Trump as Hitler... An illogical rant coming from a leftist resentful of the political ascent of the moneyed
big-mouth real estate mogul from Manhattan? Or perhaps a warning rooted
in an understanding of human nature, and the malleability of our
collective conscience.
First, I want to establish my concern for
the state of the American body politic. The heinous attack on New York -
September 11, 2001 - may prove to be the seminal event that will
characterize the 21st century as an epoch fraught with fear, distrust
and irrationality. Although American foreign policy and CIA intrigue
have promoted acts of violence and foreign incursion for over 60 years -
Guatemala and Iran 1953, Cuba 1959-1962 etc. - the war of aggression
against Iraq that followed 9-11 was unprecedented in scale, poor
judgement, and popularity! The initially small outcry of concern over
president G. W. Bush's inept leadership was characterized as unpatriotic
and there was even some consideration of sedition laws - a mark of
despotism and dictatorship. Perhaps trying to "get even" for the
eventual crescendo of criticism that later dogged the Bush presidency,
Republicans mounted a campaign of ridicule and disrespect against the
succeeding Democratic president, derisively referred to as Mister Obama -
they couldn't even address him as President. The result of these two
diametrically opposed presidencies is an ever widening gap between
"conservatives" and "liberals."
I place these words in quotes
because their meaning has changed from their classic definition.
"Conservative" has become a rallying cry for anti-establishment
sentiments that in reality fit the dictionary definition of radical!
And a concentrated effort from self-termed neo-conservatives has turned
the word liberal into a pejorative: "What's the definition of a liberal?
Someone who'll give you the shirt off someone else's back..." The
well-orchestrated conservative movement has co-opted the alienation and
disgust of an increasingly impoverished blue-collar worker class and
married it to the haughtiness and imperialism of the cynical rich by
appealing to feelings of disenfranchisement, re-defining the words and
achievements of liberals, and (dirty word!) socialists. The nation has
no dialogue now, only flag-waving, sloganeering and appeals to bigotry
through coded dog-whistle discourse.
The present schism between
sarcastic regressionism and frustrated altruism can only be healed by a
review of the principles of the Enlightenment that were refined and
incorporated into the Constitution and Bill of Rights by the more
erudite founders of the United States. How ironic that the freed U.S.
colonies in turn became a colonial empire, and in spite of our rhetoric
of equality we had to fight a great Civil War to break the shackles of
slavery, a scourge which reverberates in inequalities still suffered
today. We have an inability to review our history and learn from it, and
control of school curricula is an untouchable sacred cow almost immune
to thoughtful revision. It seems more important to propagandize our
youth than to teach the art of critical thinking! And mass culture is
more intent on turning a dollar than any attempt at providing unbiased
information and rational discussion.
So we are now ripe for the
ascent of the demagogue. A beleaguered citizenry has no time for
thought, parroting the attitudes of elders and talk-show manipulators.
Even though unemployment has been cut in half, taxes have decreased,
millions of people previously denied health care now have it, rapacious
bankers are kept in check, clean energy and automotive industries are
prospering - nevertheless - with stagnant wages and the constant tirade
against "big government" there is a poisoning of our national pride, and
the modern artifact of 9-11 is constant fear. The negative phenomena
carry too much weight - bad news sells - and those who crave power will
fan the fires of negativism for their own benefit. Termed "agnotology,"
spreading confusion and deceit to strengthen one's position is a
classic ploy of the power seeker, a la Hitler.
Speaking of the
devil, Hitler was one of the first demagogues to sense the power of
technology and use it to further his desire for dominance. The public
address system was invented in 1908, and in 1919 Woodrow Wilson was
the first president to use it in this country. But the decorated stadium
with an array of distributed loudspeakers adding a touch of magic to
the occasion - shocking and impressing a naive populace - that was a
hallmark of the Third Reich. It doesn't require a lot of insight to see
that Donald Trump is a master at the use of broadcast media in today's
America. He tells us he has a cadre of followers who would stick with
him even if he fired a pistol in the streets of New York. His followers
find this humorous, while rational thinkers find his rhetoric
frightening.
Now, to be clear, the process here is a comparison
of methodologies. We have an incomplete picture of who Mister Trump is at
heart. His desire to make America great - an appeal to nationalism - or
an honest evocation? But his concept of building a wall - this belongs
to a post-war Stalin cordoning off East Berlin. And his attitude toward
Muslims has dangerous parallels in our incarceration of Japanese
citizens after Pearl Harbor, and Hitler's persecution of the Jews. He
may not be a monster, but Trump is no statesman. His use of television
to shoot from the hip and sound off on thoughtless premises presages a
hostile stance from government that would create more enemies than
friends should his popularity translate into a rise to the presidency.
The
most frightening aspect of Trump's lust for the presidency is his
ability to satisfy a need for authoritarianism. A few years ago there
was a psychological study on basic values held by Democrats versus those
of Republicans. A conclusion of the study found that most Democrats
come from families that shared chores, shared decision-making, respected
majority rule and freedom of the individual. And Republicans were more
often products of top-down, hierarchical and patriarchal families.
People tend to replicate their family dynamics through their politics.
Donald Trump has great authoritarian appeal. His rudeness and brashness
may be symptomatic of a snobby, spoiled rich, brat - but for the
struggling working class folk feeling disenfranchised - here's a guy who
acts out in ways that they aren't allowed, and his outbursts have great
appeal. He answers their need for an authority figure and he seems to
be in consonance with their frustrations.
Hopefully our man Trump
is not evil incarnate, as we view Hitler today - but he's using the
same devices - and the national substrate in present day America may be just
as volatile as pre-war Germany. Trump's recent boycott of the Republican
presidential debate shows his disdain for party standards. And while
there was some talk early on about starting a third party campaign, a
coup (rather than a putsch) taking over the Republican party is a more
likely possibility.
If Trump's ascendancy continues, if he
maneuvers the giant dominoes of agnotology, media control and
authoritarianism and brings them crashing down on a society alienated
from the status quo - inspiring voters to try his brand of emotionalism
and knee-jerk, unstudied policy - we may end up with a loose cannon on
the world stage. An unprepared president with a fanatical following,
coming from the far right could veer into territories every bit as
unfair, unconstitutional and abusive as a Hitler - only he'd do it his
way.
I hope we don't get a chance to find out what life would be like under a Trump presidency.
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Links:
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/CIAtimeline.html
http://www3.gettysburg.edu/~tshannon/hist106web/site6/american%20enlightement%20page1.htm
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160105-the-man-who-studies-the-spread-of-ignorance?
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/01/donald-trump-2016-authoritarian-213533
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