This is the first American election season I have ever followed intensely. For me, it has been a crash course into understanding a different election process, a foreign culture, and an aggrieved people. The elections this year has captured the world’s attention like no other election in recent history. Many people have been consumed by its highs and lows, its twists and turns, its surprises and shocks. For Trump supporters, and those on the right, a new, hopeful era of political awakening has occurred. For Clinton supporters, and those on the left, the apocalypse has come early. This is not an exaggeration. This is an exact representation of how divided America has become.
The left’s disdain for discourse
I will not call either candidate divisive. I noticed early on how popular it was to use that term as a method of attack. The problem with that word is, no one cares. Did Hillary supporters care when she called Trump supporters deplorable? No. Did Trump supporters care when he said he would ban all Muslims from America? No. The average voter couldn’t give a toss if their candidate is divisive. Divisive candidates merely reflect a divided nation. And to pretend that there is no schism in society is worse, as it comes across as foolish and out of touch. There is a strong cultural undercurrent where great swathes of Americans feel attacked and marginalised. They do not feel “Stronger together”, rather, they feel ridiculed and pushed aside. And rather than protest, cause destruction and beat up Trump supporters, it would behove Clinton supporters to figure out exactly what those cultural undercurrents are that allowed Trump’s message to so permeate the public.
And the first thing I would look at is the left’s disdain for proper discourse. The left has long foregone any attempt to debate or hear any other view that might make them uncomfortable. They feel their politics has the moral high ground, and therefore to have a difference in politics is also to be morally deficient, and thus deserving of ridicule rather than conversation. For example, Ellen DeGeneres stated that the Republican nominee would be “very, very, scary for women”. Joe Biden claimed that the Republican nominee would put blacks back into chains. And if you think DeGeneres and Biden were talking about Trump, they were not. The Republican nominee they were talking about is Mitt Romney, all the way back in 2012. Mitt Romney is now quite famous as the king of the Republican originated #nevertrump movement. He has spent the majority of this year on media outlets explaining why he is vehemently against Trump, yet four years ago, those very same outlets scorned him as a racist, sexist and all the other -ists.
The silencing of the left
And this happens every four years. It does not really matter who the Republican nominee is, the expectation is that the left will label him and silence him. So when the left-wing Huffington Post wrote an article about how Trump was unfit to be president, I did not take it into any consideration, as four years ago they also wrote that Romney was unfit to be president. And four years before that, McCain was unfit. And on it goes. The left, especially through it’s media channels, are desperate to ram it down the public’s throat that anyone who does not comply with the left’s vision of this world, are unfit, deplorable, and akin to Hitler. CNN, a delightful organisation that brought us lots of news about Trump’s gaffes and lewd behaviour, lost all credibility in my eyes when they demonstrated too many times a clear intent to ensure Hillary won. From editing out Hillary’s statements about the NYC bombing, to inserting the word “racial” into one of Trumps speeches, to leaking debate questions to the Hillary campaign, I could no longer trust it. Their skulduggery and disdain for playing fairly made me reject any other statements they had to make about Trump.
Sometimes the left doesn’t even bother using foul play. Generally, they just shut down the debate before it has even begun. Thus, at Universities conservatives are routinely banned from giving speeches, and are greatly outnumbered as faculty members. They are treated with scorn, and oftentimes remain politically closeted for fear of reprisal. As one conservative (who has been banned by several Universities) put it, it was easier coming out as gay, than coming out as a gay conservative. That is what the left has done.
Even workplaces get the same treatment. After Trump’s win, the CEO of GrubHub put out a memo explaining the type of workplace culture he wants. His politically charged letter targeted Trump supporters and made a workplace culture of fear for them. But he stood by his letter. He does not care that his letter of “inclusiveness” was politically exclusive and fear mongering. For Trump supporters are not deserving of civility or consideration.
So to everyone who is still in a state of shock about Trump’s victory, grow up. The left has created a toxic atmosphere, where any difference in thought or opinion is silenced, and those who hold them are ruthlessly punished. All across the West, those who are tired of being called Hitlers for simply disagreeing with the prevailing group-think, will vote and support people like Trump. I leave by saying one last thing, the ball is in the left’s court. Either you enter into a civil dialogue with us, or you wait until we get into the safety of the voting booth, and you see just how little those pollsters know about us.