How can a stable, wealthy, democratic society descend so quickly? What were the triggers that sent me in to the red in the first place, and is there any way to politely knock sense in to my fellow Canadians?
I'm blogging this now to help me regain some equilibrium, and to document any effective strategies that can be learned from others.
An article that helped me make some sense of what is going on was a reporter covering the Venezuelan election, that brought the populist Maduro in to power.
"[...] speeches are blunt and provocative, animated by a bumptious sense of humor and a voice that suggests someone who has spent a great deal of time rallying crowds without a microphone. As cameras rolled, he delivered an hour-long soliloquy—a mixture of folksy homilies, socialist slogans, jokes, and bluster, centered on his victory over his political opponents." New Yorker, December 2017
I can't find the article now, of course, but the reporter from that original article I read made a compelling argument that every outrageous statement by Maduro was mocked, repeated, amplified, and publicized by the media. Which ultimately served Maduro to give him the visibility he needed to launch him in to power.
The pattern is thus:
Candidate: Make unfounded, outrageous statement.
Media: Mocks and repeats.
Candidate: Make an unrelated outrageous claim.
Media: (Dropping last outrage), mocks and repeats.
The trigger that sends me in to the red is, "How can we have elected an idiot?" I want a safe, stable, secure country, and the best way to maintain that security is to elect the best we can get. The person should be a capable leader, intelligent, with demonstrable integrity and a sense of fair play. I am not so far gone to believe that such people don't exist, or that it is impossible for the best to survive the candidacy process.
Which leaves, where are the voters who will vote in an idiot, and why? May dad and I have discussed this at length, and I tend to agree with him that there are people who were forgotten during the preceding eight years, parts of the country where prosperity had passed them by, and hard working middle income earners were watching taxes rise while their prospects and the prospects for their children slipping away. You can see this in farming, mining, heavy industry, and primary manufacturing. It is this group who needed a voice, and saw an opportunity in Trump.
All the more tragic that their chosen candidate is a windbag, a limp noodle, who has backed down at every show down (Congress Budget, Chinese Tariffs, the Wall). Yet the President still speaks. How does he do it? I think one reason that Trump has not faded to obscurity is that he keeps building his Tsunami of outrageousness, where the last act is quickly overshadowed by the next. So here's my list of outrages, each one which I thought would surely disqualify Trump from leadership.
- The news conference questioning Obama's birth certificate (was it back in 2011 already)?
- Mocked a disabled reporter in 2015
- Credible evidence of multiple sexual harassment and assaults
- Colluding with the Russians to bring down his opponent
- Conflict of interest and self/family interest in appointments
- Obstructing house investigations
- Poor vetting of staff and the revolving door of staff
- Blatant racism
- Playing with nuclear weaponry
- Lies
- Continued, unfounded attacks on anyone he perceives as a threat. The projection is astounding. It is very likely wherever he has made accusations of of awful acts, he has done them.
Empires in the past have collapsed under the weight of incompetent leadership (China, Spain, Russia). I don't care how competent the courtiers are; the public knows that when the head is rotten the rest will surely follow.
So how to go forward?
It's no use to yell at others for their choices. Anyone who is disaffected deserves to be heard and their concerns validated. I don't have to agree with their solutions, but their concerns deserve to be heard.
I don't have to agree with false conclusions (denying climate change, claiming conspiracy), but I can address the fears that are bolstering them. Socratic questioning can help engage people ensnared in fear.
How to deal with the compound outrage? I think I must decide that my outrage can go no deeper. The current President disqualified himself with his first deception. As hard as it may be, I must restrain myself from repeating, spreading, or mocking the message.
I'll sleep better when due process runs it's course, the old king is gone, and America comes to it's senses.
