Donald Trump Has Given the United States a
Great Gift
Poultice.
Not
quite a homonym, but close. Trump is a poultice poised to be Potus.
He
is a poultice put on the body politic to draw out the poison. Whether or not
that is his intention, it is the fact of his presence on us.
What
he has drawn to the surface are various toxins isolated in a boil ready to
burst.
Election day is the lance.
It would be an encouraging moment if he were to be shunned soundly on that day.
But however unwittingly, he has done the country a great service by calling these elements to the surface.
Election day is the lance.
It would be an encouraging moment if he were to be shunned soundly on that day.
But however unwittingly, he has done the country a great service by calling these elements to the surface.
"He gets to humiliate people. What a thrill for humiliated people. The inoculation for not being humiliated is to join the master as he mocks."
There
may be hard core pockets of people who swarm to his dark summonings, but there
are also aspects of most people who are tempted by his fumes. Scapegoating,
humiliating, gossiping, ranting, threats – what a great primitive treat. And it
works. Maybe.
Putting
him aside for the moment, who wants him in power? Who believes his brand of
power and authority is ideal and good for us? They need to be reckoned with and
faced.
The women and men taking to the airwaves rattling off a line of attack
on opponents and generalized virtues laid at Mr. Trump's feet, who are they?
People chanting USA and build that wall – who are they?
Are
they well-meaning and good citizens? Who and what has he drawn to the surface
and out of their corners of indignation?
There
is a kind of a small collective kissing of the ring. A rich man. He is smart.
He knows things we don't and therefore he knows everything about everything
because how else does someone who can barely put a sentence together get
billions of dollars?
He
gets to humiliate people. What a thrill for humiliated people. The inoculation
for not being humiliated is to join the master as he mocks.
He's
real. Authentic. This may be the same as cruel. But there is the case of the
bible and how well he does with The Evangelicals so he's not cruel – he's
honest; true. And so we'll vote for him.
There's
a hesitation to say anything about those who support and vote for Trump. It's
superfluous, redundant and exhausting to state the obvious about a man who
often refers to himself in the third person. But the ones who have been drawn
to his fumes are the ones we might want to explore.
This
is a kind of anthropological study. The dominant male in the tribe, to some, is
identified by a certain sociopathy – a thick skin only when it comes to
hurting another human being.
The supporters identify not because they can do
that, but because they wish they could do that.
Maybe if they were very rich
they would. Maybe in their own way they do and are now emboldened by him
to do it more.
Because the poultice has as part of his brew enormous wealth and
his own plane, all other pernicious vapors are vindicated.
"These followers have been brought to the surface and we should know them – they want to be known now. They are not afraid to be known and that is the gift Trump has given them – and us."
These
followers have been brought to the surface and we should know them – they want
to be known now. They are not afraid to be known and that is the gift Trump has
given them – and us.
He has given them a brutal benediction on their brutality.
A blessing on their lack of empathy. A license to aim their disdain at the
“other.”
With his harsh sandpaper screech he underlines the “others” giving
cover and consolation to the Unchristian Christians. What a relief not to feel
guilty about being hostile and bigoted.
These
supporters reveal themselves to be both cowed and exalted by his wealth.
Supporting him is like buying a lottery ticket.
The promised land is the prize
and his voters have an instant membership because they hate what he hates. Wait
– I don't – we don't hate anyone. Either we have a country or we don't.
The
unifying aspects of a country is less about borders and much more about an
overriding ethos. What do we ALL believe in in the United states of America?
The poultice is calling out the elements that care not about unity but about
dominating priorities. Trump and his supporters care about priorities that will
dominate the less worthy members of the population.
To
call Trump toxic is not the most important observation – the toxicity and the
people he has invited to the surface for all to see - that is the best thing he
has done for the country he loves.