Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

Though this blog does not reflect it, I’ve written a few posts in response to the election. Twenty years ago, I would have typed furiously, clicked “publish”, and waited for the comments to roll in. Today I don’t have that kind of energy. I suspect neither do you. But think about the results and the many public reactions I have, many times. Thursday morning I woke up angry, and the more I thought about what happened the angrier I got. By 7 AM I was ready to put fists through objects or break a hand trying. The anger subsided not too long after I dug into the welcome distraction of breakfast, but the raw, gnawing feeling continued to linger.

I don’t feel the need to spend any more time pondering the how or why of the results. Who cares? The old ways are just that. Nothing works as it should anymore. It's clear that this country is storming and forming so quickly that every part of the system is no longer relevant. Anything more on this topic should be relegated to an industry trade magazine—something like Campaign Manager Monthly—so we can move on to the more important question: what? As in, what now? 

Taking the time to think about my reaction on Thursday morning, it wasn't about the result of the election itself, but what this says about the condition of our country and a good portion of the population. One majority of voters chose to prioritize their fear, insecurities, and prejudice above American-branded values, principles, and the pursuit of justice. A large segment of that group can add religious morals, values, and principles to that list. The other majority chose to sit this one out. I don't care why. They are just as much of a pariah as the zealots. 

This is the persistent, unsettling issue I’m struggling to process: people knowingly chose to elect one of the most damaging figures in American history, all while claiming to uphold a set of beliefs and values that should reject everything he represents. They publically pardoned a convicted felon who is known to have committed rape and sexual assault many times over, and has more trials pending— in trade for, neigh, in the hope that he will lower the costs of consumer goods and make them feel safe. The problem with the state of our republic isn't Trump, it’s us, the people.

This is where my head has been the last couple of days and I thought I might be crazy until I came across There’s No Denying It Anymore: Trump Is Not a Fluke—He’s America by Elie Mystal.

Trump is not a root cause of our ills. He did not create the conditions that allowed him to rise. He is, and always has been, a mirror. He is how America sees itself.

If people would just look at him, they would see themselves as we’ve always been. He is rich, because we are rich or think we will be. He is crass because we are crass. He is self-interested because we are. He punks the media because the media are punks. He is unintelligent because we are uninformed. The president of the United States is the singular figure who is supposed to represent all Americans, and Trump reflects us more accurately than perhaps any president ever has.

You and I have heard a lot about the “American Dream” all of our lives. We grew up with it—flying just in front of us like a majestic bald eagle. The picture-perfect painting of what it means to be a success in life. The American Life. We've also heard or read just as many times that the dream is just out of reach or over—perhaps dead and gone? For the majority of voters, this election wasn’t about freedom or oppression, it was about trying to preserve, if not claw back The Dream™: manufacturing jobs, post-World War II sense of security, home ownership, cold beer in the fridge, 85” televisions, and a new truck in the driveway.

This is what guts me. We’re not a country about real values and principles anymore. We’re way beyond the 1776 Playbook here. Our so-called dream has morphed into an entitled right to shop at Costco with low, everyday prices and to act, say, and do whatever the hell we want while telling others they are not allowed to do the same. The United States is now nothing but the personification of the 1990s afternoon tabloid talk show. We are the best and worst of reality television walking the streets. And that’s why Trump has been so successful because America has turned into the one thing he truly understands and therefore knows how to manipulate: slightly scripted and untethered television.

Everyone who hates Trump is asking how America can be “saved” from him, again. Nobody is asking the more relevant question: Is America worth saving? Like I said, Trump is the sum of our failures. A country that allows its environment to be ravaged, its children to be shot, its wealth to be hoarded, its workers to be exploited, its poor to starve, its cops to murder, and its minorities to be hunted doesn’t really deserve to be “saved.” It deserves to fail.

We've also had to hear that democracy has failed and our country is running towards a Second Civil War (and given the early Christmas present to the media, we haven’t heard the last of that shit either). We're not heading for another domestic war because we are already truck-nuts deep in it. The cameras have been rolling this whole time but we didn’t bother to hear the word,“Action!” 

Not convinced? Look at how long so many of our relationships and interactions with other Americans tiptoe around political eggshells. We openly and regularly joke about the cringe felt while being around family for fear that one comment will spark open warfare. Our children were avoiding homes at Halloween because there was sign promoting a certain political candidate in the front yard. And for how long has Thanksgiving felt like lunch at a truce negotiation. We have pre-agreed lists of trigger words and phrases to avoid lest someone get offended, throw down their napkin in disgust, and head back to their front line. Make no mistake, we have been at war for awhile now.

This is stupid. America is stupid. And that is what angers, frustrates, and disappoints me so much right now. This isn't a question of whether democracy is worth saving—of course it is, what an dumb question! What's not worth saving is what the United States has become, a long running day-time reality show called We the People.