It has been just over a week since Donald Trump was elected president by a minority of voters, and the predictable has begun occurring. Already, hundreds of hate crimes, many with explicit references to Trump, have been committed. Of course, it is hardly surprising that when we empower the ugliest elements of our society, and fan the flames of hate, that fire would follow. He is not even president yet, but already, Americans are suffering. How the self-proclaimed greatest nation in the world made such a terrible, hateful decision still depresses and frightens me. And the worst is yet to come.
As always, happy Wednesday and happy reading.
This Day in History
1532 - Francisco Pizzaro captures the Incan Emperor Atahualpa, effectively ending the Incan Empire. Like many of the notorious Conquistadors, Pizzaro used a combination of deception and technological superiority to overcome a numerically superior force. Pizzaro invited Atahualpa to a feast, ostensibly to celebrate the Emperor, but when Atahualpa and his unarmed retinue arrived, Pizzaro's men sprang an ambush, and gunned down the confused Incas. Atahualpa was captured, held for ransom, and finally executed. The Inca Empire collapsed in the wake of his death.
The Nation We Once Knew
America won't go the way of the Inca Empire if for no other reason than our demise will not be ushered in by a foreign invader, but by our own apathy and stupidity. We will not die with a bang, but with a whimper (from Bill Moyers). A republic, sir, if you can keep it, Ben Franklin once said. But it is increasingly apparent that we cannot keep it. The racial wounds of the past were never truly addressed, have never truly healed, and last week America ripped off the bandaid that had kept this toxic hate under a veneer of civility. Yes, the feelings were always there, as many have pointed out, but those people are wrong that nothing has changed. Something has fundamentally changed. America went from being a country that offered hope despite our problems to a country that openly embraced hatred and antipathy. It is a potentially ruinous paradigm shift, and it may be the beginning of the end of a once-great nation.
Blinded in my Bubble
After a narrow defeat in which she secured nearly a million more votes than Trump, Hillary Clinton's supporters have been doing a lot of soul-searching. Much of it has involved the self-analysis that urban liberals live in bubbles, and we don't understand rural America. I think this plays quite well into the stereotypical example of weak-kneed liberals being unable or unwilling to address reality, and the reality is that in my urban "bubble," dozens of languages are spoken by people from all over the world, many of whom suffer from the same economic disenfranchisement as rural whites, and some of whom face real oppression as well. Contrast this with the rural bubble in which I was raised where I didn't meet an openly gay person or a Jew until I left for boarding school (from Roll Call).
The problem isn't that liberals don't understand rural America, the problem is that rural Americans don't understand that the world has fundamentally changed and that nothing and no one is bringing back a plethora of good-paying factory jobs that you can earn without a college degree. Until we confront this reality, and stop accepting tough times as an excuse for racism, nothing will get better, but things could get much worse.
Blame the Media!
Americans love to blame the media, and I suppose it's very fair to do so. Media outlets, like other for-profits, are slaves to the almighty dollar, and while this certainly means they neglect reporting for quick and easy money-making coverage, it does always amuse me (only slightly) that we are so quick to blame media outlets for poor coverage while simultaneously eating up celebrity news and willfully ignoring the kind of coverage we demand when we bash the media.
Of course this doesn't exonerate the mainstream media for horrific reporting during this election cycle (from Medium), nor does it justify the abundance of alternative news sites on both the left and right that simply create facts and willfully spread lies knowing it will earn them a buck or two (from the NYTimes). A democracy needs informed voters and an accountable media to survive. Currently we have a lazy if not entirely duplicitous media and a woefully uninformed electorate. And thus we ended up with an incompetent racist as president of the United States.
The Hard Questions
The hard question isn't why did Hillary lose, it's how in the hell did Donald Trump win? While I think there is a much simpler answer than many pundits and people want to hear, it's still worth asking how a many whose entire campaign was built on lies, whose history is full of fraud, tax evasion, and sexual assault, who insulted every demographic of voter, who mocked the disable, and who bragged about grabbing pussy could be elected. What could possibly convince a minority of Americans to select this man as their president? At best he is a charlatan, more likely a criminal, and yet he won. How and why (from Vox)?
It is an uncomfortable question to ask, and an even more uncomfortable question to answer since it will force us to grapple with the worst of who we are, but unless we find the causes and address them with real solutions, the next Trump will be even worse than this one...that is, assuming we make it that far.
When Tucker Met George
Twinsies much? I can't tell them apart, but these two are brothers from different mothers, not actual twins. George (left, wait no, right, wait I can't tell) and Tucker (whichever one isn't George) are bestest of buddies and companions extraordinaire although they only met for the first time very recently. George lives with his humans Chris and Lizzie while Tucker lives with his human Charlie. Fortunately for Tucker and George their humans are good friends, and so these fellas had a chance to reunite - I think it's possible they were separated at puppy-birth - and now they stay in touch with each other via Skype, and by looking in the mirror. Big thanks to Chris, Lizzie, and Charlie for sharing Tucker and George!
Will's Weekly Trivia
Please be sure to share Willful Intent's new opt-in form with friends, and submit any thoughts and dog pics via the feedback form!
IF you choose to answer the question, respond to staton.will@gmail.com with your answer. Please note that by competing you are giving me permission to publish your first name in the trivia leader board each week.
Last Week:
1. What year was Hitler elected? ONE POINT
2. Who was the fascist premier of Spain in the 1930s-40s? ONE POINT
3. Which candidate was endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan this year? ONE POINT
Answers:
1. Hitler was elected in 1933.
2. Francisco Franco was the leader of fascist Spain.
3. Donald Trump was endorsed by the KKK.
This Week:
1. Before Donald Trump, who was the last president elected without winning the popular vote? ONE POINT
2. Which Constitutional Amendment reformed the electoral college, and sets the current rules for how we elect the president and vice president? ONE POINT
3. The only thing it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. Who said it? ONE POINT
