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Just like the Brexit vote here I believe that people in the US have decided to bloody the nose of what they call the "establishment" - here it was also a shot at a a right leaning government who were, and still are, cutting things that we cherish such as our National Health Service, the Welfare state and worker protection.
I read this quote from Bernie Sanders (not a politician I particularly like) which reads
"Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment economics, establishment politics and the establishment media.
People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids – all while the rich become very much richer....."
The problems with this aim are that the "establishment" by which I mean global business, Banking and generally self serving politicians are all still there and DT will find it impossible to govern without their help. He will be riding on a wave with both houses remaining republican whereas Obama faced 8 years of trying to push the policies he was elected to deliver while the rest of government against populist policies had the controlling hand.
I also pose one fundamental question - if you mean by the "establishment" you mean extremely wealthy people, used to getting their own way by virtue of their wealth then why elect a millionaire? In a fair and just society there cannot be millionaires while others go hungry - do people really believe that a millionaire is going to ensure that the countries wealth is more fairly distributed among the population - especially disabled and disadvantaged?
We have seen here a distinct raising of the profile of people who would discriminate against most minorities not conforming to their own values. I am not one of the people who accuse all brexit voters of being racially predjudiced or homophobic but Brexit has created a climate where people with those views seem more empowered to express them - this mirrors what happened in Nazi Germany - subtle changes of attitude which led to tolerance of what should be intolerable. Very few of the people voting for brexit believed that would be the outcome just as I am sure that most of the people voting for DT do not believe that he will carry out his more extreme policies (that remains to be seen) However the real danger I feel is what happens to the moral compass of a nation after the event.
Democracy has a huge hole in it because it assumes that the "majority" are always the good guys but in my view while democracy CAN deliver fair and just government it also has the capacity to deliver mob rule as well. What worries me about the US decision, more than the UK one, is the links to white christian values when many of these values have nothing to do with the love and understanding that religion claims to promote. You will probably correctly deduce that I believe all religion to be a man made thing (emphasis on "man") used to protect people from their own fears and uncertainties which I don't think has any useful value in a forward looking inclusive society.
I read this quote from Bernie Sanders (not a politician I particularly like) which reads
"Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment economics, establishment politics and the establishment media.
People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids – all while the rich become very much richer....."
The problems with this aim are that the "establishment" by which I mean global business, Banking and generally self serving politicians are all still there and DT will find it impossible to govern without their help. He will be riding on a wave with both houses remaining republican whereas Obama faced 8 years of trying to push the policies he was elected to deliver while the rest of government against populist policies had the controlling hand.
I also pose one fundamental question - if you mean by the "establishment" you mean extremely wealthy people, used to getting their own way by virtue of their wealth then why elect a millionaire? In a fair and just society there cannot be millionaires while others go hungry - do people really believe that a millionaire is going to ensure that the countries wealth is more fairly distributed among the population - especially disabled and disadvantaged?
We have seen here a distinct raising of the profile of people who would discriminate against most minorities not conforming to their own values. I am not one of the people who accuse all brexit voters of being racially predjudiced or homophobic but Brexit has created a climate where people with those views seem more empowered to express them - this mirrors what happened in Nazi Germany - subtle changes of attitude which led to tolerance of what should be intolerable. Very few of the people voting for brexit believed that would be the outcome just as I am sure that most of the people voting for DT do not believe that he will carry out his more extreme policies (that remains to be seen) However the real danger I feel is what happens to the moral compass of a nation after the event.
Democracy has a huge hole in it because it assumes that the "majority" are always the good guys but in my view while democracy CAN deliver fair and just government it also has the capacity to deliver mob rule as well. What worries me about the US decision, more than the UK one, is the links to white christian values when many of these values have nothing to do with the love and understanding that religion claims to promote. You will probably correctly deduce that I believe all religion to be a man made thing (emphasis on "man") used to protect people from their own fears and uncertainties which I don't think has any useful value in a forward looking inclusive society.
Wired Parrott
