Are the wheels really coming off? I say this after a few months of such over-the-top chaos in the world at large. I think people will be processing this year for a long time, and books will be written about how the world nearly went off the rails in 2016, with mass shootings, terrorist bloodbaths, failed coups – and the phenomenon of Donald Trump.
Trump hits close to home because he has caught many of us by surprise. He’s a con man, maybe the best in the business, but something else as well. His toxic narcissism resonates with so many people because, I think, it reflects their own pain and alienation. He’s our own monster, born and bred in the USA. And maybe screaming about Mexicans at a rally feels good in the moment, but anyone who thinks his cruelty and lack of empathy makes for a good leader is likely not dealing with their own pain and separation. And it seems like there are a lot of these people, way more than expected. Because unless you are a committed racist, Donald Trump’s America holds nothing for you. And judging from his track record, he won’t actually be able to execute any of his fascist-flavored vision.
As for me, when I see him it’s like my ears go back and a low snarl builds in the back of my throat. I feel like screaming, can’t you see what he is? It reminds me of a documentary I saw once about the porn business. The women performers said that they had a number of disqualifiers for male partners, but the one that stuck in my mind was the creep factor. You know it when you see it, and The Donald has it, and then some.
I also find myself of two minds on Hillary Clinton. Yes, she is a strong and smart woman with an amazing work ethic who has fought long and hard for her place in the world. But she also has been a politician for so long that any sincerity she once held has been polished off. I’ve heard she has a wicked sense of humor, and I’ve heard from people who work with her that she’s effective and doesn’t forget a thing. But she’s also someone who spends Christmas with Henry Kissinger, making her a global elite. And the global elite see people and countries like pieces on a chessboard and are not likely to change—unless they have to.
So this is turning into a summer for the ages, with so much sound and fury packed into the hottest months, that I am still not quite sure how to separate what matters from that which is really nothing.
But there is still plenty to feel good about, in spite of the bombardment of atrocities on the news. The country is beginning to come to terms with the lingering issue of police violence in communities of color. Paying people a living wage is no longer a fringe idea, and the mania to privatize every aspect of our society is being revealed for the scam that it is. And I am delighted that so many activists have made this shift possible.