When I left my apartment this morning it was surprisingly sunny. For the first time in a few days, I must say. Surprisingly bright and sunny weather conditions for doomsday, right? The world is under collective shock following the official election Donald J Trump as the 45th president of the United States. It still feels kind of surreal, nightmarish nonsense but we have to except it as our reality. Yes, the sexist, racist and reactionary billionaire is heading for presidency without any political knowledge. You don’t need a list, right? Everybody should be aware of Trump’s actions, his attitude and his thoughts during this hateful campaign. There is no necessity to repeat it all right here, way too many article and opinion pieces have been spread about it in the past. Maybe too much.
And now, in the aftermath of it everybody seems to seek for someone to blame. Was Hillary the wrong counter candidate? Did the media too obviously jump on the hysteria bandwagon? Could Bernie Sanders have saved us all? Was the political elite too arrogant and comfortable? Yes? Maybe? What does it matter? The triumph of Donald Trump is not one decided but a bunch of stupid rednecks and racists, it reaches deep within the middle class of ordinary people; most of them not interested in building a wall at the Mexican border.
Trump’s triumph is the canalization of frustration and fear, based on irrational hate and really simple, populist answers to complex questions.
People like Trump (but also the people from the Brexit movement and a lot of European’s current right-wing movement) use the people’s fear to gain power, even this is possible with really low standards these days as this horrible campaign proved.
The people have spoken because nobody listened in the first place
Personally, I think the main reason for this to happen also comes from a increased disability of the liberal political elite to actually listen to the people’s needs. Obama did plenty of good things but even he couldn’t stop the divide that cuts through this country. Other politicians from the left-wing part of the political scale are facing the same problem. The simple American worker who has a family to feed and a house to pay off – he got left behind in the speed of a accelerated and globalized capitalistic world the elite created. All the students who are drowning in their debts as well. All the veterans who fought countless (often questionable) wars for this country in the past twenty years. The folks who are wondering why certain failed banks got saved, why the Wall Street folks got richer and richer while they can’t afford school anymore, infrastructure is a mess and why the industry prefers to have Latinos taking over the workers’ jobs.
There are no simple answers to the complex questions but one thing is for sure: The political elite that is represented by Hillary Clinton seems to be incapable of answering them.
The arrogance and economic-friendly politics of the upper 1% made room for people like Trump. His election is a democratic decision, whether you like it or not. The people have spoken because nobody listened in the first place. And maybe that’s where the media failed as well. They were unable to listen, spread the people’s needs and fears. Instead it was all about the persona and that’s where Trump is just more entertaining; face it. So much noise, so little content.
America’s ordinary people have voted. Photo by Jim Kroft
So, where are we going from here? As the result of this election shows the decisions have been widely made by a mostly white and older generation why a large majority of the millennials and younger people voted against the man with the questionable haircut. The decision about the future was not made by those who are directly affected by it. Why is that the case? There is a new generation on the rise, one that is way more intelligent and way better informed than their parents; a generation that accepted the inevitable multicultural and digitalized future of the United States (and other countries in the world) but one that doesn’t have a voice yet. Bernie Sanders gave a glimpse into the look of a potential counter movement that now definitely needs to stand up. And you can and MUST be that counter movement. Personally, I’m sick of people complaining about the political circumstances and the societal decline without trying to change it. Yes, there are times for emotional protest songs, ironic comments and funny memes these days (especially now that ‘meme king’ Trump got to be president). But sometimes it’s also time to stand up, raise your voice. Stop complaining, start caring. Caring about politics, about the people next door to you whether they are born here or come from a different country.
Humans share basic needs and a general understanding of things, despite having different cultural, religious and social backgrounds. Take them seriously, talk with them and have an open ear, even for their fears.
Don’t judge them for thinking different, accept the differences as a needed step for progress. Start a discussion, stop blaming the people surrounding you but the reasons that brought us close to the edge of radicalization. Let’s start with the greedy neo-liberal capitalism, shall we? Injustice in wages, gender issues, education and countless other topics. Start in your neighbourhood, encourage yourself, get involved. We need a real rational discussion, not a You Tube comment section coming alive.
Let’s start a movement, not a war
The reason why the people of all nations got alienated from politics and became hostile towards the ones who are taking care of that job is because it gotten too abstract. The words, the topics, the deals – there is no transparency but a lot of injustice which sensible everywhere, no matter if you are a right-wing or left-wing person. Politics don’t start at the election every four years, they start in your village, town and city with quite practical things. We still have the opportunity to start shaping our environment and therefore also changing our society. Political extremes like Trump’s election and the rise of populism tend to happen every few decades and are usually solved with a big bang before heading back to the other direction. Yes, that ‘bang’ can be a lot of things, and it doesn’t have to be a war. It could also be a movement, one in which we take care of each other and ourselves because – and this is also historical proven – love will always conquer hate on a long term. Once the dust has settled, the hysteria slows down and you witness that Donald Trump is forced to make compromises like every president before you can start to take a look around, start caring and spreading love again. And as much as I would love to continue write just about music, the times call for a more extended perspective.
I said it countless times before:
The age of apolitical thinking is over ’cause it will affect us all –
Our lives, future, the planet and how we want to live on it.
It’s been a couple of hours since that fundamental decision and the sun is still shining bright on that cold autumn day in Berlin. We’re going to be alright. We. Together. Starting now.
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