Change in cultural mores is often not welcome by many in our society. When someone’s comfort zone is disturbed, they find themselves protecting the status quo. Protecting to the point where all rational discourse is dismissed, and undeclared, undefined dogma takes over. Empathy and sympathy are easily removed from consciousness, the same way it is when we are in the flight or fight mode. A good friend of mine, Joe Sohara, pointed out to me that Trump tapped into this fear of change, and MAGA was created. I think he is correct. It might also answer how 94 million brains went into limp mode on election day.
Now, nothing is really new. We all know there are gay people. They don't bother us that much, and if on occasion one comes out of the closet, that is ok too. But please, just don't remove the closet doors. Shit, friends, cousins, and even brothers and sisters will be “exposed.” It is the exposure they can not handle. Awareness can be frightening. It requires one to think, to re-evaluate. It is simply too much. We know, we simply don’t want to talk about it. It is better that way. Much better.
The same holds true for abusive husbands, alcoholic fathers, and irresponsible parents. Rapes and other abuses were often swept under the rug with a swift broom of silence. It was that established hush, hush that kept clerical sexual abuse of children undetected for centuries.
Few want to see blacks hanged from a tree anymore for flirting with a white girl; still, fewer want to see a black child on a tree swinging next door, next door to the house the child’s parents just bought. It is even ok for blacks to belong to the same church as they do, as long as interracial marriages don't take place there. Once again, they might have to think. They might have to react. They just can’t remain silent. And that is not easy. After all, they aren't racist.
Watching a Hispanic here or there cutting grass is fine, even seeing them on rooftops hurling shingles from time to time is ok. But now, they are starting their own businesses, and showing up in the ER room, not as uninsured illegals, but as PA’s, while the guy down the street is punching in every morning at an Amazon Warehouse.
Then along comes Donald J. Trump. He promises to restore order. To make America great again. To end this chaos of having to think about things like systemic racism, the environment, social responsibility, and climate change. They could hopefully return to the sound of silence.
Trump was indeed the perfect role model. He really was. He started off by refusing to show his tax returns. Is it any wonder, it was so highly supported by his constituents? Silence. This was personal. This was intimate. It was nobody’s business. This represented for them the guy that wouldn’t talk. It was held with greater esteem than John McCain’s heroic acts as a prisoner of war for 5 ½ years in North Vietnam. Perhaps, that is why Trump got a pass when he mocked McCain? Certainly, no other candidate could have gotten away with it.
And how dare they bring up his sexual indiscretions. Clinton was bad enough. MAGA and get back to Camelot. JFK style. Those were the days. Why do you think they stormed the Capitol? Dixie was burning down. They feared the carpetbaggers were taking office. Their way of life, their denial, and silent retreat were being taken away.
Still, they would not go away quietly. They would deny the election results and rally around the “pillow man.” He, too, is rich and never read a book. Another great role model. They would create their own set of facts and an alternate universe, as long as it didn’t interfere with them making money. It was, after all, how the “Master” operated all his life.
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