiate those bad deals and bring back American jobs.
In similar fashion, segments of their society which were formerly looked down upon, openly ridiculed and whose rights were formerly curtailed/restricted now enjoy tolerance, protection and open acceptance from many quarters of society. For them, things like women's rights, homosexual rights and abortion rights are evidence that their society's moral/spiritual state has severely deteriorated over the last fifty years. Once again, along comes a man who promises to appoint justices to the Supreme Court who will uphold traditional values.
In addition to all of this, their beloved country has been ruled over by a very liberal Black man for the last eight years - a man whose father was born and raised in Kenya! Moreover, his embrace of the world - of working in concert with other nations - flies in the face of traditional isolationist tendencies and seems to undermine notions of American exceptionalism. Finally, along comes a man who promises to restore America's military might. reconsider NATO, discard the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Agreement on climate change, and erase most of the domestic "achievements" of the last eight years.
Some folks call these tendencies nativism or populism to make them seem more respectable/acceptable, but I see these things as evidence of us giving into our darker impulses and suggestive of other less-appealing "isms." Perfect love casts out fear. One of our greatest Presidents once told us that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Surely, we can all still see that things like compassion, empathy, tolerance, kindness and mercy represent the better angels of our nature. We can put the lipstick of nativism or populism on the pig, but it still looks like fearmongering to me!
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