“The old Republican Establishment cynically has seen advantage in back-rolling and egging-on the Tea Party movement. Its members served as their shock troops in besieging the Obama White House, spearheading the war against Democrats, liberals and whomever dared challenge their plutocratic consolidation. In the process, they became captives to a diabolical force that they cannot control.
“Another reason for the gross irresponsibility of the media, think tanks, et al, is straightforward cowardice. Greed and selfish careerism inevitably lead to cowardice. They are paired traits in the gradual moral debilitation that occurs when society loses the moral gyroscope that calls us to order.
“The tragic reality is that most Americans have lost the aptitude for separating truth from fiction – and the body politic collectivity really does not care as long as the show goes on.” (Salon, March 2016)
“Have you no sense of decency, Sir?” This was Senator McCarthy being called to order by his peers for outrageous bullying and false accusations. That was two generations ago. Now bullying and coarse, vulgar speech are deemed quite alright, and manners, politeness and consideration for other people’s feelings all, apparently, signs of weakness. This, quite as much as rotting infrastructure and huge disparities of wealth are signs of steep decline. As Asante-Muhammad, Director of the Racial Wealth Divide Project at the Corporation for Enterprise Development, comments “The political rising is rooted in the deep-seated white supremacy of this country and a decade of demographic and economic change.” That is no excuse for crude vulgarity.
Like you, I’m very disturbed about what’s going on in America right now. I even feel sorry for genuine conservatives who are seeing their movement decline and their natural constituents embrace populist nationalism and demagoguery presented through a disturbing cult of personality. The toxic rise of the politics of identity- perpetuated by both the Left and the Right- has resulted in a greater degree of white racial consciousness, which has led to an increase in racism and xenophobia. Political movements have pressure groups for each socioeconomic category, rather than catch-all movements united behind an ideology. As a result of this, America is becoming increasingly divided, and Americans increasingly parochial: they can only see what benefits their group, with the national interest being disregarded.
Having said all that, it would be a mistake to be haughty as a European. The Front National is now France’s most popular party; the formerly neo-Nazi party the Sweden Democrats tops the polls there. The insurgent AFD in Germany has called for shooting unarmed illegal immigrants. Poland is governed by a right-wing nationalist party that wants to curb freedom of speech and press freedom. The openly neo-Nazi party, the Golden Dawn, remains as popular as ever in Greece. Everywhere in Europe, forces of both the far-Left and the far-Right are on the rise, but I’m more concerned with the far-Right because of it’s disdain for individual freedom. And it’s not just Europe. Nationalism is increasing in popularity all over the world, such as the BJP in India. Most worryingly is the rapid growth of Islamism in the Islamic world, but especially in the Middle East and North Africa. These are worrying times wherever you live, and I honestly don’t know what to do about it.