Donald Trump : Living The American Dream

The '86 Olympics was probably the singular moment which could summarise the relief of the 'American Dream'.The summer Olympics held in Los Angeles was a medal haul for the U.S.A. and a picture of sheer dominance given the boycott by Soviet. From a mere sports event, the Olympics ended up being the symbol of hope and optimism for the entire nation uniting it across the political spectrum. This provided a welcome relief from the hopelessness and self-doubt of the '60s and '70s. The dark days of the Vietnam War and a nation divided radically by Luther's civil movement had passed. If decades had a face, the '80s would have been the bright moon pie for the U.S.A...Raegan's 'shining city' upon a hill' was there.

(Photo: Google pics)

This was followed by the '90s. Gorbachev disbanding the Soviet, pulling down of the Berlin wall followed suit. The Cold war was won. This created a monopolization of world politics by the USA. The American Dream was at its peak. The concept of a society where hard work and talent alone could propel anyone to the highest of positions was sold like pancakes.

The celebration though was short lived. With Communist block disbanded there was no one unifying factor against which Republicans and Democrats could unite. This lead to a greatly polarized political environment in D.C. politics which proved to be a fatal deadlock. The involvement in the Middle East and Afghan wars turned toxic. Twin tower blast in the advent of the 21st century created grave concerns about the security of U.S. citizens. The crashing of share markets in 2008-09 shook the very stability of the American economy. With increased automation came to the risk of job losses and the uncovering of the Uber scam shook the very foundations of the American Dream.

(Photo: Google pics)

At this crossroads, comes the rural and semi-urban working class whites. They have lost jobs, the medical facility is something they couldn't afford, higher education is something way out of their reach. But they still failed to recognize the shortcomings of the system. The American Dream blinded them. In popular culture, it was ingrained that poverty was a result of a lack of hard work. They came to hate poverty to the point of delegitimising it. The system was something they couldn't question. They failed to see how the American Dream was monopolised by the few against the many. They failed to realize that it was never a level playing field to start with. On the contrary, they made a villain out of the empowerment of coloured people, Asians, working women and LGBTQ as a root of their sufferings.

(Photo: Google pics)

This is what Trump drove home. The man who can go down as the most corrupt politician went on to be the idol for this small town working class who still held on to some obscure notion equating wealth to hard work. In the run-up to the infamous Presidential Election, every rhetoric of Trump was celebrated by this semi-urban working class. When Trump questioned Obama's citizenship, pledged to build a wall along Mexico border, promised to stop immigration from the Muslim countries and went on dehumanizing women he knew exactly what he was doing. Trump was personifying the frustration of these semi-urban working class. And the populace conveniently forgot their questions and didn't recognize that it was people like Trump at the first place who have monopolized the benefits and diluted their powers to unionise and scrapped the healthcare schemes which could have guaranteed a more secure life. The problem American polity faces is not Trump. It didn't begin with Trump nor would end with his defeat. The fallacy lies deep in the culture which has sold shallow dreams and diluted the class struggle. Trump at most is a manifestation of that American Dream which has turned to the worst of nightmares. Nothing more, nothing less.

~ Arkyadeep Dutta

The Black Misogyny

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