From a northern perspective, the chaos that continues in the United States is frightening and complex. With the joint catastrophes of gun violence run amuck and the shameful spectacle of Donald Trump still able to get a throng of cameras and microphones focused on him, has become a frightening dilemma. The slow but total decay of a once admirable country is now assured, the architect of its own inevitable decline, and “the danger of a second term for this icon of American society (Trump) is more of a certainty now than ever.” With a Supreme Court refusing to rethink the use and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of their citizens, this once great country is all but toast, burnt toast.
Trump may just be the symbol of this decay. It is worth remembering that he did not grow up on another planet. Born and raised in an affluent American household, he attended American schools, was influenced and supported by the public media and rose to dominance in the highly competitive New York real estate market. He has merely evolved into a product of the US’s socio/pollical culture with its firmly entrenched ideologies.
I recall reading a line spoken by a well-informed American political philosopher to the effect that “the United States will never fall or be attacked, in the military sense of the word attack, but it will certainly collapse and die, it will decay from within like a rotten apple because of its own hubris and lack of a strong moral center.”
This awareness has never been truer than it is at this time in their history. This so call moral center of the US is floundering, replaced by their publicly endorsed three principal goals, the only goals that America has ever really had; money, power, and dominance on the world stage, the shrine at which (unknowingly or not) a great majority of Americans worship, and the altar at which they will all surely die. Despite all the good that America has been recognized for in the past, it will do them no good in the years ahead.
They have hitched their wagon to a philosophy that clearly demonstrates to the world who they really are, still systemically racist, flirting with white supremist, gun violence, and still wallowing in social and economic disparities they are unable or unwilling to resolve. Trump is merely the catalyst that preaches to his so called disenchanted followers (no money, power or influence) telling them they are right to feel the way they do (revengeful) and they need to defend themselves against anyone who disagrees with them, kill or be killed.
The proliferation of gun violence supported by its reliance on the 2ND amendment contains within its rationale the seeds of their decline. What they refuse to confront is the reality that they are the only country in the world that allows their citizens to be armed. But why? The answer is a simple one. They are afraid. They lack trust. They lack hope in their institutions, they are afraid of anyone who does not share their views, and they feel defeated, powerless and weak and need to fight for their rights and take down those that stand in their way. But as long as they can possess a gun, they’ll be okay because they are willing to shot first before being killed themselves.
Proof of their decay and inevitable decline comes in the wake of a large majority of one of the major political parties failure to recognize their loss of decency, honesty and truth for the sake of staying in power. They have found in one man all that is at their core, the ugly reality that started many years ago, a fierce sense of individualism that sees nothing beyond their own self-interest, simply do what is good for “the self”, carry a gun, make money and power your only mantra.
The truth hurts. It also speaks to the deeply rooted fear that does not, will not, trust anyone or any agency that wants to tell them what to do. They fought to tame the “Wild West” in movies, books, newspapers and beyond, it was a fight to raise the status of the individual gunslinger to warriors extraordinaire, guns at the ready to defeat their enemies. Sound familiar!
Their “right” to do what they feel is embedded in their constitution (and maybe it is) has over- protected them, even within their own laws the right to lie with impunity and not have to face any legal consequences, any accountability, it’s called free speech, just “appeal, appeal, appeal… no comment!”
To raise even a whimper of a clap towards such a man as this is proof positive he has already won. But his powers of manipulation would fall on its face if there was not already a large willing audience of individuals prepared to hang their hat on his candidacy, close their eyes to any sense of personal integrity, and follow him into the authoritarian desert of a country that the rest of the world will soon pity instead of admire.
With Donald Trump as their celebrated poster boy they have held up a mirror of themselves to show the rest of us who they really are. Ugly as it is, it will be even uglier to let it continue unchallenged and to deny the obvious. Trump would not be in the position he is in now if one did not first realize he was always that kind of person, a someone who tapped into the worst instincts of human beings and made them appear legitimate beyond a doubt, get ahead, cheat by manipulating the law, screw your competitors and buy, buy, buy, buy whatever you want. Money is not even the worst of it.
The dehumanizing reduction in all that is Trump has fallen into the gutters of their decaying slums and replicated like a virus. We should not be surprised. Trump’s T.V. show The Apprentice contains within its premise the seeds and symbols of what makes America tick. A hugely successful show that made its producers and originators very wealthy. Get ahead at whatever cost, manipulate the average (stupid) consumer, pay attention to the bottom line, and develop an attitude of winning no matter what you have to do to win. Sounds like a familiar campaign strategy. The signs were all there. Things are more important than people, and if they can’t make it in the real world of the unbridled free market system, well “to hell with them.”
Saddened by the current state of affairs taking place below our borders, I am also unsettled by what I see as a germ of a movement here in my own country. It began for me while watching the truck convoy in Ottawa last winter. The virus that is spreading in the US has moved across the border but I am left with the strong hope that we are better than this. That we will not put money ahead of people and we will hold all our leaders accountable within our judicial system which I pray is strong enough. We will have high standards for public representatives in terms of their moral character and ethical practices and support what is best for the whole country not just the individual.
Never a fan of the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the emphasis on the individual rights of minorities against the tyranny of the majority, laudable on its surface but still misses the necessity for the collective merits of all it’s citizens together. By collective merits I mean the ability of the individual to sacrifice some of their individual rights if it is proven there is a greater benefit to the majority, morally, spiritually and humanely to do so. Interdependency is the key.
I pray it is not too late for the United States. We need to assess the unfolding of a once potentially great country south of our borders and do whatever is possible to awaken within our own political borders the knowledge of the vulnerable roots of this decaying virus of fierce individualism. What else can we do?
Trump may just be the symbol of this decay. It is worth remembering that he did not grow up on another planet. Born and raised in an affluent American household, he attended American schools, was influenced and supported by the public media and rose to dominance in the highly competitive New York real estate market. He has merely evolved into a product of the US’s socio/pollical culture with its firmly entrenched ideologies.
I recall reading a line spoken by a well-informed American political philosopher to the effect that “the United States will never fall or be attacked, in the military sense of the word attack, but it will certainly collapse and die, it will decay from within like a rotten apple because of its own hubris and lack of a strong moral center.”
This awareness has never been truer than it is at this time in their history. This so call moral center of the US is floundering, replaced by their publicly endorsed three principal goals, the only goals that America has ever really had; money, power, and dominance on the world stage, the shrine at which (unknowingly or not) a great majority of Americans worship, and the altar at which they will all surely die. Despite all the good that America has been recognized for in the past, it will do them no good in the years ahead.
They have hitched their wagon to a philosophy that clearly demonstrates to the world who they really are, still systemically racist, flirting with white supremist, gun violence, and still wallowing in social and economic disparities they are unable or unwilling to resolve. Trump is merely the catalyst that preaches to his so called disenchanted followers (no money, power or influence) telling them they are right to feel the way they do (revengeful) and they need to defend themselves against anyone who disagrees with them, kill or be killed.
The proliferation of gun violence supported by its reliance on the 2ND amendment contains within its rationale the seeds of their decline. What they refuse to confront is the reality that they are the only country in the world that allows their citizens to be armed. But why? The answer is a simple one. They are afraid. They lack trust. They lack hope in their institutions, they are afraid of anyone who does not share their views, and they feel defeated, powerless and weak and need to fight for their rights and take down those that stand in their way. But as long as they can possess a gun, they’ll be okay because they are willing to shot first before being killed themselves.
Proof of their decay and inevitable decline comes in the wake of a large majority of one of the major political parties failure to recognize their loss of decency, honesty and truth for the sake of staying in power. They have found in one man all that is at their core, the ugly reality that started many years ago, a fierce sense of individualism that sees nothing beyond their own self-interest, simply do what is good for “the self”, carry a gun, make money and power your only mantra.
The truth hurts. It also speaks to the deeply rooted fear that does not, will not, trust anyone or any agency that wants to tell them what to do. They fought to tame the “Wild West” in movies, books, newspapers and beyond, it was a fight to raise the status of the individual gunslinger to warriors extraordinaire, guns at the ready to defeat their enemies. Sound familiar!
Their “right” to do what they feel is embedded in their constitution (and maybe it is) has over- protected them, even within their own laws the right to lie with impunity and not have to face any legal consequences, any accountability, it’s called free speech, just “appeal, appeal, appeal… no comment!”
To raise even a whimper of a clap towards such a man as this is proof positive he has already won. But his powers of manipulation would fall on its face if there was not already a large willing audience of individuals prepared to hang their hat on his candidacy, close their eyes to any sense of personal integrity, and follow him into the authoritarian desert of a country that the rest of the world will soon pity instead of admire.
With Donald Trump as their celebrated poster boy they have held up a mirror of themselves to show the rest of us who they really are. Ugly as it is, it will be even uglier to let it continue unchallenged and to deny the obvious. Trump would not be in the position he is in now if one did not first realize he was always that kind of person, a someone who tapped into the worst instincts of human beings and made them appear legitimate beyond a doubt, get ahead, cheat by manipulating the law, screw your competitors and buy, buy, buy, buy whatever you want. Money is not even the worst of it.
The dehumanizing reduction in all that is Trump has fallen into the gutters of their decaying slums and replicated like a virus. We should not be surprised. Trump’s T.V. show The Apprentice contains within its premise the seeds and symbols of what makes America tick. A hugely successful show that made its producers and originators very wealthy. Get ahead at whatever cost, manipulate the average (stupid) consumer, pay attention to the bottom line, and develop an attitude of winning no matter what you have to do to win. Sounds like a familiar campaign strategy. The signs were all there. Things are more important than people, and if they can’t make it in the real world of the unbridled free market system, well “to hell with them.”
Saddened by the current state of affairs taking place below our borders, I am also unsettled by what I see as a germ of a movement here in my own country. It began for me while watching the truck convoy in Ottawa last winter. The virus that is spreading in the US has moved across the border but I am left with the strong hope that we are better than this. That we will not put money ahead of people and we will hold all our leaders accountable within our judicial system which I pray is strong enough. We will have high standards for public representatives in terms of their moral character and ethical practices and support what is best for the whole country not just the individual.
Never a fan of the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the emphasis on the individual rights of minorities against the tyranny of the majority, laudable on its surface but still misses the necessity for the collective merits of all it’s citizens together. By collective merits I mean the ability of the individual to sacrifice some of their individual rights if it is proven there is a greater benefit to the majority, morally, spiritually and humanely to do so. Interdependency is the key.
I pray it is not too late for the United States. We need to assess the unfolding of a once potentially great country south of our borders and do whatever is possible to awaken within our own political borders the knowledge of the vulnerable roots of this decaying virus of fierce individualism. What else can we do?