The rise of Trumpism with all its anger, fear,
wild exaggerations and other hateful negatives is a good thing.
Yes, a good thing - in one respect.
Before I get to that, Canadians need to
understand that Trumpism is not a U.S-only phenomenon. It has manifested itself
in the U.K. Independence Party and the Bexit vote; The National Front in
France, the Golden Dawn in Greece, and hyper-nationalistic groups in some other
countries.
These political forces thrive by gorging
themselves on peoples’ fears. People fear
changes they see occurring every day.
Economic uncertainty is prominent in their
fears. Globalization continues to produce economic inequality that is upsetting
individual lives, and political structures.
Middle classes are disappearing, leaving an
ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor. Ditto the gap between big
cities and smaller cities and towns where boarded windows are replacing
factories and other businesses.
Terrorism’s constant presence is deepening fear
of strangers and certain groups of people. Combined with that are swelling
streams of refugees increasing fears of both economic insecurity and terrorism.
Strangers viewed by people who fear that if they are not here to drain a
shrinking pool of jobs, they are here to kill them.
In all this is the realization that the pillars
of our democratic society are doing little to help. Growing numbers of people
distrust the justice system, the news media, their religious institutions, and
yes, governments.
Governments trowel serious problems with fresh
plaster, but the cracks keep returning. Declining job prospects, the growing
difficulties of home ownership, infrastructure rot, drug addiction are just a
few of the challenges overwhelming our politicians.
Ontario is a classic study. It has been decades
since the province has elected a government, of any political stripe, that has
done anything more than smooth over, instead of fixing problems.
Sadly, we have a leadership vacuum. The people
we need to lead, and the people most qualified to lead, do not want to be drawn
into the current political miasma.
So why did I say that the rise of Trumpism is a
good thing, in one respect?
In the beginning, Trumpism in the U.S. was
dismissed as clownish vulgarism. It was laughable. Now it is being taken
seriously and increasingly is becoming the topic of thoughtful writing. The
writing has turned from the man, to the factors that have brought Trumpism.
And, that’s a good thing.
The New Republic, The Wall Street Journal and
others have done impressive pieces on social collapse and other factors
contributing to Trump’s rise.
A book titled Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance also illustrates what has happened to the
social structure of the United States. These works and others are helping
Americans to understand the sicknesses in their democracy and help them to find
the medicines and healers needed for cures.
This is not happening in Canada, although the
same sicknesses exist here. If you don’t believe that, consider these random
snippets: Factory workers who have been working 10 years as temps without any
benefits, the nightly gunfire in Toronto, the 35,000 Canadians who are homeless
every night, the nearly 500 people in British Columbia have died from drug overdoses
this year, an increase of 60-plus per cent over last year.
Canadians are not getting much depth reporting
about their big issue problems. The Canadian news industry is in ruins, falling
apart because of corporate concentration, and dull-witted approaches to the
digital revolution.
The industry plays defence against digital,
instead of offence to learn from it, adapt to it and get ahead of it. Industry
geniuses keep looking for profitable new ways to sell their news instead of how
best to serve readers with quality content they are willing to pay for.
But why Canadians are poorly served with
quality information about what is behind Trumpism, and what needs to be done to
change that, is a story for another day.
Trump hopefully will fade from sight after the
Nov. 8 presidential election. He’ll be gone but Trumpism, or whatever other
names are attached to ultra-nationalistic movements, will be with us for years
to come.
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