Why Trump is Scary

**Received this link with the subject: Scary

Democracy is So 2005

Middle classes around the world seem weary of free politics and are open to strongmen like Trump.

In my reply, I generally agreed. Good article, loaded with useful info. But a slightly different slant:

Yes, indeedy. I've been thinking all along that the problem isn't the candidate, it's the electorate. Although I don't know much about the Asian autocrats, I think Berlusconi is the closest we have to Trump. Where Trump has done him one better is that he got all his publicity for free while Berlusconi had to buy up a lot of media outlets to get his message across. 

I don't quite agree with the closeness of the Mussolini comparison. Hitler's rise seems more relevant. Shirer notes that after two failed coups, and prison, Hitler realized that the route to power was through a media-manipulated democratic process. The German electorate is also more comparable to today's Establishment weariness. The Weimar Republic formed after WW1 was an economic disaster made even worse by public humiliation because of harsh sanctions and reparations imposed by the victors. It became identified with democracy because the US was an important part of the settlement at Versailles. Hitler capitalized on this widespread discontent and made democracy (and minorities) the convenient scapegoat for his argument that the country needed a strong leader.

What Hillary needs to learn from Bernie is that the movement he represents is very close to the movement that Trump represents. Neither constituency cares much about a candidate's gender – nearly everyone expects that a female president will eventually happen. They also don't care about their age. Bernie's backers are mostly young, but they rally behind this grandfatherly figure because he seems to be a future version of what they could be. And because he addresses their deeply felt concerns. Hillary needs to find a way to address both camps with a message and a posture that promises real determination to steer the basic structure of the government toward their interests. 

But even if she doesn't, I think she needs to keep hammering away at Trump's mentality, the unstable condition he seems helpless to correct cosmetically. "Never Trump" should resonate with the same legitimacy as "Never Hitler."

Authoritarians and demagogues

**I wrote earlier about the Trump phenomenon and the problem with focussing too much on his personality and not enough on the mental state of the electorate. I compared it to that of Germany in the years before the Nazi takeover.

Now there's a Politico article that adds some psychology to my observations. Matthew Macwilliams states:

Trump’s electoral strength—and his staying power—have been buoyed, above all, by Americans with authoritarian inclinations. And because of the prevalence of authoritarians in the American electorate, among Democrats as well as Republicans, it’s very possible that Trump’s fan base will continue to grow.
Read more: 

...

Authoritarianism is not a new, untested concept in the American electorate. Since the rise of Nazi Germany, it has been one of the most widely studied ideas in social science. While its causes are still debated, the political behavior of authoritarians is not. Authoritarians obey. They rally to and follow strong leaders. And they respond aggressively to outsiders, especially when they feel threatened. 

Instead of thinking for themselves, instead of making the effort to see the big picture as well as the important nuances about governing, too many voters are willing to let a strong man lead. Combine a strong man, a purchased Congress and a submissive public and we could throw the country into a dictatorship.

As a whole, we're not there yet, but there are enough who are to make this a very dangerous time to not vote Democratic. Whether it's Hillary or Bernie, it doesn't matter as long as it's one of them. It's important to not be taken in by the media frenzy over Trump, not get caught up in the snowball effect. It's even MORE important to actually get out and vote. Remember: the easiest Republican voter is the Democrat who doesn't vote!

The Dawn of Demagoguery

**“Demagogues thrive when we’re cynical about truth.”  (Michael Signer in a recent interview on the podcast “On the Media.”)

"The truth is like poetry. And most people hate poetry." (The Big Short)

trumpery: "attractive articles of little value or use; practices or beliefs that are superficially or visually appealing but have little real value or worth." Also at Merrier-Webster dictionary and "The Relic Master"

Tracking Donald Trump since he became a presidential candidate, I’ve become more and more worried. Not about Trump himself, but about the enthusiastic response from the American electorate. 

To Trump, and certain elements of the media, high poll numbers are the legitimizing factor of his candidacy even though his popularity comes mainly from Republicans who respond to polls. Even so, today's political climate speaks more about the state of the American public’s psyche, than about any specific issue Trump raises. 

A friend recently wrote me that at the museum where he works there are eleven TV sets, each tuned to a different cable news channel. All but one feature non-stop Trump. The lone exception, Al Jazeera, has little time for Trump - an indication that to the rest of the world there are more important things to think about than the antics of America's political clowns.  

There will always be unsuitable candidates for public office, and some of them will even rise to prominence. But in the end, the public makes a more sober choice. Usually. This isn’t to say there haven’t been bad presidents. But none could be categorized as demagogues. What’s troubling is that the public seems so ignorant of the implications of its infatuation with this bloviating outlier, and his competitors for the Republican nomination. It's troubling because history shows how badly things can go when the public allows a demagogue to become a leader.

I once worked with someone whose parents lived in Germany during the time of the Third Reich. She tried to excuse the German people (including her parents) from complicity in placing Hitler at the head of their country by claiming that most people didn’t realize the extent of the evil that was going on. But if you read detailed histories of that era, such as Shirer's "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," it’s hard to believe any German didn’t know what was going on. Hitler’s vilification and victimization of the Jews, for instance, was a loudly proclaimed policy from the beginning. And his war on democracy in Germany was a major plank in his campaigns for leadership. 

By his own account, he realized that after two failed attempts, a violent overthrow of the government was impossible. But a takeover by democratic means was much easier. And a major tool in capturing the leadership was the clever and extensive use of propaganda (aka the media). He manipulated public perceptions so that the people would willingly give up their democratic freedoms. The rest is horrific history.

I have believed for a while that more than ever something similar could happen here. Trump is a master manipulator of public perceptions, a self-promoter and fake populist. Making fun of him won’t derail him. Neither will calling him names or even criticizing him. Attention must be focused on the danger of the public’s own infatuation with this demagogue. The public needs to awaken to its complicity in this attack on its own fundamental interests. 

Who or what can cause this awakening? I don’t yet see any clear indication. Whoever or whatever it is has to be a good student of history and good communicator of that history. Is it hopeless to expect the media to be that informed voice? It's hard to be hopeful. The recent film, Spotlight, chronicles one of the last great media victories in the fight against public cynicism and institutional corruption. This kind of investigative journalism happened early in the 21st century. By now, it appears that voice has been all but silenced. 

As with the German populace in the ‘20s and ‘30s, general apathy and cynicism about the truth combined with the thrills of an exaggerated nationalism and xenophobia contribute to Trump’s popularity. Many Americans are impatient with the governing process and prefer the quickness and finality promised by a reality show President ("You're fired"), as opposed to the relative slowness of a process that copes with the complexities inherent in the separation of powers instituted by the Constitution. Unconsciously they don’t really want a President, they want a dictator, someone to make all the decisions and to keep them entertained but a little paranoid all the time. It’s that vulnerability, exacerbated by the media, that could lead to the unthinkable.

I'm increasingly concerned that super-nationalism is so close to the surface. And close to home. The other day I happened to glance out the window and saw our next door neighbor folding up a stepladder after having installed a flag holder and American flag on the light pole between our properties. When I lived in California, flag displays in my neighborhood usually indicated Republicanism, a thumb in the eye of the prevailing liberalism. I didn’t have the guts (or the clothing) to go out and ask him what that was all about. I suspect it was a response to the Paris attacks. Was it supposed to mean that he thought we were under attack now? Troubling to have this kind of nationalism be so close! Georgia is one of the states that announced its unwillingness to admit Syrian refugees, more signs of xenophobia that make me feel like a stranger in a strange land since moving here.

When the second Trump sign went up in my neighborhood, I promptly joined the county Democratic party organization and attended a holiday gathering. Pretty low-key. I’m hoping things will liven up after the new year and 2016 campaigning starts in earnest. In the meantime, I’m still listening for a strong voice to emerge that won’t just be about this or that candidate. But about the quality of the public’s psyche. Only a public made aware of the dangers of demagoguery can put up the resistance needed to neutralize the steady march toward the unthinkable: a US dictatorship.