The latest delusional explaining of the Trump phenomenon is that it is animated by fear -- Trump's supporters are absolutely in touch with their existential side. They are afraid of Muslims, Gay people, People of Color, College Professors, Women, Socialists, Jews, Native Americans, Public Schools, Solar Panels, Bathrooms, Barack Obama, Citizens Without Guns, Mexicans, Alec Baldwin... However, they must be praised for their courage and steadfastness in the face of the inevitable threat of Climate Change. Interesting how they can ward off their fear of global destruction by simply denying its existence? Why can't they apply this to their other horrible fears -- why can't they simply deny the existence of Mexicans, Obama, Bathrooms, Women or Solar Panels?
To claim that Trump's Presidency's raison d'etre is fear based is a big stinking bag of bologna. Can you imagine the outcome if Abraham Lincoln would have explained away the intransigence of the South on the issue of slavery by blaming it on the fear of contract labor? No my friends we are currently in the throes of the second American Civil War. Living my entire life in the South, I can tell you that the first one never ended -- it just went underground.
What we are living in is the Breitbart version of "Gone with the Wind." Trump is Jefferson Davis' hedonistic, narcissistic, opportunistic doppelganger, Titus Carbunkle. The great ballroom scene from the original movie is transformed into a Caligula type affair, complete with a lot of gold stuff and barnyard animals. Titus is the first cousin of Rhett Butler. The same non-aligned, materialistic, opportunistic streak that runs through Rhett runs through Titus, but Titus doesn't have Rhett's charming, eloquent, kind side. The main difference between the 1930's film and the current version is that this time the South wins.
The Trump administration is an existential threat to The United States and the greater world because the most powerful nation on the planet is validating and excusing the worst of what we are. Fear certainly plays a role in the current state of things, on all sides. But what we should really be afraid of is: ignorance, racism, xenophobia, rank materialism, climate change denial, magical thinking coupled with militarism, nationalism, and most importantly we should be very afraid of Trump. As his latest knee jerk opportunity for self-aggrandizement shows -- he will use the might of the United States Military to further his personal brand.
It's like the story told to me by an old gentleman when I was a child, "A Spider in Your Room." I can't remember it exactly but the jist of it was the spider that lives in his web in the corner of your room is never a problem until it decides you're a bug.
(Article changed on April 10, 2017 at 13:23)
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