Some Thoughts on Trump’s Election

As I join all those who want our President-elect Donald J. Trump to successfully represent all Americans, regardless whether or not we voted for him, I would be disingenuous were I not forthcoming with some observations suggesting themselves in the wake of his election.

I hope my remarks here will supplement those made on Facebook already by fine contributors such as Dr. Rick Covington, Kyle Kent, and Ronnie Applewhite.
First, some particulars:

1) Polls in this election seemed out-of-sync with the population supposedly represented by the sampled. It was as if Trump supporters either avoided being part of the sample or gave false information to the sampler.

2) I think there was a false equivalency developed between the liabilities of the two top candidates fueled by misogyny. Paraphrasing Joy Behar of ABC TV’s The View, “This election shows men can get away with anything, while women can get away with nothing.” Seemed like a double standard to me. In other words, being reckless with e-mails pales in comparison with talking about grabbing a woman’s you-know-what.

3) Trump’s many liabilities were scandalously overlooked if even only one of his positions was zealously supported. A great example was his pro-life position. Pro-life, evangelical, “one-issue” Christians actually supported him, overlooking his tendencies of demeaning women to the point of sexual assault. These Christians, in my opinion, prostituted themselves — “sold their soul” if you please — because “the Devil” said he was against abortion. In this manner, they also “sold out their American citizenship” by siding with the intolerant pro-life position that denies women the right to make their own decisions about their bodies; pro-choice does not force an action or inaction on a woman concerning abortion; it is up to the woman; pro-choice protects women’s Constitutional rights. (See The “A” Word — Don’t Get Angry, Calm Down, and Let Us Talk, [April, 2013] & The “A” Word Revisited (Because of Gov. Rick Perry of Texas), or A Word on Bad Eggs, [July, 2013])

4) It seems to me that anyone who listened to Trump’s speeches and who took any history in school would see clear parallels between his campaign and that of a fascist dictator. His disdain of our time-honored peaceful transfer of power (if he lost) was incredibly and unprecedentedly disrespectful to our remarkable democratic traditions. Many of his poses behind the podium reminded me of Mussolini. I would encourage any of you who have not done so to read about Hitler’s rise to power in William L. Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (Incidentally, it seems that Trump is not as bright an intellect as Mussolini or Hitler, as shown by Trump’s uncanny susceptibility to Putin’s pandering to Trump’s ego.)

5) Just like Al Gore in 2000, Hillary Clinton won the overall popular vote in 2016, but lost the election. Has American universal suffrage progressed enough to here in the 21st century for us to consider doing away with the archaic Electoral College and replace it with a nation-wide final tally?

6) The “racial vote” of white votes against Clinton in 2016 reminded me of the “racial vote” of African-Americans for Obama in 2008 and in 2012, and, curiously, to the white votes, “racial votes,” for segregation in the 1960’s, in the attempt to thwart the Civil Rights movement.

6) above is a nice transition to my final, more general and philosophical point:

One way of looking at our country’s history is to see it as a slow progression toward universal suffrage for everyone above voting age. As we were all reminded recently, when the Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 1908, neither women could vote nor were black players or players from Latin American countries allowed in the major leagues.

The 2016 Presidential Election reminds us that it possible to step backwards in this progression, even in the 21st century. I say we went back to parallels with the 1950’s, when white men ruled in the United States. I am embarrassed to say that I am now in the same demographic as the political “rulers” of the ‘50’s — an old white fart! However, I am proud to say that I am a Baby Boomer for whom the three social revolutions of the 1960’s, 1) the women’s movement, 2) the Civil Rights movement, and 3) the anti-war movement, “took.” (Historically 1) was the most successful of the three, in my opinion.) As I’ve said elsewhere, I can consider myself a reformed high school male chauvinist pig, who “saw the light” on a university campus.

In case you haven’t noticed, “We’ve come a long way, baby!” White men don’t rule anymore; nor do all whites or skins of any other hue. We have become the vision of our progressive Founding Fathers: a social melting pot of many, many diverse and different origins, colors, cultures, creeds, views, affiliations, bank accounts, and opinions — each group with exactly the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities as any other group.

Hillary Clinton failed to “break the glass ceiling” for women in our country, I am sad to say. The opportunities for my granddaughters may not arrive for them as soon as I had hoped, I’m also sad to say. We now have to work our way out of the “new 50’s” back to the true equality for women in our country the election of a woman President will portend. May this “breaking” election come for the generation of my granddaughters, if not sooner.  (See You Go Girl! (II), [March, 2012])

For the sake of our country, Mr. President-to-be-inaugurated-in-Jan-2017, please try and be the President of us all, and may we all unite to help you be so. Given the media and the plethora of hacked e-mails in our midst, we will know if you are trying or not.

RJH