Trump is a good representative for America.
Before you agree completely, hear me out.
Firstly, I have never been to the US, but I do have some friends from there, so I guess that makes it okay to talk about them. Secondly, most of my views of the US as a culture have come from watching Baywatch, Magnum PI, and the A-Team.
I feel I might even be overqualified.
So why is Trump a good representative?
Because he pretty much represents what America is, a melting pot of conflict. He changes his mind so much that he must be at war with himself constantly. But more likely, he speaks strongly on a topic he knows little about and then when corrected, he will speak strongly in another direction, as if what he first said, was never said. And then he will concurrently hold opposing opinions as fact, say one thing and act another, and then expect everyone to accept what is said, because he said it, so it must be true.
Now again, before you agree completely with me...
The US is diverse, so I am not saying that everyone in the US is like Trump. More, that the US is constantly in conflict internally with itself. It seems to be in eternal identity crisis, with split personalities all fighting for control to make their voice the loudest. It is a country of extremes that are all living together in constant conflict, and it seems to have always been that way. Perhaps it is due to the way it was built and developed through external conflict and internal battles, with those battles still impacting on the state of the union today.
For a few examples of the conflicts that come to my mind are things like;
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore."
Which is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, one of the enduring symbols of the US, and is about welcoming immigrants into the country. Well... when has that really been true? And I am not talking about just now in the Trump times, but forever. The US, with all of its different backgrounds, has created some of the most enduring examples of systemic and cultural racism.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!”
This is the line preceding the one above, which talks about how the US is new and doesn't need all the ceremony and display that especially England was known for. Yet again, the US seems to be amongst the most pompous of all the countries, bar those that are run by dictators. Pretty much everything the US does, come across as some kind of show, a piece of entertainment that is there to highlight self-importance.
But the US is riddles with conflict. For another example, look at the laws around abortion and all that fighting and argument about religious morality and values, but at the same time, the US is the largest producer of pornography. Then, nudity is somehow frowned upon and sexual education is somehow a contentious topic, but violence and the right to carry a gun down the street is sacred.
It just seems poorly organised.
And then there is Trumps affinity with covering everything in gold, like a caricature of a 1930s, cigar-smoking, monocle-wearing rich man, and still many people accepting him as a voice for the hard done by. Or many people accepting him as some kind of protector, whilst there is literally tape of him talking about grabbing random women by the pussy - which is assault.
Par for the course.
(As long as it is a course where Trump can get away with cheating)
He owns a few, giving him control over his score card.
I am not watching some nonsense where they fly in victims with the intent to make the other side look bad. It is pathetic. It is also pathetic for someone to stand up there and talk about how good everything is going across the "union" while going into states that didn't ask or want the support, with federal marshals and then harassing, arresting and even shooting citizens.
Since I am obviously an academic on all things American, when it comes to the "state of the union"
it all just seems to be, broken. Maybe it is because the states themselves operate like countries and have wildly different laws on what should be pretty big issues where some level of conformity is required. Or perhaps it is because Americans themselves are "extreme" as individuals in their opinions about what they believe is right and wrong, and are happy to fight for it. Whatever it is, there doesn't seem to be much union amongst the country, states, the government, or the people at any level.
Society as a global whole is becoming more disconnected from each other and far more individualistic, with a culture that has been strongly influenced by the US. It is a place where once it was possible for normal to live the American dream, but now it is a place for the wealthy to take advantage of everyone else. And this mentality is spreading. The culture is spreading. The attitudes are spreading. The problems are spreading.
Conflict is spreading.
Back in the day I read a few books on resolving internal personal conflicts and while it was helpful at the time, I find it harder and harder to maintain it, if I try to "fit in" with society. Society has become a shattered pane of glass, with a million splinters all fighting to be the mirror on the wall. And I think that most of us are living with a lot more internal conflict than we did earlier, as our beliefs and expectations are influenced by external sources that are great at manipulation, and have an agenda to bend attention.
So yeah, I think Trump is a good representation of the US, because he is a conflicted mess, takes everything personally, is easily upset, and reacts without thinking about the repercussions. He is a toddler tyrant, but in today's society, many of us are not far different. It is just that we are less visible, and have less influence.
The continued fracturing of the world along irrelevant fault lines is one of the saddest things in the history of our species and despite all we have experienced and now know, we keep doing the same thing, over and over. Conflict is in our nature, because nature is always challenging us. But instead of dealing with the things that matter, we create conflicts amongst and within ourselves instead. Fighting unnecessary battles, while what needs to be done, lays waiting.
Our world is in quite a state.
Taraz
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