Civility: (n.) Formal politeness and courtesy in behavior or speech. Synonyms: Courtesy, politeness, good manners, graciousness, respect.
The election of Donald Trump to the Presidency brought much shock throughout the world as America decided to take a break from after electing its first African-American president – a man of integrity, dignity and respect- to now see a sexist, racist and jingoist with zero political experience take control. Throughout his campaign, Trump openly showed his disdain for minorities, claiming Mexicans immigrants to be “rapists” and referring to Muslims as “terrorists.” Let’s look at WHY Trump won, and WHERE exactly did America get it wrong this time.
A Case For Bernie Sanders
Gloria Steinem-loving ‘feminists’ berated, ignored and disparaged an honest, sincere and ideal candidate like Bernie Sanders all because they wanted to elect the first female president to the office of the President of the USA; they ended up electing the first mentally retarded one.
Nature’s irony is ruthlessly elegant.
Since the day Bernie’s campaign started picking up momentum, we saw many Hillary supporters rallying up against him and painting him as a modern-day Iago. Some called him a ‘leech’, while others labelled him an ‘opportunist’, all because he dared to challenge the status quo.
Hillary’s lackluster record as a Secretary of State; her total u-turn on Iraq War and same-sex marriage; her paid speeches; her foundation’s transparency (or lack of it) and its questionable donors; her comments on Palestinian Authority general elections and so on. We know that no politician is perfect; but compare this to Bernie’s stellar record and the fact that despite that, the DNC marginalized him and pushed him into the corner.
An overwhelming majority of super delegates refused to support Bernie despite the fact that their districts/states voted overwhelmingly for Bernie, something that is totally against the spirit of democracy.
A lot of criticism leveled against Bernie’s policy plan that eventually became the crux of the DNC’s case for Hillary was ill-informed and unjustified. Bernie’s economic policies weren’t ‘impractical’ like they were made out to be by ‘mainstream’ economists.
The Left Wing, As Much As The Right Wing
The naive left is as much to blame for the rise of Trump as the far-right is. The constant haranguing on part of the Left in favor of ‘social justice’, the sleek attacks on first-amendment rights and the limiting of public discourse in the interest of political correctness contributed to the ascendancy of this orange clown. He painted himself as a Crusader against the soft tyranny of the PC-liberals and as a result, many who didn’t like him or agreed with him flocked to his rallies just to stick it to the PC establishment.
Yes, the left’s focus on PC culture may not have been the best priority. However, the left is more to blame for not providing a potent message to the disgruntled working class. The Republicans have done just that. They have a consistent message coming from their ideological patrons (Koch brothers funded institutes/lobbies) that they have spread very well to the base through better grassroots organization (again ideological patrons have played a major role in funding these organizations). They have a great cultural/ ideological package combining political/economic/social theory that speaks to the disenfranchised. The left has vacated this space. If it has a theory it is muddled and advanced mainly by individual leaders like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren without the grassroots organization that is needed to achieve things in the muddy world of politics.
Why Trump?
Trump, just like current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did in 2014, ran a very strategic campaign. Trump managed to battle the chances by developing a crusading style that refuted traditions. He made a trip to each niche and corner of the country. He held massive rallies instead of focusing on door-knocking and get-out-the-vote operations.
Trump appealed to the people who vote, while Hillary targeted the supporters. Hillary’s major support consisted of the young adults and these people are the ones who don’t often even get the chance to, as well as not want to, vote. Trump, on the other hand, formed a strong band of followers who would vote. Plus, the democrats always have the supporters, but the republican house always has the voters. Obama’s first campaign was very clever because he get the voters on his side instead of concentrating on getting supporters.
The anti-establishment tide that swept across America was apparent; DNC refused to see it.
What The Trump Presidency Could Mean For A Country Like Pakistan
Well, not much at the moment. Unlike his predecessors, Trump did not talk much about policy throughout his campaign and there was rarely a mention about Pakistan during his rallies and speeches. During the few times that Trump DID mention Pakistan in the development to turning into America’s 45th president, it was quite often through the Indian crystal – the system that Islamabad uses to characterize its relations with everybody. From Pakistan’s atomic program, to the jihadist aggregates that are given state support, to the domineering impact of the Army, Trump kept up that “India is the check to Pakistan. You need to get India included.”
