Milton Hinton writes: Trump attracts the political loyalty of a specific working-class demographic that appears unconcerned about the poison that comes out of his mouth.
Donald Trump is detached from reality.
Here is a candidate for our nation's highest office who scares the heck out of the rest of the world due to his ignorance of, and failure to learn, the most elementary things about international affairs.
Trump had no idea that Vladimir Putin had already sent Russian troops into the Crimean Peninsula when he said recently that Putin is "not going to go into Ukraine." Then, within a 10-day period, he insulted Gold Star parents whose son was killed in Iraq; stated, before changing his mind, that he would not support the re-election of two prominent congressional Republicans; claimed with no proof that November's election will be rigged against him; and leveled what was widely seen as a thinly veiled threat to Hillary Clinton by stating that the "Second Amendment people" could deal with her if she's elected.
Trump has routinely disparaged Mexicans, immigrants, women, minorities, the disabled and anyone by whom he feels threatened. The situation was aptly described by G. K. Chesterton, the English writer and theologian who said, "Men do not differ much about what things they will call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable."
Trump's "evils" have reached a level to disqualify him from holding the nation's highest office. Continued support of his candidacy by the Republican National Committee is absurd and embarrassing to the nation.
Trump attracts the political loyalty of a specific working-class demographic that appears unconcerned about the poison that comes out of his mouth. So, let's shift from him to his supporters. Who are these poor souls blindly supporting him even as he blows to smithereens his own candidacy, as well as the Republican Party? What does continued support of this demagogue say about American political culture and the American Dream?
The Trump phenomenon, born of the conservative movement hijacked by former tea-party extremists, demonstrates just how unsophisticated and dumb-down the American electorate has become. Fear of a changing world has caused many to grab hold of the Trump myth and ignore reality.
Many Trump supporters have realized for the first time that the American Dream no longer exists for them. They believe their ancestors built this nation from the ground up. Their families' past generations found work in manufacturing and other good-paying jobs that dangled a happy retirement on the end of a stick. Their work ethic was based on the premise that employer loyalty and hard work would be rewarded by upward mobility and livable wages. Then, they watched helplessly as their golden goose was unceremoniously snatched away by the very corporations they believed in.
These people didn't understand that capitalism has very rigid rules, one of which was that free labor for hundreds of years could create enough corporate and individual wealth to make America the most powerful nation on Earth. But when free labor was no longer available in America, cheap labor would have to do. So, millions of U.S. manufacturing jobs left for Asia, South America, Mexico and even Canada, while corporations downsized to enhance their financial statements.
Now, the working class getting a large dose of the hard life: unemployment and underemployment; high taxes, "upside down" home values; alcohol and opiate abuse, decreasing or stagnant wages; inadequate retirement savings; less opportunity for their children; and uncaring politicians funded by the same corporations that wiped out the domestic work force.
So, these supporters look to Trump to make America great again by taking us all back to the good ol' days. If we are honest, the rise of Trump stemmed from manufacturing losses, corporate greed. and the refusal of Republicans to stop their incendiary speech during Barack Obama's two terms in the White House.
As an Emperor with No Clothes, Trump is selling a false dream to those so desperate hat hey will embrace anything to just get back to those "good ol' days."
The late George Carlin, one of my favorite political satirists, said, "It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it."
It's time to wake up.
Milton W. Hinton Jr. is director of equal opportunity for the Gloucester County government. He is past president of the Gloucester County Branch NAACP. His column states his personal views, not those of any organization or agency. Email: mwhjr678@gmail.com.