They Started The Revolution Without Him

Donald Trump is the easiest person on the planet to figure out.

This is because the affliction he suffers from is painfully obvious, and since he has made no real effort to do anything about it, it has simply gotten worse as he sinks deeper into it.

The affliction is called chronic narcissism. What this means is that he has, over the years as this condition has progressed, become completely and utterly self-centred.

He believes in his heart that he is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and he shapes the reality around him to conform with and enable that belief.

When he became president, after the most prolonged shouting matches in American political history, one of the more absurdly remarkable things he said, was that “he alone could fix" all that he believed was wrong with America.

There was only one problem with that. Everything he believed was the cure for what ails America had only to do with divorcing and isolating the country from the rest of the world, which he believed treated America like dirt.

Sadly the facts don’t align with that belief. America had spent that last 8 years recovering from the worst economic disaster since the great depression. And at the time of the 2016 election, all the main economic indicators were pointing to the fact that the Obama administration had actually managed to bring the US economy back…maybe not all the way back, but it was nowhere near what you could call ‘terrible’, which is a word Trump liked to use a lot.

So when Trump finally took office, he did so as one of the most unpopular presidents in modern history, and things only went downhiil from there.

But the American people have a great respect for the office of president, so, despite their unhappiness at the way the Democrats had fucked up their chances by choosing the bigger Trump target, Hillary Clinton, it was what it was.

One could argue that the most effective program that Trump has initiated as president is the program of alienation.

Playing to an older, whiter, blueish collar base, who he knew were willing to forgive a multitude of character flaws, in the hope that he would put them back to work, and stem the tide of Illegal immigration, which, incidentally was at its lowest rate ever, he began a systematic program of exclusion to alienate Latinos, LGBT people, Muslims and women, and a host of others.

This was all in aid of bolstering his ego, by creating adulation among the 30% or so that constituted his base.

On the flip side of this, the overt racism that he exhibited through this program of alienation, empowered the right wing fringe groups, who fed off this empowerment and essentially were made to look much bigger and more menacing than they actually were.

Slowly But Surely

If you carve up the American people into groups and serve only a few of them, like special interests, especially the NRA, heavily polluting industries and the far right agitators, the resentment of all the people, both persecuted and excluded, begins to grow.

When you add the ridicule that Trump heaped on the press and their defensive posturing which resulted in working to make him look bad on virtually every issue, it grows some more

When you add congressional and special counsel investigations into collusion, money laundering and obstruction of justice, it grows some more.

When you add a completely apathetic attitude towards hurricane devastated Puerto Rico, it grows even more.

Brick by brick Trump built a wall between himself and the majority of the American public he was elected to serve.

The Revolution Is Beginning

Anyone who is paying attention and talking to Americans, outside of the ever shrinking core of supporters, can see that they don’t believe Trump is fit to be president. And many of them are willing to admit they made a mistake supporting him.

But revolutions generally begin around a specific issue. And this revolution very much appears to be centered around the gun laws.

The number of mass shootings in America is astronomical compared to many other countries in the world.

There are two reasons for this.

1. Automatic and semi-automatic weapons are almost impossible to obtain in those countries.

2. Those countries do not have a massively powerful gun lobby like the National Rifle Association, that has been spreading influence (read $$$) on both the state and federal levels to keep gun laws as lax as they can possibly be.
 


This, of course, makes makes it possible for a 19 year old who bragged on line about wanting to become a ‘career school shooter’ to walk into a Florida guns ship and buy a killing machine and a ton of ammo, then go to his school and murder 17 people and injure a dozen more. 



And guess what this little shit was wearing on his head. Yep, one of Trump’s infamous “Make America Great Again’ hats.

The Big But

I have been watching the aftermath of this tragic event and there is something different going on here.

The students, instead of consoling each other and quietly sitting in grief counseling sessions, are angry. And they are vocal. And they are talking. And they are being heard.

And the politicians who are taking money from the NRA to basically do nothing but loosen the current gun laws in America are being revealed for the slime they are, putting money over the lives of children.

And the parents of these kids in Florida are angry., And they are inspiring other parents of other children all across the country to speak out and threaten the bought-off politicians with the most powerful weapon the American people have…their vote.

And this, folks, is a revolution. When a group of kids say No More, and a massive number of people agree.

What Does This Mean?

When you lack the ability to show compassion as a leader … when you turn a blind eye to the plight of any one or any group that is under your leadership … when you refuse to condemn things that are fundamentally morally wrong … when you participate in elections that are rigged in your favour … when you spitefully undo all the good policies of your predecessor … when you appoint greedy carpetbaggers, sycophants and clueless twits to positions of power in your government … when you taunt the leader of another country with the threat of nuclear war … when you spend an entire year doing virtually nothing but lying to the people … and when you show up in a city where tragedy has struck and turn it into a sophomoric photo op then head off to a party, how can you be surprised if the people you have so totally neglected and abused do not rise up against you?

Keep Your Eyes On Your Fries, Mr Republican Politician

The tide is turning. Your apathy and greed has finally woken the beast that will devour you, and castrate your current administration.

At least that is the hope. But I am nothing if not hopeful.

jimout

Jim Murray is an experienced advertising and marketing professional. He is a communication strategist, writer, art director, broadcast producer
& mildly opinionated op/ed blogger.

He is also a partner at Bullet Proof Consulting. www.bulletproofconsulting.ca

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