My friend Devorah
Winegarten had a really good take on Trump’s election and what it means for the
country. I posted her comments on my Facebook wall if you want to look;
otherwise I’m going to paraphrase her here, with credit freely given.
We’re all moaning
that so many people voted for Trump, though it’s worth pointing out that he did
not win the popular vote. Still his campaign exposed an ugly underbelly in
American society. And the people who followed him all voted or so it would
seem. They are people who are threatened by change and progress, at a time,
particularly under President Obama, when our country is moving toward
inclusion, diversity, recognition of different faiths, lifestyle, beliefs and
the fact that we can all be one diversified society.
Trump followers
feel they are losing their way of life, their future. They cling to the life
they know, with all its hate and prejudice and bigotry because it’s familiar.
It makes them feel safe, better than the next guy, to have those beliefs. In
his campaign Trump played to those fears, though I will say he’s sounded a bit
more mellow in recent days.
It is time, Debra
says, for us not to wring our hands and moan about a future we can’t control
but to move forward positively. It is a pivotal moment in our history that calls
for us to say, “No more.” We won’t be governed by hate and prejudice, small
minds and violence. We will live in an America that values and embraces
differences. What Trump does with the presidency remains to be seen but it is
beyond our control. We need to start with what we can do.
I don’t think the
mass protests we’ve seen across the country are at all helpful. They emphasize the
division in the country when we should be concentrating on bringing the country
together. We are, after all, Americans—not gays, straights, women, Muslims, and
other isolated populations.
I read a post by
the mother of a teenager in a private school in New York. One of his classmates
is a Muslim girl who wears a hajib. He planned to go to school this morning,
give her a hug, and tell her he had her back. That’s the kind of thing we can
do to overcome hate.
So many people are
swept up with gloom and doom right now. I urge them to adopt Debra’s attitude
and look at this as an opportunity to be part of change and progress.
Besides, as
someone pointed out, the Republicans now own it. They have the White House and
both houses of Congress. Whatever goes wrong, they have no one else to blame.
2 comments:
I believe Trump was elected because of the economic squeeze middle class folks are in. Stagnant wages and rising health care costs at least contribute to the election result. That doesn't mean I think the folks who voted for the Republican candidate are right. I don't think this election will help them at all.
My bad: L.D.Masterson left this comment which I accidentally deleted instead of publishing. I thnk she makes an excellent ppoint---in our haste to include everyone we overlooked the bedrock of American society:
I did not support or vote for Donald Trump. The same with Hillary Clinton. I believe they are both lacking in any kind of ethical or moral center. But I did understand a little of what Trump tapped into to gain the support of so many. In our effort to be inclusive of all minority groups, to be politically correct, and not to offend anyone, we often failed to extend that same courtesy to the vast number of Americans who don't qualify for any special consideration as a minority. When did you last hear of a policy or process being changed because it offended a white middle class Christian American? That doesn't happen. Inclusion has to mean everyone if it's going to mean anything at all.
Post a Comment