Here we are now, entertain us...
American democracy is a fluid experiment. It changes as the American people change. That change is complex, layered, rife with prejudices, raw emotions, irrationality, religion, shifting status. Every generation of immigrants is castigated and then, when they become accepted, they castigate the new immigrants. We heard the talking heads talking a lot about the important, burgeoning Latino vote, now consisting mainly of native-born Americans who don’t care about illegals. How actual this is, is anybody’s guess, but the election bears it out, and it fits the historic pattern. There’s also this weird undercurrent to Trumpism that the main media election analysis largely ignores, which is the ‘Imperfect Vessel.’ The man mandated by God. Like King David of the Bible, a flawed vessel used by God for greatness, believers see Trump also as flawed, but destined to carry out God’s will, his escaping assassination the confirming miracle. This might not be a viewpoint that’s considered very important in the radar of strategizing politicos, but ask any true Trump supporter and they’ll know what you’re talking about. This makes for a peculiarly strong acceptance of a candidate’s behavior, blessed with the forgiveness of anything that candidate says or does. A frightening acceptance Trump readily embraces.
The mix of forces is strange and shifting under our American feet. Joe Rogan galvanizes the last minute ‘bro’ vote, where college boys are cooler with Trump than with Kamala, buoyed by whatever misogynist, racist thoughts are lingering in the substrate of their subconscious, things they wouldn’t ever acknowledge verbally but still find floating by in the psyche and they’ve got a sanctioned media ‘bro’ to feed those, effectively say, ‘hey, man, it’s ok…’
Tic-Tok and You Tube podcasts reach out into the political landscape in a way unknown before now… is the new meme of elected official a popular media figure, a celebrity, an influencer, a non-statesman with a household name, advisors instead of knowledge, with a personality that appeals to the widest, most dumbed-down demographic? We used to say “The American Experiment” like it had rational parameters it worked within, unlike what it appears to be now, the province of a collective group of gleeful mad scientists who never studied science and are trying out ‘whatever.’
We shall see how strong this system is, as it mutates accordingly.
In the immortal words of Kurt Vonnegut, “So it goes…”
Meanwhile, here we are now, entertain us…