One thing that the unexpected victory of Donald Trump in the
2016 presidential election has undoubtedly done is to remove the collective
beer goggles from the American public. What was a blurry-edged image of where
we are as a nation is now in perfect focus. But what does it show us?
We are looking at the irresistible force of our country’s
changing population meeting the immovable object of our historical white
privileged class.
The demographic march continues to erode the old norms. As
the huge baby-boomer cohort of our population proceeds past the retirement home
and approaches the graveyard, our country is becoming younger, browner, blacker
and yellower. The historic majority of white America is on the verge of
becoming a minority. To say that the older, white, conservative folks are
unhappy about this would be the understatement of a lifetime.
The clear product of this situation is the commitment of the
American right to do anything – anything – to perpetuate the status quo
for one more election cycle. From flat-out illegal voting eligibility laws to
direct appeals to foreign governments, we have seen an unprecedented effort to
subvert the will of the majority of Americans. In winning the popular vote by
almost three million votes, the young and our citizens of color voted
overwhelmingly for Ms. Clinton, or at least definitively against Mr. Trump. The
total number of voters who decided the key rust belt states’ outcomes would fit
in a football stadium. The most astonishing statistic coming out of the results
of the election is that 53% of white women voted for Mr. Trump. I think this is
less an indication that a majority of white women want to be grabbed by the
pussy as a deep-seated and mostly unearned hatred of Ms. Clinton. Who would
have thought that we could overcome our nation’s legacy of racism and elect
(twice) a black man as president but be helplessly unable to overcome our
sexism and elect a woman, no matter how experienced and qualified?
I will not recite the litany of reasons why Mr. Trump is
unqualified for the office of dogcatcher, much less president, nor will I list
the absolutely unprecedented number of blatant lies and petty attacks he has
spewed. That’s been done by a thousand outraged writers already, and likely in
finer fashion than I could. So why Trump, and why now?
The aging white power brokers in this country are not
stupid. They see the demographic tidal wave that is preparing to break on our
shores over the next decade. They view this period as their last chance to
change the rules of the game. Make no
mistake, the forces of demagoguery and, yes, fascism, are taking over our
government in just a few short weeks. The only way they stay in power after
this insane - and likely unfair –
election is to suspend the constitutional rights of citizens, crush opposition
under the banner of “law and order,” limit the freedom of the press, and expand
the already ubiquitous surveillance state. This is terrifying.
So we are about to hear a “last gasp.” The only question is,
will it be the sound of the old guard submitting to the new realities of the
new majority and all that entails: expanded individual civil rights, continued
progress toward universal health care, movement towards renewable energy, and a
less belligerent stance on law enforcement and foreign affairs? Or will the
last gasp be the final death throe of our beloved democratic constitutional republic?
We’ll find out soon enough, and I believe it will be one or the other.
In this sad case, there is literally no middle.
Portland, OR
December 15, 2016
