The Trump Phenomenon and American Education

The map below presents U.S. News and World Report’s ranking of the 50 American states in terms of a variety of parameters.  Beneath that is a map focusing only on the quality of the states’ educational system.

When overlaid against a map of how Americans vote, we see something significant: the states that went for Trump seem to be at the very bottom.  (At left: Mississippi’s state flag)

What can we make of this?  Well, what does Trump stand for? Nobody likes his constant lying, not even his own supporters and Fox News (check out this video!).

So what attracts almost exactly 40% of U.S. voters to this figure? Some suggestions:

• Racism (endorsement of white supremacy), xenophobia (an infestation of immigrant vermin will destroy our country unless we build a wall to keep them out), Islamaphobia (the U.S. is a Christian nation and is at war with Islam)

• Unlimited gun rights (all Americans have an absolute right to own weapons of war)

• Demonization of the poor (there is a pernicious attempt to over-tax the rich so lazy people don’t have to work), and anti-government sentiment generally (government should not play a role in taking care of those who are least able to take care of themselves)

• American exceptionalism (God has chosen the U.S. for His blessing and supports its military efforts around the globe, regardless of what they may be)

• Anti-environmentalism (regulations associated with clean air and water are anti-capitalist, climate change is a hoax perpetrated by those with a covert intention to destroy the U.S.)

OK, so where does this leave us?  Why are the states in the the worst conditions, especial with respect to education, so pro-Trump? Could it be that educated people simply don’t think this way? After all, here’s another bullet I could have added:

• Anti-intellectualism (colleges turn people into liberals, education is over-rated)

There are people who think that the divisiveness that characterizes the “Trump phenomenon” is just the metaphorical pendulum swinging to one side, and that this country will eventually become more coherent and harmonious.

By what justification?  Where’s the mechanism that could make that happen?  It certainly doesn’t lie in high-quality education for all, because there is no demand for it whatsoever. The Deep South is totally content with itself, and there is nothing you or I can do about that.