Our political lives and all that stuff

IF we dig deeper and try to get off the Hitler horror cloud a bit and figure out how come the dude was able to convince minions to gather on his beck and call, we can see a parallel in current times. People are disgruntled and frustrated mainly by virtue of the One Percent's (eg Corporate World) machinations in complicity with governments. That is the kind of sociopolitical environment that a quintessential demagogue thrives. A demagogue is a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument. That is why elections are about winning and the best (or worst?) demagogues win. Many times strategists play around a certain effective rah-rah slogan that goes with charismatic leaders—and that spell victory.

          In the US, I believe that the ruckus that ensued between camps of polar extremes (Trump against Sanders mainly) reflect a painful truth. Americans are pissed. As per a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, voter discontent has reached a fever pitch: 72 percent say their elected officials can’t be trusted, and two-thirds believe the nation’s political system is dysfunctional. Some 21 percent of people want the eventual president-elect to employ drastic makeover of government structures and start over from scratch. Such utter disillusionment mutates into two polar extremes that howl, “We need complete redress of the system!” which makes Republican frontrunner Mr Trump's “Bring back America to Americans!” battlecry and Democrat Bernie Sanders' “Power to the people!” chant seem very alluring and palpable—at least to the heart that bleeds.

          Many compare Donald Trump with The Fuhrer. True, The Donald's politics could be a bit blurry, uncontrollably assymmetrical mostly. He claims to run on a platform of populism, nativism, protectionism and authoritarianism—with strong opposition to immigration, free trade and military interventionism. Meantime, many detractors find his fiery espousals as white supremacist/racist and misogynistic—sending shivers of a Hitlerian blueprint.

          But then, remember, the Adolf fella gained popular support in 1924 by attacking the Treaty of Versailles and promoting Pan-Germanism, anti-Semitism, and anti-communism with charismatic oratory. He denounced international capitalism and communism as being part of a Jewish conspiracy. Hitler aimed to eliminate Jews from Germany and establish a New Order to counter what he saw as the injustice of the post-World War I international order dominated by Britain and France. The kicker was his first six years in power resulted in rapid economic recovery from the Great Depression. Hence, he lured back ethnic Germans to return to nativeland. Germany back to the Germans. And then he got really fucked up. Rest of horrible history.

         

Trump's glib albeit straight-through rhetoric infers that the ills of current America is ushered by an immigrant community in connivance with giant corporations. And when we talk about the American who lost a factory job to overseas outsourcing and then sees Chinese products flooding retail shelves then comes home to an injured soldier kin languishing in alcohol, what do we see? Then Trump promises, “I will give your life back.”

          I refuse to sweepingly judge those who gravitate to Trump as idiots or morons. These are disenfranchised citizenry relegated to the background of a largely elitist, politically-correct and educated social enclave. Their woes and hopes accentuate “popular desires and prejudices rather than rational arguments.” Bottomline, the people want change. And Trump minces no words in saying, yes he can. Do I like him? No. I am just pointing some factors why he seems so popular. We have to take note as well—elections aren't really about who is the most deserving, or right, or just candidate—it is all about winning, no matter what. It's all about numbers. Hence, the most popular ones, with the most formidable One Percent backer, win. How do the people conter that? Advocate to non-believers instead of pushing them away.

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APPARENTLY, the (political) system is flawed and needs to be amended. It worked in the past but it doesn't mean it will work in the present—due to obvious huge upheavals in the way Americans/people live or pursue their respective happiness... The world around us is also changing majorly. China isn't sleeping anymore as in the time of FDR's New Deal. Russia is the #1 producer of crude oil, not the US/UK-controlled Saudi Arabia. 
          Normally, as history attests, revolution spews out of huge frustration by the citizenry—but I don't think revolution is going to happen in the very near future in America. People are so into their own individual wants and needs, plus sectoral/gender politics/faith-based polarities etc, to care about old-school bonding as tactical alliance to bring down power (think Bolsheviks, French Revolution, coup de etats in Southeast Asia, Fidel/Che vs Batista, even Tiananmen Square Revolt). I mean, we will fight more about bathroom rights than employment opportunities.

          One semblance of revolutionary outburst was the Occupy Movement. Yet it was more of a leaderless rainbow gathering, a drum circle, a protest camp with abstract demands—that'll go pfft once snow comes in. I was in Zuccotti Park in Wall Street for a week. “Occupiers” didn't even groundwork residential or business supporters in re basic needs ex. bathroom exigencies. Piss on a side of a building, cops will pounce on you. Who made them exist till they gave up? MacDonald's across the street which opened 24/7 to attend to their needs. The One Percent. Zuccotti Park is owned by a One Percenter real estate company. Protesters were there till they get tired with the show. Is that revolution at all? It was a field trip.

          What people should do, given the flawed governmental workings, is to look beyond elections and don't stop lobbying, protesting, educating communities, nonstop—and then hope to influence committee hearings, city council rules and laws, get the activists to get off the cellphones and iPads and get out there and do something more tangible and real. Just be real and realistic. Educate the people on realistic terms. We are not in Nicaragua or Nigeria. We are in the US, the universe's most powerful nation where the global One Percent ensures as a playground and theater for all their domination designs. They're not going to budge just because a fraction of us want to.

          Yet I do believe that no matter how we think that we have installed a most deserving President, without utmost and vigilant support from his/her constituents, such an administration or government is still bound to fail. It's all about us, the people.