Andy Ostroy wrote the following blog today on HuffPo
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-ostroy/what-if-trumps-campaign-w_b_8796526.html
In the blog, he fantasizes that perhaps this whole Donald Trump thing is big social experiment designed to "hold a mirror up" to America's latent racism and general stupidity. Ah what a wonderful fantasy that is, except those who the mirror was meant to enlighten, still wouldn't get it.
America deserves Donald Trump. We have become such a vapid and shallow culture that Donald Trump has become a near perfect reflection of who we WANT to be. He's rich. He's a TV star. He has a hot wife (so some think...yuck!). And he says whatever comes into his mind and makes no apologies. This is the person that America wants to be.
To me, the more interesting question is HOW did we come to see this as the American Archetype?
Our self enforced repression is part of it. The "Justice Warrior" culture that so many people identify with, has in large part made those who don't quite drink that Kool-Aid, feel oppressed and judged, and at risk. The language policing, the shaming of those who make bad or even offensive jokes... The zeal with which these people seek to utterly destroy those they disagree with, or are offended by, is downright scary. The ruination of the first Amendment, by BOTH sides is as intolerant and un-American as McCarthy... or Mussolini. Donald Trump has taken up the banner their El Duce, and in becoming the MOST offensive and least filtered head-moron-in-charge, he makes people feel safer to go on being the moron they are. Remember, the right to be offensive, insensitive and stupid is an all Ameican, Yankee-doodle, Constitutional RIGHT. Trump is living proof. It is not however, a leadership quality that I admire... Trumpsters seem to.
Our perceived weakness on the world stage is real... kinda. I don't think for one minute, the rest of the world see's America as weak really. The rest of the world see's America as a huge dumb Baby Huey, who tramples all over the globe willy-nilly and plops down on a region or country when they feel like it- we kill people, wreak havoc, and then get up, slobbering, to amble away towards another corner of the globe. We are an obese, dumb baby, with little direction and a very short attention span. That's how the rest of the world sees us, and it's pretty much the truth. As long as Trump feeds you the line that nobody fears or respects us, he's at least half right. No country large or small is dumb enough not to fear us, we have proven to be the greatest country of all time at killing people and destabilizing huge regions of the globe, and that is a fearsome thing, but alas, our inability to actually produce a positive result - by any measure - in all of this, has meant we are absolutely NOT respected. Trump's amateurish and ham-fisted attempts to re-kindle a kind of Reganesque national pride movement, is good enough to fool the stupid & unsophisticated, but nowhere near enough produce the results of the Great Comminicator. (lying, double dealing shit-bird, that he was).
We are lazy. America has become a country of spoiled children. We have no attention span, and no pain tolerance. We don't want to hear that in order to "fix" things in our country it will take sacrifice and hard work. People in America throw a hissy-fit if the wifi in Starbucks isn't fast enough - or god forbid, down! We are a country who wants everything instantly, easily and with the least possible pain. Donald Trump is the easy answer. He gives the instant gratification of sound bite after sound bite. His indignation and outrage at just about everything strike a huge chord with our collective id - damaged and feeling like victims, we look to the Donald to fix it all. Maybe Donald Trump will make us all over in his image. We too can become rich, swaggering loudmouth's.
What a bunch of dummies we are. We deserve Donald Trump.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-ostroy/what-if-trumps-campaign-w_b_8796526.html
In the blog, he fantasizes that perhaps this whole Donald Trump thing is big social experiment designed to "hold a mirror up" to America's latent racism and general stupidity. Ah what a wonderful fantasy that is, except those who the mirror was meant to enlighten, still wouldn't get it.
America deserves Donald Trump. We have become such a vapid and shallow culture that Donald Trump has become a near perfect reflection of who we WANT to be. He's rich. He's a TV star. He has a hot wife (so some think...yuck!). And he says whatever comes into his mind and makes no apologies. This is the person that America wants to be.
To me, the more interesting question is HOW did we come to see this as the American Archetype?
Our self enforced repression is part of it. The "Justice Warrior" culture that so many people identify with, has in large part made those who don't quite drink that Kool-Aid, feel oppressed and judged, and at risk. The language policing, the shaming of those who make bad or even offensive jokes... The zeal with which these people seek to utterly destroy those they disagree with, or are offended by, is downright scary. The ruination of the first Amendment, by BOTH sides is as intolerant and un-American as McCarthy... or Mussolini. Donald Trump has taken up the banner their El Duce, and in becoming the MOST offensive and least filtered head-moron-in-charge, he makes people feel safer to go on being the moron they are. Remember, the right to be offensive, insensitive and stupid is an all Ameican, Yankee-doodle, Constitutional RIGHT. Trump is living proof. It is not however, a leadership quality that I admire... Trumpsters seem to.
Our perceived weakness on the world stage is real... kinda. I don't think for one minute, the rest of the world see's America as weak really. The rest of the world see's America as a huge dumb Baby Huey, who tramples all over the globe willy-nilly and plops down on a region or country when they feel like it- we kill people, wreak havoc, and then get up, slobbering, to amble away towards another corner of the globe. We are an obese, dumb baby, with little direction and a very short attention span. That's how the rest of the world sees us, and it's pretty much the truth. As long as Trump feeds you the line that nobody fears or respects us, he's at least half right. No country large or small is dumb enough not to fear us, we have proven to be the greatest country of all time at killing people and destabilizing huge regions of the globe, and that is a fearsome thing, but alas, our inability to actually produce a positive result - by any measure - in all of this, has meant we are absolutely NOT respected. Trump's amateurish and ham-fisted attempts to re-kindle a kind of Reganesque national pride movement, is good enough to fool the stupid & unsophisticated, but nowhere near enough produce the results of the Great Comminicator. (lying, double dealing shit-bird, that he was).
We are lazy. America has become a country of spoiled children. We have no attention span, and no pain tolerance. We don't want to hear that in order to "fix" things in our country it will take sacrifice and hard work. People in America throw a hissy-fit if the wifi in Starbucks isn't fast enough - or god forbid, down! We are a country who wants everything instantly, easily and with the least possible pain. Donald Trump is the easy answer. He gives the instant gratification of sound bite after sound bite. His indignation and outrage at just about everything strike a huge chord with our collective id - damaged and feeling like victims, we look to the Donald to fix it all. Maybe Donald Trump will make us all over in his image. We too can become rich, swaggering loudmouth's.
What a bunch of dummies we are. We deserve Donald Trump.
Excellent analysis! I'm not sure we on the left deserve this (I don't believe we created this mess--it's just that no one has been listening to us), but the REEPs and the right definitely do.
ReplyDeleteI think the left is just as guilty The "political correctness" that Trump rails against is coming from the left, and the "Social Justice warriors", joke cops, and the easily offended are just as bad. I mean how infantile are we that even in, say a news story that is explaining a racist incident, we are obliged to say "the N word" as if the verry utterance of the word, an ugly and despicable word for sure, but still, just a word - even to say on the news "Someone spray painted nigger on the families home" - that would lead people into a tizzy. As if someone reporting an incident was insensitive for reporting the incident... I think Americans look too hard for victim-hood and no longer have any ability to look beyond the surface... It's easier to lash out at someone who says something dumb, that to address the real issue. Jeeze how long would I last in a MC if I was offended at every antisemitic symbol I encountered? Oy Vey!!
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