General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: America is kind of scaring the shit out of me [View all]potone
(1,701 posts)As others have noted on this thread, these people have always been here but they are being emboldened by Trump. They seem to me to be like the people who supported George Wallace in the 60s and 70s and Jesse Helms in the 80s.
I think that there are a lot of things to blame for this: the totally irresponsible and downright ignorant media, our unequal educational system that leaves so many people woefully unprepared for life in a complex world, and--let's face it--downright racism and bigotry. These people are motivated by fear, which turns into resentment and hatred. I do think that in a country that eschews the idea of a common good and glorifies so-called rugged individualism this is the inevitable result.
As in the case of so many things, I blame the Reagan revolution for the social context in which we all live, although I know that it has deeper historical roots than that.
Sigh. I do think that Trump won't win, but we have such a long way to go to become a truly civilized society, and we won't get there until we are willing to re-examine our priorities and especially our dependence on war as a basis for our economy.
Thus endeth the sermon. I hope I haven't sounded too preachy; if so, please forgive me. I am feeling very discouraged right now.
I wish you all a good day.