It has been ajar for decades but now Donald Trump and his brethren have finally released the wicked demon of the west from his resting place. The stain on the name of European politics (although to be fair finding the original pattern is now impossible under the other ones too) is now reaching and being clutched by mainstream America. For some reason the red necks have been emancipated from their liberal ridicule and are seeking revenge. Non whites, non heterosexuals, non Protestants, Socialists… are all the enemy of this thinking.
Please don’t ask me to explain this ‘thinking’ (I will leave it to others) because I would then become part of the ‘liberal elite’ that is also very much the ‘problem’. Those perceived affluent do gooders who don’t understand the white working class condition (of mostly remote rural locations). I would be a threat to those who believe their country has been hijacked by the ‘others’ from the south and east. It reminds me of the ‘Year Zero’ policy of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Anyone who does not comply with the fascist takeover is an enemy and must be eliminated or ridiculed. They shout DEMOCRACY but they mean something else entirely.
The Trumpeters with their cries of ‘fake news’ (they do actually have a point but they are not very good at recognising which ones have some accuracy in them) are challenging an established order but they fail to recognise that that established order is pulling their strings or taking advantage of their simplistic and chaotic response. Instead of a united front based on harmony and collective responsibility it is a ‘blame everyone else’ philosophy that destroys.
Nationalism and patriotism sit at the heart of the Trumpeter’s notions. A retreat in to a illogical and contradictory space in which even an amateur debater would make hay in a matter of moments. As George Bernard Shaw observed “Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it….” It should not take long to work out the fundamental flaw for those who practice this but it does.
This attitude as with Mr Hitler’s relies upon people being desperate and ignorant. It relies on people turning a blind eye to and excusing abhorrent behaviour in their name. It relies on people becoming what many would describe as ‘evil’. As Oscar Wilde (a man who would have had considerable trouble raising an applause at a KKK gig) observed “Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious”.
Trumpeter’s and Nazis have much in common. Capitalism destroying their communities. Low level educational outcomes. A reliance on belief over scientific facts. Leadership by a ‘populist’ and charismatic leader. Authoritarian response to those who disagree. Reliance upon symbols over substance. In effect a tragedy and a farce and not just for their victims.
Where this goes from here is as much down to the establishment directors as the semi empowered actors. Trumpeter’s are quick to condemn their opponents but not their followers. Not new and unfortunately lacking in all political groupings but when it is normal it is corrosive and anti democratic. Charlottesville will be but one event and we will be expected to respond to many others as the narrative and scenery is moulded. Trump’s leading characters will be ‘replaced’ but not really. The message will stay tight. And when he eventually falls it will only be because his role is over and another has been beckoned.
Hitler never died. He has been clawing at history ever since 1945. He himself was just another chosen to stroll the stage for a short while. It’s a top down theatrical and will continue until we take over the the script writing.
Douglas James
