Call me an optimist but I was actually anticipating some degree of conciliation in DJT's inaugural address today which would be in keeping with the long standing tradition of a graceful acceptance of presidential office. Instead, we were given a condensed version of a stump speech wherein he offered a rather dystopian vision of the American landscape replete with 'carnage', despair, and a weakened military (an absurd contention given the fact that we spend about ten times more capital on the DOD as compared with our closest rival).
A particularly disturbing aspect of the speech was the persistent reference to 'America first' as a rallying cry for a new era of isolationism wherein protectionists policies will rule the day and where the needs of 'real' Americans will once again be given priority over the countless 'others' who somehow threaten an imagined way of life which apparently is destined to replace the naturally organic and inevitable evolution of a multicultural society in which the rich array of human representation is eager to express itself (Trump has recently taken to referring to certain native-born Americans as 'Mexican' and 'Afgan'). The 'America first' reference also invokes the chilling reminder of the pro-Nazi movement in the 1930's, promoted by the likes of William Randolph Hearst and championed by none other than Charles Lindbergh, which argued for an insular and neutral American stance with regard to the advance of fascism in Germany and the practice of 'othering' specific racial groups as the root cause of an' International malaise'. One can reasonably conclude that DJT's reference to 'America first' was intended to echo an era of isolationist thinking and an imagined vision of past glory the renewal of which is close at hand. Of course, this reactionary impulse is occurring concurrent with the very real existence of a rapidly expanding and culturally diverse society which clearly reflects an inclusive and alternative paradigm to President Trump's conception of America. One of the challenges of the ensuing four years will be to find creative ways to reconcile the inevitable conflict between an attempt to superimpose an imagined past over the ongoing reality of a rapidly evolving and functioning society in real time.
An equally disturbing element of today's address, and a persistent aspect of DJT's rhetoric throughout the campaign, is his rather casual and cynical suggestion that somehow the common person has found a true champion in the form of a Trump administration. It beggars belief to see how this advocate of the 1 % who has now filled his cabinet with billionaires whose professional focus has been centered on the acquisition of enormous and inordinate personal wealth (with scant regard for the welfare of the worker and often at his/her expense) as well as a preoccupation with the bottom line will suddenly be transformed into an agent of populist rejuvenation. The callous manipulation of fellow human beings to further one's own objectives was captured brilliantly by Robert Zimmerman. When reflecting on the origins of the hate implicit in the murder of civil rights pioneer Medgar Evers he said: 'The deputy sheriffs, the soldiers, the governors get paid; And the marshals and cops get the same; But the poor white man's used in the hands of them all like a tool. He's taught in his school...From the start by the rule...That the laws are with him...To protect his white skin...To keep up his hate... So he never thinks straight...'Bout the shape that he's in...But it ain't him to blame...He's only a pawn in their game.'
And earlier: '...(he) is used it is plain...For the politician's gain...As he rises to fame...And the poor white remains...On the caboose of the train...But it ain't him to blame...He's only a pawn in their game.'
With these words still hanging in the air, many of us now might imagine that Trump and his ilk 'would be made to wear earphones' so that sound of millions could 'startle his sleeping ears to hear a distant voice'...at once clear and transformative.
Agreed!
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