There is an old Vulcan proverb: “Only Nixon could go to China.”
-Spock, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
I don’t understand half of my country. Last night I watched gobsmacked as Donald J. Trump successfully ran his improbable campaign all the way to Electoral College victory in the 2016 Presidential Election. I originally was going to title this post “Speechless” and just put up a black square. This seemed to be the meme of choice for a number of Facebook members expressing their worry over potential damages going forward to, amongst many others, human rights, climate change legislation, health care, civil liberties, as well as what I consider the very core values of our great nation. But I don’t wish to be speechless. That isn’t how this constitutional democracy works.
The good news is that we are going to see a peaceful transition of power. That’s not nothing; in fact, it’s one of the greatest contributions to social evolution we the people have ever done. But it doesn’t mean that though “the people” have spoken and elected somebody that our campaign for a better tomorrow is over. Far from it – we are smack dab in the middle of the campaign to ensure the future is the future we wish it to be.
What a President Trump looks like is hard to say. He never seemed to be consistent in his stories or statements; he never seemed very presidential in demeanor and temperament, throwing tantrums and hurling insults and frankly espousing misogynistic and violent rhetoric and actions that are anathema to my very being. But maybe he’ll pivot. I worry about the damage to our moral and cultural leadership in the world with such a figurehead; I worry about our own national rules of law given that he may be in a position to nominate a lion’s share of Supreme Court justices. With the newly elected GOP super majority of the legislative branch, a lot of things could get through that might unwind what I consider progressive and beneficial legislation; some of it needed some serious tweaking and review but I think it was on a whole a movement toward a better tomorrow. Depending on what “Make America Great Again” means timeline wise, we could be in for a regression that scares the bejesus out of me.
However, as I went for my run this morning and noticed the sun had risen once more, that the streets did not run with blood of protestors, and that we all were going to continue with our lives even if changes loomed on the horizon, I found myself thinking of Spock’s 1960s-sh Vulcan proverb.
Only Nixon Could Go To China.
With his staunch anti-communist actions and rhetoric, Richard Nixon’s credentials as a fighter of “The Red Menace” were unimpeachable (zing!). So when he established diplomatic ties with China in 1972, it was a huge thing. So it may be with the election of Donald J. Trump.
Only Trump Could Get Us To Talk About What We Need To Talk About?
This country has clearly huge schisms over class, race, humanity, goals, and views on what makes America great. Maybe we took things for granted that we were in a better place, that we were better than what had come before, that we were in a post-racism, post-myopic self-centeredness world. This vitriolic election, so nasty and disheartening, revealed the sordid underbelly of we the people of the United States of America. We have a long way to go to sort through our attitudes and viewpoints on each other and what it means to be united.
Maybe with the election of Trump we can sit down and have a frank, honest, open, and yes very painful discussion about what is happening within and to our nation. We are a nation of immigrants, of a land of opportunity and freedom, and are the best country in the world. But we are far, far, FAR from perfect. We have deep historical sins we need to address and remedy. We have social ills that haven’t been solved despite both sincere efforts at correction and naïve burying heads in the sand ignorance. We are a nation suffering something – a malaise, a seething anger, a billowing unrest, SOMETHING. So let’s take what has happened in this election as a bitter tonic to wake us all up – all 100% of the people.
There are many reasons 59 million Americans voted for Donald J. Trump. Just as there are many reasons 59 million other Americans voted for Hillary Clinton. And there are reasons some people voted independent or not at all. This is a constitutional, democratic republic. We will endure and thrive… but we need to have a conversation to figure out how best to move forward together. Because we are stronger and better together than we are alone and living in fear.
I believe Trump tapped into a darker and angrier vein of America than I thought still existed. I was clearly wrong. I think people voted in protest, hoping to strike a blow at the elite status quo that they felt didn’t care about them. I think people voted out of fear. I know all too well about making decisions out of fear, out of defensive moves for one’s own self-interest. It’s a “safe” but disappointing way to go.
Much like the Occupy Wall Street movement that petered out because every member thought the purpose of the movement was something else, I think people will come to realize Donald Trump’s election wasn’t what they thought it would be. I could be wrong. But I just don’t feel like this guy is the one to lead us all toward a better future.
I do think this guy might be the catalyst though that prompts us all to shake off a complacency and naivety about our United States and forces us to talk… to really talk to one another. To break out of our insulated bubbles of like-minded individuals and try and find common ground to bring us all back to the goal of forming a more perfect Union.
I’ve fallen during running events. I’ve got cut, bruised, bloodied, and even fractured a few things along the way. But I’ve gotten back up. I’ve dusted myself off. I’ve kept running. I’ve kept moving forward.
This election, regardless of who your candidate might have been, was brutal and devastating to our national psyche. We’ve all been cut, bruised, bloodied, and even fractured a few things along the way. But it’s time now, whether you are celebrating a Clinton defeat or lamenting a Trump victory, to get back up and dust ourselves off. Keep running, America. Keep moving forward.
Because while the president and congress and supreme court can do a lot… the real power was, is, and always will be with We The People. And We the People need to get it together.