Well, reality is settling in around here. Both Dave and I felt a sense of resigned equanimity yesterday morning, but for me that feeling turned into a profound dread through the course of the day. I wasn't shocked like I was when Hillary Clinton lost in 2016. I knew it was very possible that Trump would emerge from this election victorious.
But the thought that he will run the country with essentially no checks and balances, with both houses of Congress under Republican control and half the Supreme Court doing his bidding, and with evangelical supporters whispering in his ear if not pulling his strings -- well, that's pretty scary. The USA may be closer to "The Handmaid's Tale" than we ever imagined.
I thought Elizabeth Spiers in The New York Times did a good job analyzing the misogyny at the heart of Trump's appeal to many male voters. But a surprising number of women voted for Trump too, so although I've been calling this election "the revenge of the men," the results can't be entirely laid at our door. I can't imagine why any woman would support Trump, but I know plenty who do.
I bristled at Bret Stephens' assertion that the modern Democratic party has alienated voters by "stand(ing) for the forcible imposition of bizarre cultural norms on hundreds of millions of Americans who want to live and let live but don’t like being told how to speak or what to think." He doesn't specify which cultural norms those Americans might consider "bizarre," but I can easily imagine gay marriage is one of them. It seems to me the Republicans are the ones who emphasize extreme hypotheticals at the expense of rather ordinary reality. ("They'll marry their pets!")
Stephens acknowledges that the Democratic party at its best stands for fairness, but then says Democrats have dwelled too much on "social engineering according to group identity" -- which to me means fairness. Go figure. Is the Civil Rights Act "social engineering"?
Anyway, I'm glad I'm not a recent immigrant to the USA, and I'm glad I don't work for the Department of Education. Hopefully my marriage won't be obliterated, but at least here in the UK I think it will continue to be respected for the time being.
We liberals still have a voice, and there are plenty of powerful people on our side. Let's try not to lose heart. I still think most Americans are in the middle, politically speaking, and we need to focus on working with those moderates. And let's think about how we can oppose extremism on the right until the pendulum swings again. I for one am going to continue donating to opposition groups on issues that matter to me -- minority rights, civil rights, reproductive rights. In fact I may double my donations.
And now, because we could all use a laugh, how about a motorcycle-riding Elmo in Soho Square?
Work has been madness for the last few days, but I am trying to keep up in blogland. Be patient with me!
(Top photo: A picturesque pub in Soho.)
That was an interesting small overview of what happened. I just don't understand the result and I probably never will. Steve, I have warned you about hanging around Soho.
ReplyDeleteWhen the extreme right wing party reached 30 percent in three federal states in Germany recently it took me - and others - a few days to recover and to realise that 70 percent did not vote for them. So even with 51 percent of voters for trump, do not forget the 49 percent of your fellow Americans who did not and who need your thanks and support.
ReplyDeleteDo it the English way, Chin up old man, stiff upper lip and all that eh wot? Or something like that. And like Sabine says: a big thank you to all those who did not vote for the felon.
ReplyDeleteThe Handmaids Tale reference is disturbing.
ReplyDelete