Why Donald Trump is Good for America

The rise of the cult of Trump has caught many of us off guard.  How could a man who espouses such obviously racist viewpoints be so popular?  The reality is that America has always been this way. Just like every other country on the planet we are fearful, paranoid, protectionist, and xenophobic.  For as long as I can remember, Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, or Peter Jennings were on TV to tell us about another boogie man just waiting for us to drop our guard so they could slip inside our homes to murder our children as they slept.  They were always godless, or at least didn't worship the same merciful, loving God we did. They did horrible, inhuman things to their own people, justifying our fear and loathing of them. President Reagan told us the Soviets hated us because of our freedom and would stop at nothing to drop an A bomb on Washington, subjecting us all to the iron fist of communism.  Communism, of course, being the scourge of capitalism though most Americans couldn't tell you why it was evil  or why capitalism is good .

You will lose...I must break you.

The Bush Dynasty told us Saddam Hussein murdered his own people with mustard gas and would have loved to do the same to us if given the chance.  We were told he was also conspiring with Osama Bin Laden after 9/11 so we had to launch a pre-emptive strike before he could get the chance to kill more Americans.  The news, the government, social media, and our friends tell us these things constantly so we know they're true!  Except they aren't.  Not totally.  Somewhere between our fear of anyone who doesn't speak English and the need to stroke our egos, the people stoking the flames of foolishness conveniently forgot to mention the Soviet Union's equal fear of us bombing them .  They also left out Saddam's status as America's staunchest ally in the Middle East prior to his invasion of Kuwait.  They also might have forgotten to mention the man he was supposedly  in league with, (actually, they hated each other) the man responsible for killing more Americans in the new century than any other, was partially funded by American efforts to train the Afghan mujahideen to fight the Soviets.  Now presidential candidate Donald Trump is telling us that Mexicans are evil murdering rapists that want to freeload on our freedoms, refugees from Syria will invade us and impose Sharia law the first chance they get, and the Washington elite are either complicit or spineless. Refusing to do anything about these threats because they don't love America like he does. Of course, only he and he alone, can "Make America Great Again."  He will.  Just not not in the way he intends. 

You mean we actually have to keep our promises?  Since when?? (Photo: politico.com)

Trump, for all his boorishness is clearly a student of history.  His rhetoric, heavy on anti-immigrant feelings and not much else, evidenced by the lack of policy specifics and insulting deflection every time he's asked to present details on any of his grand promises, demonstrates a mastery of demagoguery.  These guys would be proud.    He's spent years honing the art of getting people to pay attention to him through his reality shows, ingratiating himself into American pop culture like a virus.  In that arena, he's tolerable, harmless, and even entertaining.  Not a man to be taken seriously in the halls of power where his views could affect millions of lives in more ways than just what channel they watch for an hour.  Obviously, this has changed.  The skills that served him well to get television ratings are now getting him votes.  Exposing an ugly truth many of us who aren't part of the mainstream have known our entire lives.  He is forcing America to look itself in the mirror and many aren't liking what they see.  The world is also watching while a man who inspires bigotry and violence, marches seemingly lauded by the media, to our country's highest office.  His popularity proves our most damning critics right, exposing the hypocrisy of a country that prides itself on American Exceptionalism and as a multi cultural melting pot.  Is this really the end result of the great experiment?  We elect a man that appeals to our worst qualities?  The Republicans were so focused on power and stonewalling President Obama that they ignored the real needs of their constituents, unleashing this madness.  Now our country is in a battle for its soul.  America really has to ask itself if Trump, a man who can't decide if he should accept the support of Klu Klux Klan, encourages division not only along racial lines  but within the lines of his own party, who has been a rich man his entire life but claims to know what's best for the middle class, who employed the very same illegals he now calls rapists and criminals to build Trump Tower, who has taken advantage of the same overseas trade deals he now criticizes to make himself richer, has himself exported manufacturing jobs to China , and let's not forget is a long time documented supporter and friend of the Clintons, is really the man Americans want in charge of our military, nuclear arsenal, and public image?  I find it difficult to believe that a man like him would find much international support for American initiatives abroad, when he can't even unite his party behind him.  I also find it difficult to believe that any of our existing American based international corporations would back a President that openly insults their customers. We shouldn't forget, a politician's first allegiance is to the voters, no matter how much corporate money lines his or her pockets, the voters have the ultimate power.  Good luck trying not to "lead from behind" when our international allies threaten to vote out their leaders for following American policy.  The coalition of the willing did exactly that, in aftermath of the 2003 Iraq invasion, leaving the United States shouldering most of the responsibility and the cost as the war grew increasingly unpopular abroad.  When we finally did manage to untangle ourselves from Iraq, these guys filled the void. (Warning: Graphic)  That's a mistake I'd rather we not repeat. 

Donald Trump has forced the American people to a moral crossroads.  Ironically, this fiasco could do what Obama's election was supposed to do. Unite the country.  Neither Democrats nor establishment Republicans nor most of their constituents are eager to see a Trump Presidency.  For the reasons I stated above, he is a clear and present danger to the long term security and stability of the United States.  I am not exaggerating when I say that I believe that his election will not only set back our country back decades culturally, but the rate at which Civil Rights gains are being unfairly challenged , circumvented with biased legislation, and struck down by the Supreme Court, will accelerate.  America needn't be reminded of how years of exclusion, mistreatment, and marginalization of one group of Americans, eventually exploded into the Civil Rights movement.  Imagine if what Trump is proposing does pass and Black Lives Matter grows to include not only African Americans seeking justice, but becomes a banner for all American people of color to rally behind.  I don't see too many Trump rallies ending with sucker punches then.  You'd be dealing with literal human blockades at every venue he tries to book.  I've always believed that the fastest way to unite disparate groups is to present a common enemy big enough to threaten all parties.  Well, I think we've found our lighting rod in the man who sells ties made in China but claims he's all about giving jobs to Americans at the expense of our ideals.  This absurd campaign will bring about either one of 2 things.  Either America proves itself once again to have progressed beyond this type of gutter- level political discourse or everyone knows once and for all how far 240 years of our experiment has risen the level human consciousness.  Either way, we'll all know what we have to do.  I don't know about you, but I'm starting to think the boogeymen we should really be afraid of, are the ones who use boogeymen to keep us in line.

NCredibly Ignorant

Stop me if you've heard this before.  An entertainer with a net worth many times above the people he's speaking to, tries to garner support by playing on their worst fears.  His "credibility" is based on his success in business.  He hopes the message he's sending provokes an emotional reaction big enough to get them to spend money on him so he can be their "voice" while everyone else looks on with amazement at how so many people can be so easily duped into championing actions that are clearly not in their best interests.  That's right, I'm talking about...

Nick Cannon.

Yeah, I can see the struggle all over your designer suit. (Photo: laineygossip.com)

Mr. Cannon, who's net worth is estimated to be over $50 million, actually thought it was a good idea to, write, film, and release a work of spoken word called "Too Broke to Vote"*, discouraging his fans from voting.  VOTING.  You know, the most powerful say we have in how our lives are governed.  The thing Super PACs, Democrats, Republicans, and every other party in the country spends billions of dollars in advertising to convince you to cast yours for them.  The thing that is considered so important that it was kept in the hands of the elite for the better part of this country's history.  The thing that great men died for to make available to Nick's family 50 years ago and is still under legal attack today.  The practice that he uses on his own shows  that allow him to make his fortune in the first place.  So according to Nick, voting is great when it makes him money but not when deciding who our local and national leaders will be?  The logic is absolutely Trumpian and in that spirit, let's take a journey into what life is like when everyone follows Mr. "Ncredible's" advice and simply stays home on Election Day.

Ferguson, Missouri:

"...majority-black Ferguson has a virtually all-white power structure: a white mayor; a school board with six white members and one Hispanic, which recently suspended a highly regarded young black superintendent who then resigned; a City Council with just one black member; and a 6 percent black police force."

-- 8/14/2014, Jeff Smith, NY Times Op-Ed "In Ferguson, Black Town, White Power"

The Michael Brown tragedy wasn't a one off.  His passing was an inevitable symptom of what happens when the people who live in a town aren't who's represented in its governance, similar to colonialism.  Abuse, neglect, and violations of human rights are almost a certainty yet Ferguson's voter turnout for its last Mayoral election, in 2014, was still just 12%.  I wonder if Nick would put his money where is mouth is and see what its like to live as an average Ferguson resident for a year.  They clearly agree with his political views.


Chicago, Illinois

The mercifully FORMER Chicago DA (Photo: fox32chicago.com)

"[Anita] Alvarez is the Cook County state's attorney, which is just another way of saying that she's the DA of Chicago. She has been working in the state's attorney's office as a prosecutor for nearly 30 years and has been the head of the office since 2008. She's up for re-election next November, and the March primary is coming up quickly. Kim Foxx, a Chicago native and a believer in criminal justice reform, is challenging her in the primary. (There will be more on Foxx in the next post.)

Alvarez is known as one of the worst prosecutors in the country. Here are just a few of the dozens of stories of misconduct and bad behavior in Alvarez’s office."

-- 11/24/2015, Josie Duffy, Daily Kos, "The Horrifying Behavior of Anita Alvarez, Chicago's Head Prosecutor"  

Anita Alvarez, now jobless after being voted out (see how that works, Nick?), was at the center of not one but two high-profile cases in which the murders of African Americans were treated with utter contempt and disrespect.  In the case of Rekia Boyd, Alvarez deliberately under charged her killer, Chicago Police Detective Dante Servin, with "reckless conduct" instead of first degree murder, knowing that it would be dismissed because the facts of the case clearly point to the more serious charge.  Servin is still on the force...for now.  In the case of LaQuan McDonald, the final nail in her coffin, she knew the police version of the events leading up to the 17 year old's death were a lie.  She refused to do anything about it, however, until a judge forced the release of a dash cam video exposing the cover up.  Only then did she charge Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke with murder.  I still find it incredulous she hasn't been brought up on charges of prosecutorial misconduct but I'll take my victories where I can.


Cleveland, Ohio

"Very interesting people who have their own economic motives"--Former Prosecutor McGinty describing Tamir Rice's mother (Photo: Lisa DeJong/Cleveland Plain Dealer)

"We have never seen a prosecutor try so hard to lose a case," [Jonathan S.] Abady, attorney for the mother of Tamir Rice said.

The grand jury needs only to find that the evidence presents probable cause that a crime has been committed in order to indict a suspect, but Rice's family claims that McGinty seemed to be working explicitly to convince the grand jury of the officers' innocence.

Less than two weeks after receiving the case, McGinty released a redacted version of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department's investigative report to the public. The Times reported that McGinty believes publicly releasing evidence increases the transparency of the investigation and could help prevent unrest akin to that in Ferguson, Missouri, where evidence was only made available to the public after the decision not to indict the police shooter was announced."

-- 12/28/15, Dan Turkel, Business Insider, "Tamir Rice's family accuses prosecutor of 'manipulating' grand jury to get cops out of indictment for 12-year-old's death"

Timothy McGinty, the now former head prosecutor in Cuyahoga County, was also voted out of office (amazing how that works isn't it, Nick?) after his office, like Alvarez's, also botched two high profile cases of the deaths of African Americans.  To his credit, at least he prosecuted the officers involved in the deaths of Timothy Russell, and Malissa Williams, even though he failed to get a conviction. What was truly inexcusable, was his refusal to prosecute never-should-have-been-a-cop Tim Loehmann for the cold blooded murder of 12 year old Tamir Rice.

 Alvarez would still be the sitting DA, running her office as her personal re-election headquarters instead of a place of justice if the people of Chicago shared Nick's apathy.  Tim McGinty would have had what amounts to a mandate for the system he works for to ignore the deaths of black children at the hands of police had the people of Cuyahoga County decided nothing would change.  Ferguson is still woefully unbalanced in its representation because its citizens clearly don't understand, just like Cannon, that a closed mouth doesn't get fed.  Even with the release of the so-called "Panama Papers," highlighting the abuses of capitalism we've all suspected the world's super rich were guilty of, abandonment of the system only ensures entrenchment of the status quo.  Who watches the watchers if we, the people their actions directly affect, decide we simply can't be bothered?  I don't know if Cannon is a rags to riches story of if he was born into privilege, nor do I care.  What concerns me is how easily someone who is part of the 1%, the people who are historically least affected by political change, can convince people that willingly abdicating the little political power they have is a good idea.  Nick Cannon's message isn't a call to revolution against the system.  It's an appeal to your baser instincts, anger and fear, to manipulate you into doing what people like him are best at.  Separating you from your money.  With every YouTube click, money flows into his pocket.  You know what America would look like if we did as he's suggesting?  Maybe you should ask your grandparents. Then ask them if they ever thought they were "too broke to vote."