Plato Warned Us of Trump

I have been frozen in my thoughts, words, and actions for what seems like eons, but is actually just over a week. The monstrous cabinet of the new President of the United States seemed like the biggest threat to progress, but it was the least of what should have concerned me. I never realized that 'Executive Orders' and 'Memos' could literally bring a thriving Democracy to the teetering edge of collapse in a matter of a week. I was ignorant, lulled by years of shadow actions hidden from view, pretty words for the public, reassurances of business as usual, and relatively kind if largely inept politicians.

I always assumed that the big decisions of Governments, done in 'peacetime', or what we have been told is peacetime while more than half a dozen wars involving Allied Forces rage around the world, are slow moving and involve constitutional lawyers, teams of people that plan implementation of such new legislation, after passing both the house and senate. I guess I didn't understand, I was ignorant, and I fear my own lack of knowledge about the machinations of American Politics. Quite simply, I was wrong.

I heard Trump rant on about his bigotry, his proposed Muslim ban, his cruel and erroneous characterizations of Mexicans and Latinos, his ancient and rigid descriptions of the Black Community and inner-city ghettos and crime, and his mocking of those with less affluence or different physicality. I was always struck by the sheer inanity of his words, hoping against hope that not one voter would embrace his message. Yet, I always knew there were those who did. What I did not count on was how many supporters, enablers, and defenders he had. I assumed that bigotry could not be legislated in a country that embraces it's Constitution, that even a party that has refused to separate church and state would have an ounce of Christian good will and kindness. I have never been so wrong, and that is a shocking awakening to meet at my age, I assure you.

His election was sobering, his inauguration a funeral for progress, but I thought that it would take time for someone as inept and unaccustomed to the working of government to actually get any traction, get his wrecking-crew cabinet approved, and manage to do any serious work. I was right about many of those assumptions, but what I did not imagine is the sheer power of the office of the presidency being used as a bully pulpit to push through an agenda of almost entirely unconstitutional orders. So much has happened so fast, I can hardly remember each order amidst the whiplash of photo-ops and media spin.

And I keep asking, how this has happened? Why now? What has made this entire debacle possible? Then my sister shared an amazing short video clip from BBC Newsnight, and it all suddenly coalesced into this awful cold and empty feeling in my gut. The writing has been on the wall since it was possible to capture political thought, and as someone who did not study political science in my wide yet relatively focused years upon years of post-secondary education, I now want to know it all, to know more, I want to understand.

Please do watch this short clip about what Plato can teach us about Donald Trump. If it doesn't hit you directly in the gut, then perhaps you are one of the few that has the knowledge I so desperately seek. I am not sure if I envy you, or if I am all the more saddened by those voices who tried to speak out, or could have, but were not heard or listened to, now to our mutual peril.


 

Opinion: Tweet A Mile In His Shoes

There was a time you could argue whether or not the world was indeed at war. Today I see that we are engaged in all kinds of wars in all kinds of places, but I never expected my workplace or my home as possible targets. In fact, I would have argued as a child of the 1980s, before mobile phones became smaller than a box of tissues, that there was very little chance that you couldn't find somewhere to be all by yourself, cushioned, safe somewhere. Today I realized that for a very long time, and without my full comprehension, some people can find no safe-zone, not in their worlds, and maybe not even in their minds. They walk among us, they are journalists and politicians, public figures and movie stars. They have families, they have children, they have loved ones, and they have one more thing, they have an opinion and a consumer base for that opinion.

Whether publicly chosen or accidentally acquired, a byproduct of the profession or an mere chance of birth, it has never been easier to get up right in the mind of someone you love to love, or love to hate. All you need is a name and a few social media accounts, and you too can become the target of adulation, nonchalance, or the kind of hatred that used to be reserved for someone who has grievously wronged your person either in a familial sense, financially, bodily, or all of the above. But the only crime I can see, is that they have an opinion unlike yours. That is allowed.

No matter how many times I have tried to imagine the kinds of slurs and open vile rhetoric aimed at political pundits, journalists, media presenters, or politically active celebrities this american presidential election season. I knew it would be awful stuff. I could imagine some of the more obvious hatred and bigotry regarding gender, religion, color, creed, and party affiliation or perceived allegiance. I could not believe how very much I underestimated how personal the attacked would be, how openly blatantly racist, the terminology, the images tacked along with a few choice words. I was wrong, I was biased, I will never take the issue for granted.

I may not agree with everyone's politics, their perceptions, their assertions, but I would be happy to 'agree to disagree' with someone's stance or message and just walk away and live my life (likely never to think of the author or journalist). What has changed, what has broken so terribly that we no longer can leave well enough alone, we often feel compelled to comment. Comments are part of being on social media. I am very guilty of my own replies to tweets and comments lately, those to political candidates that openly challenge them on their morals or lack thereof. But I rarely dissolve into swearing, let alone say anything so lacking of intellect that I would not say it in front of parents or family members.

This goes on from time to time, I never claimed to be a saint, I am a walking contradiction most days. But I am not a public figure, I write for a few blogs, I am a healthcare professional, I was not trained a journalist, I did not seek a public life. If after a glass of wine I decide to tell a presidential candidate or two that I think they are obtuse fact vacuums, I let that flag fly -- politely.

In the last few days I have heard a number of political pundits and 'news' presenters talk about the sheer volume, absolute vitriol, and threat content of their feedback lately. Some have needed to have a greater security presence as they leave or arrive at work. Some have said that they have been targeted based on the 'ethnicity' or perceived ethnicity of at least one of their names. Tonight I read a quick tweet from a journalist regarding a joke about waiting for the 'Trump' camp to respond to yet another endorsement from a former KKK grand wizard. The fact that the Mike Pence suddenly decided that his camp are above 'labeling' and therefore would not call said person a 'deplorable', has brought the issue back to the fore. I made a typical smart-ass comment and then decided to see what others were saying about the question as to whether Pence will cave and do the right thing or again do the 'Trump' thing. What I saw was horrifying.

The writer's last name stuck me as likely having a jewish origin, whether chosen or inherited, but it never occurred to me that it mattered. Most people guess my last name is either german or jewish in origin, it is a relatively rare jewish name, bu it's not something I feel necessary to conceal from anyone in my life. So I was maybe not entirely shocked to see not a few replies that painted the author as a typical 'liberal jew', that was almost too easy. But comments about Israel, about assumed collusion with the jewish state, about the holocaust, about nazis and Zyklon-B (the poisonous gas used in the gas chambers of Hitler's 'Final Solution') were everywhere. I mean seriously some of the most offensive things I have ever seen written, all written from the first few seconds the tweet went live.

This was not a link to an article, the was just a sharing of a public tweet to people who opt to follow this particular writer. The tweet, again, that of a current republican candidate who is also deeply anti-semitic. This means at some point, these replies and comments are being made by at least one person who closely follows this writer, and perhaps many that responded to his/her public call to attack. I just could not imagine what it would be like to have almost exclusively vile retorts to my boring little sarcastic tweets. I am lucky if one of my 50-plus followers even clicks like, never mind retweets me.

What has changed in people that makes so many of them feel it is a perfectly acceptable hobby to direct reams of hatred at people they are not forced to have any interaction with? Don't like a celebrity, say it once if you have to, try hard not to respond, better yet 'unfollow' and move on to bigger and better possibilities. I realize that this could not possibly refer to all Twitter users, many are just connecting with people, current events, news, or pop-culture. But if there are this many people participating in this new 'sport' where they can hide in chosen anonymity or be publicly openly utterly ignorant, what is going on outside of public view? What came first, the drive to behave badly with impudence or the ability to behave badly and face absolutely no personal risk for doing so? Perhaps they were a match made by our own inability to anticipate how complicated our relationship with technology could be.

To every journalist working their tail off trying to get important and relevant stories to their consumers, I am sorry that your world must seem dark and thankless most days. I am sorry that no matter what you write or say, you will face ignorance, insecurity, and hatred of untold volume. Please know that those of us who are interested in comparing, contrasting, and consuming a variety of different opinions and views are thankful for your work on the battlefields of social media. I may not agree with you, but I want to live in a work where all criticism is constructive, where we can pick the sources that we deem reliable or at least well know, and we can leave a sarcastic comment without seeing it alongside some of the most hateful speech on the internet.

Opinion: Why I Can't Handle Hillary's 'Baskets' Comment

Maybe it's because my brain works differently than Hillary Clinton's. Maybe someone said it as a joke in Hillary's presence and she picked it up and just blurted it out under pressure, the laugh of a crowd pushing her to exaggerate. Maybe this is a common political term that I had been simply unaware of in my 44 years on this planet. Whatever it is, I have to admit I am a little disgusted and frankly disappointed by Clinton's suggestion that "half of all Trump's supporters are,... a basket of deplorables".

Hillary, it's not the 'worst mistake of the political season' as Donald calls it, his candidacy is the worst mistake, but it's one of your worst. 

I am a nurse, I work with people, I love my work. I have never had two patients alike in all my years of experience. No two people I have ever met had identical experiential, cultural, religious, traditional, or intellectual presentations. Some were openly saying politically incorrect or bigoted things, but I always understood the difference between a nurtured  or commonly held racist views, and I always felt compassion for a persons unfortunate beliefs. I just don't understand, I suppose, anyone's ability to label a group of people in such an ignorant, blanketing way.

I am the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, my Grandfather the only young man to survive amongst almost a dozen siblings, his parents, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, entire jewish community of the town; his entire world was buried in a mass grave in what was Poland, in a city renamed. I learned early in life that prejudice and bigotry can lead to the decimation of millions of innocent people. I learned through reading on the Holocaust that even in the ghettos or concentration camps, people were still people, they did what they had to do to survive or they didn't survive, there were kind people, but not all people were kind, nor can I ever judge a single one. Some christians lost their lives for hiding or helping jews, others stood alongside Hitler himself, there is no one-size fits all standard for Christianity.

I just don't understand, I suppose, anyone's ability to label a group of people in such an ignorant, blanketing way.

So when Hillary Clinton, the only woman who is currently capable of keeping an impulsive bigoted misogynistic xenophobic narcissist from taking the office of the President of The United States, says something that is so dismissive of 'half' of the people currently supporting her opponent, I was shocked.  Clinton herself has said "words matter", they do matter, and there was no need to wholesale offend and unify Donald Trump supporters in one fell swoop.

I am aware that Donald J Trump, the current Republican nominee for President, has said and done the following (and a novel's worth more);

• Demanded the first African-American POTUS prove he was 'born in America', while insinuating he was a secret-muslim
• Mexicans are criminals, rapists, and that they are a danger to citizens both bodily and economically
• Called for a ban on 'all Muslims' from entering the United States
• Retweeted offensive materials and compliments from known white supremacists and racists
• Has a history of using derogatory terms to refer to women, has publicly body-shamed a pageant contestant, rating women on their looks
• Insulted a Muslim-American Gold Star family by insinuating the mother didn't speak because perhaps her religion represses her, as opposed to her obvious grief
• Etc.;

I am also aware that at many Trump public rallies there is crystal clear evidence that there are white supremacists, KKK members, anti-hispanic, anti-muslim, bigoted, and racist individuals in attendance. People say atrocious things about Hillary Clinton that specifically take aim at her gender, and nothing else. Chants of 'lock her up' are the norm. There are definitely deplorable individuals within his most ardent supporters.

A President must act in the interests of all Americans, even the deplorable ones, maybe especially the deplorable ones.

So yes Hillary, there may be a number of Trump 'people' who are indeed deplorable human beings, but guess what, there may be a percentage of that group that is sick, by which I mean mentally unstable. There are also some who grew up in an environment where this is a 'learned hatred', as all hatred based on the color of one's skin is learned, they were raised with these beliefs. Others have chosen the radicalize because they feel they are missing something and belonging to this 'group' will fill that 'hole'. Some have been radicalized by tactics I can only imagine, almost a cult-like indoctrination into a hate-group. Some have been raised to believe that politics is a game of sport, you 'root for your guy' and you play to win. Some may honestly have such low IQ, or lack the mental capacity, to question or critically analyze fact from fiction.

So there is rampant ignorance, but I can't help that for the most part, I feel sorry for those who put so much energy into hate. It seems such a waste of human potential, so much time wasted on the wrong priorities. So many children being raised in the same ignorant way. So much work left to be done to root out hatred in all it's forms and expose people to a kinder and gentler way of being in the world. So much work to be done it is often daunting.

But Hillary, you are not helping your party or your campaign when you suggests that all those who act out at Trump rallies or respond to his dog whistle politics are equally deplorable. There is nuance, this is not a binary subject. Yes some of the individuals supporting trump are acting in a deplorable way, that does not make their value as citizens lesser. Statistically, you are equally capable of attracting 'deplorable' people into your party and even right on to your campaign staff. A president must act in the interests of all Americans, even the deplorable ones, maybe especially the deplorable ones. Maybe, just maybe we need to be hopeful that these people see the truth from the lies and vote in their best interests.

Honestly Secretary Clinton, I just expected better from you, but maybe that was my bias showing, I thought you were a better human being. Your 'morning after' attempt to explain that you "grossly exaggerated and didn't mean half" doesn't help me, since you are merely reinforcing the stereotype but ascribing it to fewer people. Maybe what the 'Trump people' are reacting to is something that they find more objectionable than his openly unapologetic ways, maybe in their way of reasoning, there are worse things that a fraudulent BS artist. Maybe the 'worse things' they see have to do with transparency, corruption, and 'short circuited' mis-spoken explanations from a regular human being who is supposed to be intelligent and honest by profession. I frankly don't understand any serious appeal for Trump, he is an ignorant narcissist, but then I have had practice of engaging with a really diverse cross section of the population, and through a habit of curiosity, the world in full. Not everyone is so privileged to have had the safety, security, healthcare, education, economic advantage, and mentors that I have, the opportunities, and the inspired passion for learning.

Maybe I am being too hard on you, Hillary Clinton, many will argue that I am.

Maybe I am being too hard on you, Hillary Clinton, many will argue that I am. Many voices on my Twitter feed are already arguing that you were right on the money, the media reactions biased based on all of Trump's uncalled BS. Some suggest that the criticism is purely sexist, one way or the other. I have written many blog posts where I carefully dissect candidate Trump, a person that brings out my anger in a way that I am uncomfortable with. I rarely criticize you so harshly Hillary, for I see you as the more capable, competent, and sane 'choice' left [if a two-party election represents choice]. You are meant to try to inspire the 'Basket of Deplorables' to want to be better people, to want to learn, to want to trust government, to be politically engaged. If I was running for office that is what I would want to inspire in everyone I possibly could. I just couldn't write off that many Americans with a poorly chosen analogy, they are human beings with potential. Hillary, it's not the 'worst mistake of the political season' as Donald calls it, his candidacy is the worst mistake, but it's one of your worst.

Relax Secretary Clinton, you didn't actually lose a vote here. I don't get to vote, I am Canadian after all.

When the Joke is Over

I admit that when Donald J. Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States it struck me as absolutely absurd. Here was a man I have watched, over my 43 years on this planet, do outrageous things, say worse, and repeatedly cloak himself in the stink of one failed business after another. I remember in the 1980s, my parents somehow got ahold of a copy of a "Trump" board game, it sat in it's black box with the giant golden monogram of the man's name taking up major real estate on the boxtop. We never once played it, the rules were confusing and it was a gimmick, just like everything else Donald Trump did. It was about using that Trump name to make a buck, screw the consumer, and laugh all the way to the bank.

When Trump began his Twitter career and his turn as a Fox News 'source', I know it escaped my notice. I remember him mainly for his serial relationships, odd fetish for anything gold-plated, and for his grandiose personality from television appearances that culminated in his turn as the big man in charge on 'The Apprentice" back in 2004. I personally found him to be grossly misogynistic, petty, and a self-inflated child. His ego was out of control most turns around his boardroom table, and I must admit it held little appeal for me after the first season. Trump is Trump, he doesn't get wittier or more charming, he doesn't get more magnanimous or more likeable, he was a bully and a blowhard, but in the world of television, he was just a blip on the reality television horizon.

But now things are different, the world is different, and by legitimizing his campaign the mainstream media and all of us who consume it's manufactured news, full of bias, brought this on ourselves. The GOP loved the dash of Hollywood appeal Trump brought to their debate stages, making it must-see TV like never before. By lowering themselves to his level, each of Trump's opponents fell into the trap one by one. They were all unwitting contributors to their own demise, each taking the bait and trying to out-insult the other. It was comical, but we all figured it would end. How was this troglodyte, this well known bullshit artist managing to take-down career politicians. While those of us who saw Trump for the bully he was were aghast, an angry public was looking for an underdog to root for. Trump zeroed in on the lowest common denominator qualities of the 'angry white American male', a group that despite being in a most-privileged category in society was looking for a man who would speak to their most base insecurities and deep seated fears. Fears that must only occur to those who feel threatened by women, minorities, immigrants, and the educated. Fears that those in progressive mainstream society were hopeful to leave far behind, the sooner the better.

So here we are in August, and somehow despite all rational arguments, the weight of his massive record of failures, and trust-fund baby antics, Donald J. Trump is now the Republican Party nominee for President of The United States of America. The rush may be to suggest that I am a liberal, a progressive, a Canadian socialist, a hater, but I have no dog in this race. I am not able to vote in the American elections, and frankly right about now I would be rocking myself in a corner somewhere in the face of a possible Trump or Clinton presidency. The world is watching, and we aren't laughing.

Those of us who have studied some of the darkest periods in history are watching events repeat themselves daily, from calls to ban or 'surveil' entire religions, mocking of the differently abled or ill, to more blatant racism thinly disguised as a jab at illegal migration. It echoes close to the bone, it is painful and frightening to watch, and it scares me. It scares me. If you can't see the signs, I promise you, they are there in flashing red letters.

I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton, nor am I a fan of the American two-party system, but Donald J. Trump is not a statesman, not a leader, not an inspirational figure. He is a con and a grand hoax on the most vulnerable in society. Those looking for real hope and change, those that actually believe he is a man of the people have the most to lose. He is playing games with the fate of America, and the world, our safety and our respectability. 

The Joke is over, we created this monster, and now he has come home to do exactly what he became famous doing, dividing people into categories, inciting and condoning violence of all sorts, and spouting hatred and outright lies with absolutely no consequences. While Trump sees this as his biggest gamble yet, one that has nothing to do with his long track record of party swapping and donating to prominent Democrats, including the Clintons, those watching from the sidelines are wondering how this horrible roller coaster will end. I am not laughing anymore, and I have to wonder about the mental stability of those that find this to be one big joke. It's time someone with the power to stop Trump stepped up to the plate and said publicly, "this man does not represent Conservatives, he does not represent the GOP, and he does not represent America". Unless of course, he really is exactly the politician that America deserves. I have to hope, with everything that I am, that this isn't the simple, ugly, truth of the matter.