Following the inauguration of the 45th President of the
United States of America just two days ago I feel compelled once again to post
here following a long and unintended silence.
It was with a bizarre mix of shock, horror and bewilderment that I
watched the rise of Donald Trump from bumbling, self-congratulatory, racist,
xenophobic and misogynistic Republican nominee to President of one of the most
powerful nations in the world. His
unlikely Republican nomination seemed to be an uncanny foreshadowing of a
series of unlikely and unfortunate events that led to Trump’s eventual inauguration
on 20th January 2017. Fear,
anger and hate appeared to many to be the catalysts for such an unlikely win; greatly aided of course, might I be so bold as
to suggest by the undemocratic , electoral
college system that allowed for an individual holding three million less votes than
his opponent to take office.
In the two days since the inauguration thousands have taken to the
streets in over 20 countries around the world to voice their descent. From Washington to Dublin to the Bahamas
individuals with opposing views to those espoused by Trump have taken to the
streets to let it be shown that this man does not and will not stand for
them.
So how have we found ourselves here?
How have we found ourselves just 72 years after the end of World War II
staring xenophobia, hate and nationalism in the face once more?
I can only express my view.
We in the West live in a world of
instant gratification, instant access to entertainment and to information and
in a world where all of these have become so inseparably linked through social
media that we are forced to choose between light entertainment and details of
real human-suffering every time we log on.
We live in a world of ‘jpegs’ and sound-bites, of over-simplification
and dumbing-down of complex concepts for the purpose of capturing the attention
of an over-stimulated and apathetic audience. Trump, if he excels at anything,
excels at providing simplistic solutions to complex problems.
We also live in a world that revolves around money. Our capitalist society
dictates the nature of our everyday lives.
We live with the illusion of freedom in a world where we are bound to
participate in the generation of wealth or the security of food and shelter is
taken from us. We are all aware that the
election of Donald Trump followed hot-on-the-heels of the greatest economic
crisis ever to hit the West since the ‘30s.
The very foundations of capitalism have been shaken and we are living
with greater uncertainty now than ever before and where the world in the 1930s
had real alternatives to Capitalism on offer, the only alternative we can
conceive at present seems to be chaos. The American public that watched the election campaign of 2016 were,
knowingly or unknowingly, a people in crisis.
The economic crisis was taking a real toll on the lives of those who had
once dreamt the American Dream, and this toll was real and manifested itself in
unemployment, homelessness and uncertainty.
And they were also a people in intellectual crisis. A generation who grew up in a world where knowledge had to be sought out through activities such as reading newspapers, visiting libraries, attending lectures, schools and universities and seeking out and listening to well-informed individuals debate key issues now find themselves living in the Internet Age. In the space of just over thirty years their access to information has been transformed so radically that it is barely recognisable. Raised in a world where information was earned through activity and was therefore highly valued they now find themselves engulfed and mesmerised by a world of information and misinformation that reveals itself at the click of a mouse. We are now privy to any amount of information at any time and the lack of energy and enthusiasm required to acquire it is equalled only by the lack of legitimacy required to post it. Suddenly rather than debating issues all view-points can find validation. The current generation of financially beaten down citizens can find affirmation and self-worth in online echo-chambers of their opinions, however misinformed or misguided, at the touch of a key. Because capitalist society offers the individual no basis for their self-esteem beyond the acquisition of products, people seek their self-worth through online validation of their ideas, no matter how misguided those ideas may be. We thereby see a rise in superficial notions of nationalism and race that are unamenable to reason and logic, but which provide a sense of self to those who have none.
And they were also a people in intellectual crisis. A generation who grew up in a world where knowledge had to be sought out through activities such as reading newspapers, visiting libraries, attending lectures, schools and universities and seeking out and listening to well-informed individuals debate key issues now find themselves living in the Internet Age. In the space of just over thirty years their access to information has been transformed so radically that it is barely recognisable. Raised in a world where information was earned through activity and was therefore highly valued they now find themselves engulfed and mesmerised by a world of information and misinformation that reveals itself at the click of a mouse. We are now privy to any amount of information at any time and the lack of energy and enthusiasm required to acquire it is equalled only by the lack of legitimacy required to post it. Suddenly rather than debating issues all view-points can find validation. The current generation of financially beaten down citizens can find affirmation and self-worth in online echo-chambers of their opinions, however misinformed or misguided, at the touch of a key. Because capitalist society offers the individual no basis for their self-esteem beyond the acquisition of products, people seek their self-worth through online validation of their ideas, no matter how misguided those ideas may be. We thereby see a rise in superficial notions of nationalism and race that are unamenable to reason and logic, but which provide a sense of self to those who have none.
At a time in history when information is more readily available than
ever before we are witnessing the degeneration of intelligent discourse. It is being replaced by sound-bites, memes,
fast-talk for a fast world. It is being
tuned-out by a world of social media, entertainment and consumerism that
hypnotises its citizens. At a time in
history when for the first time the atrocities happening around the globe can
find their way into our living-rooms and bedrooms, our offices and schools, we
are more inured than ever before to human suffering. We have undoubtedly turned on and tuned out.
So it is against this background that Donald Trump, the narcissistic,
xenophobic, racist, sexist Republican candidate entered the White House: a background
of economic strife, information-overload, intellectual-degeneration and uncertainty.
In a world where the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer, where
eight individuals hold more wealth than the wealth of the rest of the world put
together, in a world where all view-points can find validation no matter how unjust,
unintelligent or inhuman those view-points are individuals are voting for
racist, misogynistic, xenophobic leaders. We’ve seen all this before, but many
have not learned history’s lesson. If there’s any silver lining to this
cultural shit-storm it might be that Trump’s victory is uniting those horrified
by it, as we saw from the marches that followed hard upon his
inauguration. We shouldn’t allow this momentum of resistance to abate, by
becoming accustomed to political folly. The left has always suffered from a
lack of unity – the Spanish civil war is a frightful but apposite example. The
people on the Right like to follow, to march in unison, to wear a single
uniform, which makes them stronger in politics and conflict. We on the Left
debate on the finer points of ideology while Brian is crucified, if I may
adduce Monty Python. We must instead remember that we have a concrete threat to
our practical and intellectual liberty, and put our
differences aside to fight it.
Lynn Crampton
