Trump embodies trends. We are dealing with America

On one hand, Ukrainians believe that the war was not started by Putin, but by Russia; that it is being fought with the approval and by the hands of Russians, who are all equally guilty of the war; that this is not "Putin's war," as some Western media tend to call it, but Russian aggression, yet another act of continuous Russian pressure over centuries, despite changes in tsars, general secretaries, and presidents.

"At the same time, Ukrainians believe that the source of Ukrainian resilience is not because Zelenskyy didn’t flee, but in the patriotism and heroism of hundreds of thousands of men and women in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and other Defense Forces, in volunteer movements, and so on. And that this Ukrainian resilience has been nurtured over generations."

But on the other hand, surprisingly, Ukrainians believe that the cause of the current troubles in global politics lies in the personal traits of Trump, his whims, character, likes and dislikes, his eccentric approach to public communication, and his tough negotiation style. And that everything could have been different if something had been said differently, dressed differently, or gestured differently.

Do you see this double standard of thinking?

Trump is not a coincidence. He is the embodiment of trends that have been growing for many years (of all the vast literature on this topic, I find Ken Wilber's book Trump and a Post-Truth World the closest, as it applies an integral approach and models of the evolution of thought.)

Trump was chosen by Americans because these trends really resonated with them. Yes, this is only part of the American population. Other Americans were also affected by these trends, but they voted differently. Still, others did not give these trends as much significance. But it is enough that there is a critical mass of U.S. citizens for whom this matters.

Let's list them:

1. Hatred of institutions that feel superior, corrupt, and disconnected from the people.
2. Hatred of the postmodern agenda with its priorities of political correctness, inclusivity, minority rights, moralizing, "identity politics," climate change, etc.
3. A sense of threat from the pressure of technological changes and the loss of the "American Dream" orientation.
4. Isolationism — reluctance to be the world’s defender of values and to spend money on it.
5. Expansionism in the Western Hemisphere.
6. Hatred of Europe (and Canada), who manage to achieve a higher standard of living on all indicators; the feeling that everyone lives at America’s expense.
7. The desire to reset relations with Russia and use Russia against the main adversary — China.
8. Anti-globalism, the desire to bring jobs back to the U.S.

All these trends have been growing for decades and periodically breaking through. Now, they have all broken through at once.

Trump embodies the trends. We are dealing with America, not just one capricious politician.

Fortunately, only half of America is like that.

But, once again, I emphasize, we are dealing with objective reality, not subjective whims. The persona of the leader determines the specific form of manifestation, but the essence is determined by the trends.

Trends are relentless. Behind them are multimillion-dollar organizations. Behind them are the interests of hundreds of millions of people. Understanding this provides the key to finding solutions.

And you're saying it was a tie that should have been worn.

Source

About the author. Valerii Pekar, lecturer at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by blog or column authors.