The Danger Is Real

I’m reading a book titled “UPSWING,” by Robert D. Putnam. It’s an analysis of the upswings and downturns in social, cultural, political, economic, religious and ethnic thinking and conditions in the last 125 years. One chapter, “Culture: Individualism vs. Community,” seemed especially relevant to the dangers emanating from the 2020 elections.

The campaign starkly revealed the opposite poles of that chapter’s title. Of course we don’t normally think of those terms as representing anything other than individual liberty (good), as well as community responsibility (also good). Democracy is supposed to be the ideal mixture of the two. But what we saw in the 2020 campaign was divisive individualism (“Lock her up!”) vs. emphasis on community, with its clarion call for unity (“We are not red states or blue states, we are the United States!”). I don’t have to tell you who espoused what.

The favorable results, however, while setting us on a path toward unity of purpose in the fight against the pandemic and for equality of opportunity, did not eliminate the poisonous affliction of divisiveness propagated by President Trump. And he’s doubling down on it. At this writing he is still insisting that the election was stolen from him, and is encouraging his supporters to continue the fight against the results, despite his having lost by 7 million votes. And his multi-state legal attempts have been tossed out of court by every judge — Republican as well as Democrat!

But we can’t ignore the fact that Donald Trump — after four years of blatant incompetence, racism, incessant lying (most deadly about Covid-19), and enriching himself as well as the already wealthy (He reportedly told his cohorts at Mar a Lago after passage of his tax plan, “I just made you guys a lot richer”) — received over 73 million votes!

There are elements among those voters who are out-and-out racists and neo-Nazis. They will have to be dealt with lawfully if and when they stir up violence. But the vast majority of his supporters are decent, law-abiding citizens, who, for one reason or another, were taken in by Trump’s con man anti-politician tactics.

The only way to deal with this dangerous situation is to work toward unity via the programs put forth by Joe Biden, and even to press for greater reforms enunciated by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

A major impediment toward moving our country forward, however, would be if the Republicans keep control of the Senate. The elections in Georgia on Jan. 5 will be critical. We should do all we can — especially financially — to support Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in their senatorial bids.

 

 

 Wake-up Call

When I wrote “Allegiance to a Con Man,” about why so many Americans voted for Donald Trump in 2016, I did not expect what happened in 2020. After four years of incompetence, lies, insults, rule by tweets, racism, criminal — yes, criminal — undermining of our fight against Covid-19, and isolating us from the rest of the world, Trump still received 9 million more votes than he did in 2016!

Yes, he was soundly defeated by Joe Biden, who beat him by over 5 million votes. But at last count Trump had over 72 million votes, whereas in 2016 he received a bit over 63 million.

Why?

There is something seriously wrong in the body politic of the United States. And while we can justifiably celebrate the end of Trump’s presidency we’ll still by infected by Trumpism after he’s gone.

As I said in my “Con Man” piece, only a small portion of those who support Trump should be considered “deplorables” — to use Hillary Clinton’s impolitic term. I’m referring to the neo-Nazi, white supremacist, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic forces, all of which were encouraged by Trump at every turn. They will still constitute a very real danger to our country while Mr. Trump is sulking back in Trump Tower.

I’m hopeful that if the Biden/Harris leadership can reduce the effects of the pandemic, and that their plans for job creation — especially with a sharp turn toward renewable energy — it will weaken the hold that Donald Trump held on a large segment of the American people.

But this is not just a question of Biden/Harris and the people — who can’t just sit back and wait for President Biden to work miracles. There will have to be a lot of public pressure behind him, and even movements to take his plans a step further. And let’s not forget that in our system of checks and balances, the executive branch is only as effective as its relationship with Congress. There’s a possibility that the Senate will wind up in Democratic hands — just barely. But if it remains in Mitch McConnell’s nefarious hands, the march toward undoing Trump’s damage and realizing Biden’s domestic and international plans will be more of a slog than a stride.

But I believe that with Trump gone, and with the working relationships Biden had with Republicans when he was their colleague, they will feel freer to compromise. And since they always have their eyes on the next elections for Senate, even though Trump got a whopping 72-plus million votes, they had to be even more impressed that Biden got over 5 million more!

Fingers crossed.