“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I would say that we are standing at a crossroads in history right now, a true time of challenge and controversy, and anyone of us who has a conscience must stand up and vote in the presidential election this coming November. There are many elections that are dull — either because of the candidates or the issues — but this one in 2016; this one matters if you care about civility, opportunity, and everything good this country represents.
Last summer, when Trump was just beginning to gain traction, I, like many, regarded him as a source of amusement. Like an accident on the highway, it was impossible to look away. First, his hair: Is it a pompadour, toupee, combover, bad scalp implants, or industrial-strength hair spray that gives it that look and lift? Then there’s his broad range of mannerisms and facial expressions — his visage looks like it’s made of rubber that can morph on command.
But in fairness, I’m being superficial here only to focus on his looks. It’s his political extremism, the polarizing effects of his worldview, and his audacity in articulating what no one else dares say — that is what is at once frightening, and at the same time, has riveted a nation.
Now that it looks like he is about to capture the Republican nomination, it is obvious that he has struck a chord that was long waiting to be struck and reverberate across the nation. He has given voice to an angry and significant part of the population — the disenfranchised — who feel that their old world order is about to dissolve and they will do everything to hang on.
It’s not a coincidence that he is highly popular among those who are not college educated, those who feel left in the dust of the tremendous economic progress over the last few years, especially during the last two terms of the Obama presidency, our first African-American president.
I get it. I’m angry too. As a minority, immigrant female not involved in the political process (out of choice), I am appalled at the lack of will at our highest levels of government to take action. The root causes are political deadlock, ego, and pandering to special interests. While our highways crumble and bridges fall, while deadly shootings become almost routine, while the gap between rich and poor, the hungry and well fed, the educated and ignorant grows ever larger, our leaders have let go of the wheel.
I am very tired of the political system. I don’t believe anything politicians say. I don’t feel that they have my back: they are only considering about watching their own.
Just as there are those who say no pain, no gain, some think there is something good that can come out of these wrenching times, times that cause a generation that is anxious to begin with to become even more so.
Those who fall into the glass half full class say that the times in which we live are troubling and turbulent because they represent the growing pains of a country in the process of seismic change that ultimately will result in a better society. It’s probably too simplistic a comparison but think of France before and after the revolution- or pre and post Czarist Russia. Again, way too broad brush a stroke; there obviously are many nuances of history, but it’s the idea that change can be painful and metamorphosis is a process. Before the worm can become a butterfly it goes into a dark, ugly state of hibernation before it can emerge in its full glory.
So getting back to Trump: there is no doubt that he has fanned the flames of a social movement, a backlash against the current establishment, and a call to a new world order. The soldiers of his ideological war are loud and visible, but ultimately, there is a ceiling to his numbers. And while he can seize the Republican nomination out of the hands of a party that has lost its way, he cannot hoodwink the entire American people into voting him into the presidency. At least, that’s what I’m hoping.
Teachers of history and government should be following national events closely and discussing the political and social phenomena in the classrooms. It’s too bad Will is going to miss this presidential election by less than three months; he’ll be 18 in January. I once wrote in this space about how I took him into the voting booth with me when he was little to impress upon him the importance of civic engagement and exercising your right to vote. I hope there will be a grand surge in political involvement, and that young people of conscience will be out there in droves in these months preceding the election.
I still have faith that the wisdom and compassion that defines the American character will prevail, and that the Trump factor will recede into history as a “what the heck was all that about” moment. Nonetheless, we can’t take anything for granted. There is a lot that needs fixing in this country, but he’s just not the guy who’s right for the job.
