Why...will our 45th president go down as one of (if not THE) worst?
Well, for me, it's actually a simple answer. What I'll never forget is how easily and willingly people actually want to be manipulated. I completely empathize with people in that this world seems to be a frightening place. It's a world we did not ask to be born into, and it's comforting to feel validated in our uncertainties. Fear makes sense. It's relatable. And in a really powerful way, it's comforting.
But Donald Trump took advantage of that. I don't believe he preyed upon these fears to knowingly create anger and cultivate hatred, though. I don't think he is smart enough to do that, frankly. I think that's just who he is. He sits and watches television, literally able to pause and walk to a different room to play (which would enable him to fast-forward through those distracting commercials) a constant stream of right-wing propaganda. Time magazine reporters watched him glued to the screen, just reacting "like a coach going over game tape."
He'd frequently interact with the television, too. First, he'd see some rant about statues like when Martha MacCallum complained about the severe reaction to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. President Trump echoed her words almost verbatim: "Is it George Washington next week? And Thomas Jefferson the week after?"
He was a puppet for the right (at one time, Trump was a Democrat), too. The "Zero Tolerance" immigration policy wasn't President Trump choosing to put kids in cages. It was his party and the swamp creatures he hired. His job wasn't to validate them, either. His job was to validate himself, and he used the media at his disposal to convince the masses at the ready to support him. He could do no wrong. Like a god.
But his worst offense wasn't anything he did with a Sharpie (like "correcting" the trajectory of a hurricane to prove he was right). His worst offense wasn't feigning his allegiance to the Christians (which he saw as an easy flock to be herded). His worst offense wasn't validating the efforts of Nazi White Supremacists (by implying they could be "good people"). His worst offense wasn't even close to asking other countries to dig up dirt on his opponents in an infamous quid pro quo ("I'd like you to do us a favor, though") or the obstruction he performed during his first impeachment (not allowing people to testify). No, it was labeling our media and free press "The Enemy of the People."
It was the worst thing he said, too. Even worse than "I could shoot someone on fifth avenue and not lose any voters" (that, at least, was true).
Once you tell people who wish to be manipulated that they can't trust the news they hear, suddenly they become entitled to ignore the news. They're no longer going to be a educated voters, either. "I love the poorly educated," he said. This is what he meant. The uneducated are no longer obligated (as if they ever were) to embrace reality...or the news that reflects it.
We're a nation of safe spaces. Relentless propaganda tries to make sense of what is happening around us by stoking our fears. Conspiracy theories show organization where there is none. We are slaves to algorithms that simply perform the task of showing us exactly what we'd wish to see. People claim to "tell it like it is," as if their limited and small perspective exemplifies the whole truth...and nothing but the truth...rather than what it is: just their truth.
Trump had his own truth. He had a whole safe space with an unprecedented access to "news" outlets that would validate him and his lies. And when a "source" wasn't there for him, he'd take to Twitter to punish them and anyone who personally offended him.
And he repeated his lies enough to fulfill the truism from the Hitler-era "A lie repeated often enough will become believed."
So many saw through his lies. I count myself in this group. To me, they were obvious. He wasn't even good at covering them. He was lazy. He was clearly a Narcissist who had no moral code that made sense. And again, he wasn't smart enough. Intelligence...takes...empathy, and I really hope America learns this lesson. Because his narcissism was his downfall. His lack of empathy is irredeemable. He'll go down in history for stoking hatred that culminated in an angry outburst, a siege on our Nation's Capitol. A small, dumb, and unorganized effort that could have been a lot worse. The raid at the Capitol may have been the end of the Trump Administration (he even lost the immoral Betsy DeVos that day), but the anger will take a long time to simmer down.
Why...are so many so willingly manipulated? Why was he? They do it to themselves. He did it to himself. He simply didn't have the intelligence to be president. He was unqualified. He was unfit.
But he opened the door. Imagine a more calculated version of this man. Someone with the intelligence and charm to convince people that the immoral is moral. Someone who would work with news corporations more covertly and cleverly. Someone who could not only take advantage of the confused, but who could control the opinion of posterity. Imagine someone who could convince you that taking children away from their parents is the right thing to do. Imagine if someone could convince you that the main message of the Bible had nothing to do with the countless verses concerned with the poor and their well-being, and that the only reason you should take your self to the voting booth was to prevent women from terminating a pregnancy in this world so many find so fearful. Imagine cultivating the comfort of fear itself.
I never thought President Trump was so bad because I could always imagine so much worse. I'll never forget my optimism the very night Hillary Clinton lost her chance to become the first female president (even though she would go on to win the popular vote). I was frequently baffled by the claims that he was some "evil genius" because all I saw was utter stupidity. I never saw him as some formidable foe to the Democrats, as much as it seemed like it was one political party against the other. "It was a joke," he'd say to excuse himself. "I was being sarcastic," as if that made his remarks any better (regarding injecting humans with cleaning products).
Why are so many so willingly manipulated?
But I said it already. It comes down to...not smarts. But intelligence. And intelligence comes from empathy.
We live in a country where empathy is corrupted. Love doesn't exist without hate, for many. But neither does freedom.
We just have to do better. We have to embrace diversity. Multiculturalism is the future. And it'll open up an infinitely more accepting and welcoming world. We need ethics, civics, and empathy classes in our schools. We need to reframe the definitions of "strength" and "power." We need to reform our monetary system. Our priorities will look completely different one day.
I'm forever an optimist. Not a Democrat. Not a Socialist. Just a Progressive.
| | Back to Top
Quote of the Day: