Sunday, April 8, 2018

Response to The Case for Extreme Worry

(See: Just Above Sunset: The Case for Extreme Worry)

Madeleine Albright did a great job of summing up our Trump dilemma, but in my opinion, that Thomas B. Edsall guy? Not so much.

I don’t see all those people who prefer social stability as being Trump voters. In fact, because the “elite” have had their way for so long, with peace and tranquility being the norm, I see the Trumpists as being those who don’t like stability — in fact, Trump supporters are the ones calling for a reshuffle of the deck.

But, in fact, it wasn’t until I clicked on that Edsall link and noticed that chart halfway through the article that I realized what he was trying to get at: The Trumpists apparently see the world order that existed before all the elitists smarty-pants' took over as the baseline that we elitists fucked up; they see themselves as trying the restore the world to the way it was before, making America “Great Again!”

So in fact, the rolls have been switched! It is all of us “open-minded” people who are now experiencing fear, anger, and feeling “left behind” and helpless! 

Maybe the true confusion can be seen more clearly in an item listed on the WaPo rundown in my mailbox this morning:
Opinion 
Folks in the Midwest have Trump all figured out
They realize that Trump’s hype and bluster are the tools of a huckster salesman. 
By David Von Drehle  •  Read more »
Okay, but if they see him as a “huckster", as I myself do, then why are they still backing him?

Actually, I think I get it. Not being “elitists”, like me, they don’t see pure salesmanship as suspicious! To them, hucksterism is just a regular part of their daily life, while in the world we live in — the pre-post-truth world of the perpetual "Never-Trumpers" — it’s an insult to call someone a “huckster salesman”.

And ever shall that be! If you’re thinking of taking the respect for truth away from me, you’ll have to have to pry it out of my cold, dead brain!