The Evils Of Trumpism

This is from a friend, Jay Feldman, and it is a great summary of Donald Trump and his effects on all of us:
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What is Trumpism?

There are two diverse, popular, definitions of Trumpism; first is courtesy of Dictionary.com:

“Trumpism refers to the nontraditional political philosophy and approach espoused by US President Donald Trump and his supporters. The term Trumpism can also be used to directly refer to an outrageous or idiosyncratic statement made by Donald Trump.”
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The second is courtesy of the Urban Dictionary:

“Definition of a word which only applies to the Trump universe. Often meaning the exact opposite of the dictionary meaning. A fair article is even handed. Trumpism fair article is one which praises Trump (that is, just read his comments about articles). Truth is that which is true. Trumpism true is whatever Trump currently wants to be true.”

I have my own definition, closer to that of the Urban Dictionary but including elements of both the above definitions:

“The rejection of reality and truth in favor of the currently-stated position of Donald Trump and/or his surrogates (for example, Steve Bannon) or as advanced via the Trump media: FOX News, Brietbart, and any one of several cable commentators, such as Alex Jones and Rush Limbaugh.”

There are many corollaries to Trumpsim. Let’s consider just eleven that immediately come to mind:

First, Trumpism rejects expert opinion and data, whether they emanate from the government, the academic field, financial experts, or any of the sciences. Accordingly, climate change is a hoax, the Trump tax bill won’t create a deficit and will be great for the middle class, our intelligence establishment is wrong about Russian interference, the FBI is not to be trusted to investigate alleged interference, etc.

Second, Trumpism wholly disregards the truth, as it is demonstrably established by overwhelming evidence. Hence, the Trump tax bill will not benefit Trump, Russia did not interfere with our election, the Dreamers are a threat to the United States, a Moslem ban applicable to certain specified countries will make our country secure (as will a huge border wall), etc.

Third, Trumpism loves to just make stuff up: Obama bugged Trump Tower, a “Deep State” exists within our government and is conspiring to undermine whatever Trump wants to accomplish, Trump’s son-in-law will be able to bring about peace in the Middle East, 3 million illegal immigrants voted in the last election -- all for Hillary, etc.

Fourth, Trumpism means that anyone who says anything critical of Trump (or his policies) must be immediately attacked, AND the attack can be a below-the-belt one: Mika Brzezinski’s bloody facelift, Elizabeth Warren is “Pocahontas,” Hillary must be locked up, Kim Jung-un is “rocket man,” etc.

Fifth, Trumpism means never admitting an error, a lie, or a misstep. With the exception of the speech Trump made after the Billy Bush, bus tapes were revealed (but see Sixth, below).

Sixth, it’s perfectly okay to revise history, even current history: “That tape of me saying ‘I can grab them by the P@&%y,’ that’s not me on the tape.”

Seventh, Trumpism requires superlatives and wild exaggerations, such as “Donald Trump is the healthiest man to ever be President, Obamacare is a disaster, we will deliver fire and fury on North Korea the likes of w2ich the world has never known,” Trump's inaugural crowd was the biggest ever, etc.

Eighth, Trumpism allows (more accurately, encourages) ANY form of bigotry and hate-speak. And so, there were “good people on all sides” marching in Charlottesville, anti-Semitic campaign literature is fine, Mexicans are rapists and murderers, a judge of Hispanic background can't be fair, support from extremist bigots (like David Duke) is welcome, Steve Bannon’s antisemitism is entirely overlooked, retro policies which discriminate against minorities are encouraged and countenanced. This includes rampant sexism (i.e., women are chattel, to be used, abused and exploited, for man’s pleasure).

Ninth, poor and vulnerable people have no one to blame but themselves and can be crushed, with overwhelming cruelty.

Tenth, the rich are an entitled class, including those who control huge corporations, and any regulations or policies which may diminish their ability to amass greater wealth or power must be resisted or eliminated.

Eleventh, the environment is as unimportant as the needs of future generations, so coal mining is encouraged, withdrawal from the Paris accords is the stated policy, despoliation of federal lands, National Parks and Monuments, is to be encouraged, etc.

As first stated, there are other manifestations of Trumpism beyond the examples itemized above. but taken as a whole, no amalgam of concepts and policies could be more anathema to an enlightened, progressive and decent society. Only perhaps fascism and communism (as espoused by the likes of Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, and Jung-un) may be arguably worse in their breadth and monstrousness; however, in this age of climate change and looming nuclear holocaust (including the likelihood that continued proliferation will see a nuclear device in the hands of terrorists), Trumpism poses the greatest current threat to civilization.

What makes Trumpism so much more dangerous is not that it is being conducted by Donald Trump but that it has arisen in the world’s greatest nation (possessing the greatest military and economic power), and very little exists to stop Trumpism. Moreover, Trumpism is being aided and abetted by the Republican Party, the political party currently in control of our entire federal government (all but four Supreme Court Justices – a minority even on the Supreme Court) and most of our state governments. Finally, our last lines of defense, a free press and the internet, are both under merciless attack (see, for example, the recent ending of Net Neutrality).

Many prescient figures throughout our history (such as Thomas Jefferson) have advanced the notion that America is more likely to be destroyed from within than from any foreign adversary. That may prove to be somewhat inaccurate to the extent that we have an adversary, Russia, hell bent on destroying our country from without by corrupting our system from within, as gleefully participated in by those who practice and encourage Trumpism.

Trumpism then must be resisted at every opportunity and in every way. That may come to mean overt violence, but at the moment it means utilizing the finer instruments of our founding fathers, including the voting booth and the free press. It also means that we must protect free expression, on the internet and all other media, and on our college campuses. It means that we must call out Trumpism whenever and wherever we see its pernicious manifestation: ANYWHERE, whether in our homes, among our families and friends, on social media, and anywhere else.

Trumpism is not merely a Donald Trump phenomenon, any more than McCarthyism was limited to the actions of Joseph McCarthy. Both these peculiar evil “isms” will continue to threaten us long after this Trump is gone (just as McCarthyism continues to plague us more than sixty years after the death of Joseph McCarthy).