Jimmy Carter Brilliantly Explains How The Establishment Gave Us Trump

[Techsan]

15. It's complicated

I agree with Cosmocat's point from the perspective of living in a deeply conservative area that the hardcore conservatives are single issue voters. My family voted for Trump for the sole reason he was not HRC and that he promoted their white, culture preservationist attitude. As for the more moderate conservatives I know well, most voted for Trump and Republicans to "err on the side of caution" because they felt HRC and the Democrats did not align as well with their morals. Many of the moderates hoped/believed that Trump would eventually succumb to the Republican establishment and fall in line. They expected Trump to align his language and attitude more with the establishment as time marched on and that his fiery campaign rhetoric was more of gimmick to get elected.

I slightly agree with President Carter that part of the complex issue of the rise of the right-wing authoritarianism falls in the hands of unchecked capitalism that brought us the largest gap in wealth inequality that we've seen in over a century. However, another major factor in the rise of authoritarianism is due to our changing cultural landscape. Each time a new generation comes of age American society experiences growing pains in letting go of the "old way" and ushering in a more diverse and open society. Baby Boomers propelled our society forward in gender and racial equality but saw backlashes from their parent's generation. Now the children of Baby Boomers are moving our society forward with greater tolerance for gender, racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual diversity.