U.S. History Books Ca. 2025: Further Discussion
In a recent post, I predicted that U.S. history books will soon reflect upon this anomaly in American culture called “The Trump Administration” as “a bizarre, temporary aberration, highlighted by hate, fear, distrust, and hostility–a time in which the basic rules of civil society were temporarily suspended.” To that extent, it will resemble the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, where a group of people of European decent behaved in profoundly irrational and immoral ways for a short period of time, and, when that time was over a few months later, went back to being (relatively) civilized. A year after it commenced, the tragedies of Salem were over, and many people could not even remember how the whole thing started; this ghastly social phenomenon had disappeared as abruptly and mysteriously as it had begun.
True to form, frequent commenter MarcoPolo isn’t “having it.” He writes:
I’m afraid history may recall the Trump administration as a time when the U.S. became a lot less delusional, and far less hypocritical. The U.S. has never lived by the values it loudly preaches to other nations. This is especially true when the US lectures other nations with much longer and more virtuous histories. In truth, the U.S. has always been a nation founded on myths and lies. The founding fathers may have adopted many slogans and concepts from the “Age of Enlightenment”, but those virtues were espoused when needed to excuse otherwise dubious behavior.
Though I’m loath to admit it, there is a great deal of truth to the second part. Americans live in the delusion that there is something morally good about our country, compelling God to smile on our endeavors.
Fortunately, there is no truth whatsoever to the first part. There is nothing permanent about the bald-faced lies, disastrous trade policies, attacks on journalism, widespread voter suppression, groundless accusations, cruel laws, support of white nationalists, coddling of dictators, insults to allies, the removal of science from policy-making, enrichment of billionaires at the expense of the common American (especially the poor), and the ceaseless destruction of the environment. To have a huge crowd of angry white supremacists drive a car into and kill a member of a peaceful team of protesters, and then to have the President of the United States equate the two groups morally is not something that is at all representative of the values most Americans share.
I wish I could say exactly when this will, like Salem, be all gone, but I’m quite sure it will be soon.
Craig,
Okay, we all get it, you hate and fear the new reality and the President who represents and is a product of America’s new reality once the veneer is stripped away.
I can only imagine your outrage and refusal to accept reality is caused by the grief of losing your illusions. That, and lacking objectivity in your selection of information.
The President did not “equate” the actions of violent protestors with peaceful demonstrators! He compared the actions of one group of violent demonstrators with equally violent demonstrators, a perfectly reasonable observation which you choose to misrepresent.
Simply because you agree with the agenda of one group of violent protestors, doesn’t exonerate their willingness to employ violence, nor does it give you an excuse to distort the truth.
Where on earth did you get the idea that politicians, or anyone for that matter, can’t respond to the media ? When did certain media outlets become sacred cows, beyond criticism ? ” attacks on journalism” indeed!
Curiously, you do inadvertently highlight how badly US politics has suffered from the terror in which gripped pre-Trump politicians who were terrified at the prospect of offending an all powerful media. It was literally, government by media until Trump.
The rest of your list is equally absurd, “widespread voter suppression”, are you suggesting President Trump has para military gangs intimidating voters ? Or simply that requiring voters to register properly and prove identity constitutes “suppression” ? In that case nearly every nation on earth is guilty.
” disastrous trade policies ” So far, the President’s policies are working just fine and certainly in America’s interest. America has been locked in a trade war for over 30 years, and losing ! Just pretending everything’s still okay while paying for the losses on an increasingly expensive credit card, isn’t the answer.
” Racist” ? Well, in the words of one prominent African-American leader,
“Say what you like, but in eight years of Obama, black unemployment and poverty kept rising,. In 18 months of Trump, black employment and incomes have increased more than in the last 50 years. Obama sat on the pardon for Jack Johnson for eight years, Trump granted the pardon immediately. I saw Donald Trump campaign in Detroit and other poor, predominately black places in the rust belt, he came and listened, never saw Hillary Clinton, or Obama for that matter.
So yeah, I’ll pay the man his due. At least he kept his promises.”
Craig, the long American economic party is over, it’s time to deal with the hangover. Like party goers at a nightclub, you want the dream to go on forever and bitterly complain when the staff kick you out into the cold grey dawn of reality.
Reality is painful, but at least President Trump acknowledges the problems and is attempting to stem the tide of losses and commence fighting back.
The President who threw the party has departed, leaving without paying the bills, his credit cards are all tapped out, the party has ended, there’s no one left to buy you free drinks, the venue has new (foreign) owners who accept only cash.
“Coddling dictators” ! WTF ! That’s been a policy of every US administration in my life time !
Name one President who didn’t find it expedient to deal with an array of dictators from every political hue or persuasion. The only difference with President Trump is he dropped the hypocrisy. Trump’s only agenda is to get the best deal for America. His style is unusual because he open and candid about his objectives.
His combination of bluster and charm, carrot and stick, is out in the open for all to see.
President Trump’s method’s are unorthodox, but easily understood, not just by diplomats and the elite, but by ordinary folk on both sides. So far the effete media used to endless intrigue and complex diplomacy only understood by ‘pundits’ don’t grasp, President Trump’s foreign policy is built around himself and his ability to act quickly and decisively in what he considers America’s best interests.
His dealings with North Korea were extremely shrewd. The arrogant US press never considered the effect on the state controlled media of North Korea. Propaganda machines require consistency of message. Trump’s tactics have sown confusion as the machine has been forced to continuously switch from demonizing Trump to lauding him several times.
This has sown doubt in the minds of a population unused to disturbances in rigid beliefs.
Unlike other politicians, he can’t be influenced because he has no deep seated commitment to ideology, or loyalty to any group, or even the Republican party. His only agenda is promoting American interests, and himself.
He doesn’t care about the niceties, or what the New Yorker magazine thinks is proper behaviour.
Trump is just a cruder version of Rupert Murdoch, but in his own way shrewd and astute.
Naturally, like all businessmen, Trump finds national “strongmen” easier to deal with, since not only are their motives easily understood, but they have the power to enforce what ever agreement is reached unlike less stable political figures.
President Obama was more comfortable with the polite but essentially duplicitous, European and Asian diplomats who offered grand ‘symbolic’ treaties and gestures, expecting the US to continue paying for the drinks.
” Reality’s a bitch “! The US is discovering the truth of that popular saying as the last illusions are being swept away. The US (like every nation) can no longer afford, absorb, or even want millions of illegal migrants.
Stopping uncontrolled and chaotic illegal migration is often cruel to individuals, effective law enforcement is often harsh.
The only effective method is zero tolerance. Remove the incentive. No one said it would be easy, but like any war, there will be collateral damage and often bitter consequences.
When my daughter was small, she owned two much loved pet rabbits. Naturally, she was horrified to witness me and my fellow farmers shooting feral rabbits. To her the rabbits were harmless timid creatures and not deserving of extermination. To me, these introduced feral creatures had nearly destroyed Australia and needed to be killed as kindly as possible (shooting is mush less painful than myxomatosis).
I’m not saying illegal migrants should be exterminated, or mistreated. What I am saying is effective deterrence is the best method of solving the problem and allowing alternative solutions to be pursued.
Oh, and on a final observation, domestically, Trump’s genius is to so infuriate his opponents that they feel it necessary to equal and exceed his rhetoric. Unfortunately, in doing so they lose credibility while in contract he gains.
He’s turned occupying the high moral ground, into a political disadvantage, and tormented his opponents into revealing the worst of themselves !
Look at your own rant’s against Trump ? When you employ such biased, distorted, hysterical tactics, you lose credibility. I know it seems unfair, but Trump has the advantage of playing of a base of low expectations.
The only way to deal with populists like Trump is to remain calm, and above all, accurate and objective. Sooner or later, he will run into difficulties of his own making. Public opinion is a fickle mistress.