Timing, as they say, is everything.
There are days when I sit down to write my blog with nothing big to write about, Times when all is quiet, not just on the western front, but every single point of the compass.
This is not one of those days.
In fact, with amazing synchronicity, this very day is one which may well signal real and, with luck, lasting change. Today was the Day Donald Trump left the White House.
Now, it may have escaped our attention, but I’m not actually American. I don’t live there, either. So why should I, a lowly Brit, care who the American President is?
It’s a fair question.
Hard Times
The last four years have been eventful. I don’t think there are many people who could deny that. Politically, we seem to live in a post-truth world. One where personality trumps (sorry) policy. One where this huge, amazing world we live in had been boiled down and redefined into something small and lonely. An us versus them world where the differences between us lead to suspicion, blame and an ever-growing distance. It’s an effect that can be observed the world over. One exacerbated by financial and health crises, as we all look for someone to blame.
Now I’m not saying that Mr Trump is the root cause of all this. Far from it. I do think, however, that he represented a symptom of the virus (not that one). A regression to the cult of personality and a willingness to listen to someone who can point outwards and say, ‘there’s the problem. It’s those people. That institution. That country, And I, and only I can deal with it.’ It’s a search for the easy answer, and an eagerness to believe someone has one.
Mr Trump was someone who promised whose easy answers. A man who propped himself up on slogans and played into the fear of ‘the other’. And I see echoes of that on these shores, too.
Hair Today
Our figurehead is, of course, Mr Johnson. A similarly larger-than-life personality who leans into a sense of nationalist pride. Who over-promises and under-delivers. A man with similarly inexplicable hair (and honestly, both Trump and Johnson look like they’ve been dragged through a hedge by Edward Scissor-hands… While riding pillion on a Harley Davidson... in a wind tunnel... Twice The only difference being, someone gave Trump a can of hair spray afterwards).
Of course, the deselection of one politician is only the smallest of starts, and we have the incoming Biden presidency to evaluate, so for now I guess I’ll put away my idealism, and limit myself to one comment.
Goodbye Mr Trump, it hasn’t been fun.
Until next time…
The last four years have been eventful. I don’t think there are many people who could deny that. Politically, we seem to live in a post-truth world. One where personality trumps (sorry) policy. One where this huge, amazing world we live in had been boiled down and redefined into something small and lonely. An us versus them world where the differences between us lead to suspicion, blame and an ever-growing distance. It’s an effect that can be observed the world over. One exacerbated by financial and health crises, as we all look for someone to blame.
Now I’m not saying that Mr Trump is the root cause of all this. Far from it. I do think, however, that he represented a symptom of the virus (not that one). A regression to the cult of personality and a willingness to listen to someone who can point outwards and say, ‘there’s the problem. It’s those people. That institution. That country, And I, and only I can deal with it.’ It’s a search for the easy answer, and an eagerness to believe someone has one.
Mr Trump was someone who promised whose easy answers. A man who propped himself up on slogans and played into the fear of ‘the other’. And I see echoes of that on these shores, too.
Hair Today
Our figurehead is, of course, Mr Johnson. A similarly larger-than-life personality who leans into a sense of nationalist pride. Who over-promises and under-delivers. A man with similarly inexplicable hair (and honestly, both Trump and Johnson look like they’ve been dragged through a hedge by Edward Scissor-hands… While riding pillion on a Harley Davidson... in a wind tunnel... Twice The only difference being, someone gave Trump a can of hair spray afterwards).
I think it’s these similarities and the lurch toward a post-truth reality in which responsibility and accountability are dirty words which strike me the most. As much as I see Trump as a manifestation of this phenomenon, my hope is his exit may be the touch-paper which launches the rest of the world back to a political centre that truly represents the centre. (You know, where right wing capitalist thought is moderated by left-wing socialist ideals and feeding children isn’t a matter for debate).
Middle Ground
My hope is a shift in the political discourse that at least allows for an exploration of different ways of thinking, living, and working. A shift that brings us all closer together, regardless of class, ethnicity, country, politics, or religion. I know it’s an airy-fairy way of thinking. I know it’s easier to blame the Mexicans, The E.U. or whoever else, but I truly believe that if we come together and realise life isn’t a competition, that the only ones ultimately responsible for where we are now, is us, and we’re also the only way out, we can build a world that is better for everyone.
Middle Ground
My hope is a shift in the political discourse that at least allows for an exploration of different ways of thinking, living, and working. A shift that brings us all closer together, regardless of class, ethnicity, country, politics, or religion. I know it’s an airy-fairy way of thinking. I know it’s easier to blame the Mexicans, The E.U. or whoever else, but I truly believe that if we come together and realise life isn’t a competition, that the only ones ultimately responsible for where we are now, is us, and we’re also the only way out, we can build a world that is better for everyone.
Of course, the deselection of one politician is only the smallest of starts, and we have the incoming Biden presidency to evaluate, so for now I guess I’ll put away my idealism, and limit myself to one comment.
Goodbye Mr Trump, it hasn’t been fun.
Until next time…
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