A look at the appeal of outsiders in this Presidential election cycle.

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Trump Syndrome: A process by which otherwise rational and intelligent individuals back political candidates representing extremist positions, left or right on the political spectrum.

It is my opinion this syndrome is rooted in deep cultural sociological unrest. I see four baseline issues as attributing to this phenomenon in the current Presidential cycle. They are presented here in no specific order of importance and are not meant to be the only issues affecting the social discontent portrayed by the masses.

Middleclass jobs have left the United States and wages have stagnated or digressed compared to cost of living expenditures, when this began can be debated. The fact remains that good paying middleclass jobs have disappeared. Globalization and bad trade deals that favor everyone except the America worker are a contributing factor to the Trump Syndrome. With the reduction of good paying jobs, instead of seeing an increasing entrepreneurial class (as predicted by trickle-down economics) a massive rise in low paying service industry jobs has been the result.

The removal of Glass-Stegall legislation and the deregulation of business have attributed to the rise of the one-percenters. The anger toward the deregulation of the health care industry and big banks add strive to the public, despite their political leanings, who see a gamed system that favor the fiscal elitists in our nation.

People are tired of seeing every Congress deadlocked in partisan bickering and representatives failing to perform their duties. The Senate uses the supermajority vote to safeguard itself from accomplishing anything. A simple majority vote is all that is needed and can be installed at the beginning of every new Congress. The Supreme Court's ruling on Citizens United coupled with paid lobbyists yield ever-increasing political control over the Hill to a narrow-minded interest. This creates nothing but strive and condemnation from the public toward our elected officials and the framework of the Republic.

The deregulation of the media and the rise of the 24/7 news cycle with pundits that are no longer required to present news as fact, only serve to prevent a 65% majority public opinion. The point at which, Congress is known to act expeditiously. These pundits and "media" outlets are only concerned with the bottom line. They accomplish their agenda by whipping up hysteria among the extremist viewpoints held by far left and right wing activists in the United States.

It is the disgust of a rigged system, and the failure of elected officials to work for the people, which is driving the anger in this nation. At the end of the day, the same drive for Hope and Change that elected President Obama is being played out in this election cycle as the people flock to see Donald Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders. The Trump Syndrome is a continued movement against the Status Quo and a clear indication of an unstable Republic.

Authors Bio:

Anthony J. Gerst, is an author/columnist and activist. He resides near the confluence of the Iowa and Mississippi Rivers. His favorite author, Mark Twain, was an editor for the Muscatine Journal near where he lives. Mr. Gerst has offered musings, on whether the massive oaks on his property, were once shade trees for the adventurist and wandering young Aldo Leopold. Mr. Leopold being considered the creator of the modern environmental movement.

He started writing letters to the editor in 1983. In this time, he has been printed on five continents and in various papers across the continental United States. "Ghosts of the Erie Canal," is being reissued spring 2016. His second book "The HAARP Letters (A Climate Changing Reality) was released in Feb. 2016. A third book "Sasquatch Must Die" is a short story and acts a preclude to the above mentioned novella.

From early childhood he expressed an interest in politics. He currently reads Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy Magazine, The Wilson Quarterly and Scietific American on a regular basis. Since early this century his attention has been drawn toward environmental activism. His column, Earth Line in the now closed Galesburg Zephyr was first created to address the issues of Global Warming and climate change.

Many people, who have read his works in various social communities, have remarked upon his philosophy of writing.
Writing to Mr. Gerst is a challenge, an art form of expression. However, beyond this, his view on writing is: if he can challenge one reader to question their opinions, then he as writer has succeded. Why? Because he has made them challenge their own comfort zone.