American voters are thoroughly disillusioned, much like voters across the Western world. We have not been led well. People have had enough of their culture being trashed. They are sick of the lies and slippery speak of politicians. And there is the enduring sense of betrayal that our livelihoods have, and continue to be sold overseas.
In our current clima
te, a working class white man is told to ‘check his privilege’ while he struggles to eke out a living while paying family support to the mother of his children that he is rarely allowed to see.
And a black girl who works hard at school is discouraged to succeed. She is branded by her peers as ‘trying to be white’. What’s more, the cycle of black poverty is reinforced and perpetuated by educators, the welfare system and activists who thwart the self determination and achievements of black citizens by engendering bitterness and victimhood, perpetuating a cycle of black poverty, and creating a dependent political class who are continually promised change but are instead delivered a slave’s ration for their vote.
What’s more, the crumbling of traditional institutions such as marriage and the family, and the collapse of broad swathes of civil society, replaced by government encroachment into evermore of our lives, has combined with rapid technological changes and a general sense of insecurity and forlorness, leaving many with an accumulation of fear, anger and frustration.
Donald Trump’s appeal is largely because he is giving voice to these feelings, and likewise the initial popularity of Bernie Sanders can also be attributed to this. I recently heard someone say that they didn’t know who they would vote for, but it would either be Trump or Sanders – in traditional political terms they are at opposite ends of the spectrum and such a position would be utterly unthinkable. But in the current climate, such a claim is quite plausible.
If we take a step back further – Obama was elected in 2008 on the basis of “hope” and “change”. A groundswell of optimism was raised, and we were told in no uncertain terms that “we are the people we have been waiting for!” We, we the people, led by the great visionary and orator Barack Obama, will create the equal and harmonious society we’ve all been yearning for. And then it didn’t happen. The vision was not realised. It was found to be hollow and the words faded into a hazy grey lacking substance.
Obama’s vision failed. And on this side of eternity, it was always going to.
And here arises Trump – the anti-idealist. The anti-hero.
Trump says what he likes, and doesn’t care what others think or say a about him. He gives voice to the fact that people are sick of failure. Trump is the canary down the mine – squawking that the air has become poisoned and unfit to breath. Although Trump has given voice to the problem others have not been able to articulate in such a forceful way, like a canary, he can only alert us to the fact that there is a problem, but has no actual solution for it. Trump tells us he will ‘make America great again’ – by whatever means. He’ll grab, and grab, and grab more for America. Trump’s vision is not so much a vision of success, but a vision of non-failure. And he will do whatever he can to not be a failure, or a loser. And frankly, that’s what many people find appealing.
Trump is not a man of principle. He changes his mind and does whatever he thinks will succeed. – And people know that. The electorate knows that Trump is not a true conservative. He has flip-flopped on every imaginable issue, from abortion, to heath care, to crony capitalism to being a major donor to the Democratic Party up until a few years ago before putting himself forward as a Republican candidate. He’s even good mates with the Clintons.
What is especially surprising is that conservative and evangelical Christians are aware that Trump has no sense of needing redemption, boasts about his extra-marital affairs and scarcely knows the Old Testament from the New. And it seems that many of them too, do not care.
There is a problem with Trump: While he has unequivocally hit on the anger and discontent felt in the electorate, he has not solution or plan to speak of, other than “To make America Great Again.” It’s the brawlers last stand against the utter failure of Obama’s “hope” and “change”. Whether he wins or loses or brings the whole circus crashing down with him- and it almost doesn’t matter, Trump will go down fighting.
Trump is erratic, outrageous, and irate. Which goes to the heart of his appeal. Yet he is completely unreliable and unsuitable for the presidency. Perhaps most worryingly, many of his supporters are so angry and sick of failure they simply do not seem to care.