Is Campaign Craziness Really Over?
As a non American I am a bystander. As a member of English North American culture I was still emersed in it. As a member of the global consciousness I worry about two competing world views.
This morning I turned on the TV and saw overnight protests in many cities, and more disturbingly a video of what appeared to be junior high school student walking through halls holding a Trump-Pence sign, and chanting "White Power".
I've never seen such craziness outside of fringe gatherings, or non serious banter.
It seems to me that some elements in US society saw the traditional political order as keeping a lid on their "White" identy...whatever that constructed label means.
Another video shown in the same segment showed grade school kids chanting "build the wall" in the school cafeteria - in the direction of Latino kids.
The Core Issue - Culture War Reframed
Red vs Blue seems to be now overlayed with Anglo American Culture vs Latin American culture.
Demographic trends make this different from Mexican Repatriation in the Great Depression.
We also should be more compassionate now, and have a more diverse mindset from the interconnected cultures. There can be both a legal respectfulness and humanitairian respect in the US.
Back to 'Whitelash' for a second
The divide is clearly Rural vs Urban and Right vs Left. Vance Jones, CNN political analyst, also accurately remarked on a racial component. To expand a little on this thought, it is a cultural aspect (as plenty of diversity exists in the term "White").
The simplified founding culture is Anglo Protestant - who also interacted with Native American, French, Spanish and African culture (the latter not arriving by choice). Anglo absorbed the others, as subsequent waves of immigration integrated into it...some people who identify with this 'dominant' settler culture feel like their country's dominant cultural identity is changing. Moreover, there is no way for them to express pride in that culture openly (unlike other groups who regularly have parades of celebration - Irish and Italian for example). It used to be that 'American' was synonymous with that settler identity. But American pride parades and celebrations are for all cultures. Leaving many people with their own identity cultural outlet...hence the 'Whitelash'.
Possible Solution - Respectful Pride for All
National stories changed in Canada... British dominance morphed to a two founding French and English - and more recently Indigenous People (a vast array of distinct cultures) have been highlighted in the National Founder Story.
Immigrants are celebrated for the diversity they bring but it is a layer on top, building upon something valued...a constant growth on an agreed upon foundation.
Some immigrants assimilate more than others and adopt a dominant culture (French or English) as identity while keeping pride in their personal family history. Others retain a significant identity in their original culture. Sometimes this distinctiveness lasts many generations. First case examples are English American and Irish immigrants to Quebec (Anglo and French respectively), Ukrainian and other Europeans settling the praries - and many others. The reality is that over many generations people of different heritage will intermarry creating an identity in the process. In this case, math matters, as the larger groups will be more pronounced over time in more individuals...identity stories form based on simple themes and less so on small details. Examples of the second case are more rare (and exist in the US as well). Mennonites/Amish, and other religious groups are an example. More recent immigrants will also fall into these camps...some Muslims will preserve more conservative culture - sometimes visibly and signaling distinctness beyond religious signals, others will integrate and be French or English Canadian as primary culture, with proud roots and religion from elsewhere.
The US never had a multiparty view of 'founding culture'. It is the Plymouth Rock foundation and the founding fathers at the base. It was successful expansion across the continent, incorporating Native, Spanish/Mexican and French territory. Obvious diversity is layered on top and formed the melting pot story. And the culture of money, economics and nation-building was also a unifying identity (with English as the common tongue).
Language does not equal common culture. There is distinctive culture in Northern Ireland and between Red and Blue states.
With this election we see identity politics that doesn't fit that established framework. English is not the official language, but is expected to be as it is the key to economic advancement. Is that true still? What about in 20 years? Speaking Spanish AND English may be the most valuable for business then. And as previously noted, language does not necissarily equate to common cultural identity. If we are in an era of diversity and respect for differences, then clearly the paradigm grouping a large group of White culture identifying individuals into American culture as their only identity can't continue. All distinct groups are both their group AND American. The same unifying idea applies in Canada, and it works because in addition to being Canadian, anyone has the freedom to also be English/British, French, Indigenious, or anywhere on Earth-Canadian. Many people also proudly identify as mixtures of any identifiable group. Many don't care to be 'hyphenated' - and that works fine precisely because they have the option available.
If large groups of people in the US can't easily identify their distinctive cultural identity in an era of diversity, we are witness to a logical contradiction. Perhaps demographic shifts will encourage a healthy celebration of 'White' identity into the diverse cultures which comprise the term. 'White-American' isn't descriptive as cultural identity, and if it refers to the early settlers it leaves out the vast majority of other identifying cultures that happen to be of European descent.
People should be allowed to express their identy and be proud of it. The context must be within mutual respect and understanding regardless of diverse backgrounds...
Ultimately people are united by the shared identity of being American...I worry this is not always the case today. Accepting the hyphenated nature of America may be a step toward progress.