Let me start out by saying two things:
1. No, I am not a political scientist, but I am an informed citizen and student.
2. And no, this isn't just another hate rant about Trump, Republicans and/or politics in general.
It seems like American politics these past few years has become one big joke. We laughed and laughed at Trump when he first broke the news of his presidential candidacy. And in the end, he laughed his way into the White House. The election has many of us shaking our heads and asking ourselves how. How could America elect a reality star to be leader of the free world? Are there really people who think America has gotten so bad, that it'll take a non-politician (who just happens to preach blind hatred sometimes) to fix our nation's social and economic problems? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. It is time liberals face the fact that there are issues in this country that aren't being brought to the national agenda in the same way as movements like Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ push for marriage equality.
One thing Democrats and Republics alike have failed to consider throughout this election season is history. Everyone's focus is on the contemporary. If Americans really knew their history, this election would've been like déjà vu:
Public unrest erupts due to the mounting affects of social and economic inequality; a Republican is elected into office to "fix" politics.
This same exact political situation/climate has happened repeatedly in America's past. Think about Reagan. Remember Nixon. To some extent, even think about Bush Jr.'s presidency. What all these presidents have in common is that while they were campaigning for office, America was angry. During Nixon's presidential campaign in the 60's, the United States army was deadlocking in Vietnam and there were antiwar and black power protests across the nation. In the mid-to-late 1970s, before Reagan's election to office in 1980, oil and banking crisis were plaguing the country. On top of this, a third wave of feminists were pushing the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and the US was still reeling from the recent pullout from Vietnam. As for the 1990s climate, the effects of Reagan's war on drugs and mounting racial tension ushered in the presidency of George W. Bush.
Social issues were the focus of the national agenda in these moments before big conservatives took office. These issues effected minorities, women, the LGBTQ community, and more. Liberals and their ideals and values dominated the news and public attention, while the rest of non-liberal minded America watched. Republicans and Trump supporters are comprised of more than just upper class white people. Hispanics, women, and working class/poor white Americans all voted for Trump.Trump won not only because he tapped into White fear. Trump turned to the largely ignored group of down-on-their-luck white Americans and promised economic relief -- an issue that's almost never been brought into the national eye.The poor white family living in West Virginia or Alabama is just as important as the poor minority family struggling to get by in a New York City slum.
Like then, the national enemy has become Republicans and anyone else who doesn't devote their political attention to liberal issues. In most cases, this group was white Americans. So who became the enemy? White America. Again and again, Americans divide themselves by racial lines (and by who supports the racial cause) while the real problem is masked.
Elitism: a class issue.
Since America's beginnings as a slave society, the issue of class has always been disguised as a race problem. Why did the government say the economy was bad? Why were working class and farming whites not getting jobs? Because of slave and free black labor. And so racial tension between poor/middle class whites and blacks began and has continued to this day. Meanwhile, the top 1-5% kept getting wealthier and wealthier. Working class whites were persuaded into fighting minority and immigrant groups from taking their "place" in the economy, the same "place" the wealthy elite, of all races, put them in. Because the American elite has always been mostly white, it's an easier web of lies to spin. We need White America on the liberals' side. If not, the same pattern we've seen throughout history will continue and real social change will never be achieved.
If this election has taught us anything, it's that racism/sexism/conservatism (though all remain huge issues for our country) only mask the biggest threat this country will ever face: classism and the domination of the top 1%. Instead of instilling fear in one another, minorities and the working class (and ALL those not benefiting with the elite) should work together to "Make America Great Again," for REAL. For EVERYONE.
New strategies are needed.
Yours always,
