Trump’s Incivility Demeans American Values

During Trump’s campaign, his inner circle reported him as being sort of “down in the dumps” following several anti-trump rallies.  They suggested that he go downstairs to the outside and “mix” with the crowd. The crowd outside of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue was apparently largely “pro-Trump” at the time, and they warmly embraced him. According to his inner circle, he returned to his staffers reinvigorated. They said that the crowd charged him up to the extent that he appeared to be a new man- no longer in the dumps and ready to zestfully pursue the campaign.

Trump’s followers invigorate him. He feeds on their passion and he thrives on their enthusiasm. He loves to hear them chant “Trump, Trump, Trump” and “Build the wall, build the wall!”

I guess it would be fine if his folks contained their enthusiasm and fervor, but his rallies often become uncivilly wild and violent, which is not good.  It appears that he purposefully “aims” for the sort of unbridled enthusiasm that the crowd ends up demonstrating. He seems to whip them into a frenzied state and it seems that the more frenetic they become, the more satisfied he is. This seems to feed his ego.

Trump draws a certain type of audience. Rarely do you see Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, etc. in his crowds, and if you see any, there are only a few. His crowds are overwhelmingly Caucasian and seem to come from somewhere in middle class America.  This is a population that has stated that they felt “overlooked” and “not catered to” as a group, compared to how they perceived minority groups were treated. Thus, when Trump mentions undocumented aliens, a ban on Muslim countries, or African-American athletes not acknowledging our flag, they get “up in arms” about it. Trump doesn’t try to create a dialog with these groups; he uses racial and cultural differences to further divide Americans.

I’ve stated in other essays that Mr. Trump really doesn’t want a “united” America because he feels that a divided America along racial and cultural lines strengthens his power among his supporters. In one of my essays, I called him “the Dean of division” because he seems to seek out our differences and exploit them for his own selfish purposes, rather than trying to unify Americans as other presidents have endeavored to do before him. His divisive tendency is apparent to many.

Trump supporters will tell you that he reached out to Black citizens by inviting the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) presidents to his office for a dialog. However, these presidents will tell you that the dialog never happened, and the “get together” ended up being nothing more than a “photo op” for the Trump Administration.

Trump supporters will tell you that he invited congresspersons to his office to resolve the DACA problem. However, we all know that despite all of his grand promises, nothing happened! That’s because he doesn’t really intend to cater to any group but his base.  We can recall that when he captured the support of the group that we later called his base, he did not earnestly campaign to bring “others” into his tent. To Trump and his supporters, that would not be a workable union.  The Trump support base is simply not “all inclusive”. Period!

Trump has never been interested in unifying Americans and engaging them in honest civil discourse. He thrives on division and chaos. If things get too quiet, he feels uneasy. He therefore targets unsuspecting whites who he knows feel “wronged” by “the system” that they perceive as catering to minorities.  They see minorities as “gamers of the system” who misappropriate the “lions share” of the free stuff  that the nation has to offer. It’s a false premise, because the percentage of African-Americans receiving welfare is 39.8%, while the percentage of Whites receiving welfare is 38.8%-roughly equal, according to a 2016 report provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Groups in America have a right to hold rallies, stage meetings, etc. as long as they are civil and don’t infringe on the rights of others.  Trump’s rallies have featured him inciting others to violence by offering to pay the legal bills of those who would “punch out” rally dissenters.  In somewhat coded language, he said dissention by certain people wouldn’t happen in “the good old days” or they would have been taken out on stretchers.  He further said that he grabbed women by the unmentionables. He went on to disrespect a “Gold Star” Muslim family, and denigrated Senator McCain for having been caught and imprisoned as a military officer.

One can go on-and-on about Trump’s inappropriate and crass statements and actions, but my purpose here is only to highlight the”incivility” of the Trump political brand.  His followers have begun to “act like Trump”, and they think they can demonstrate their incivility with the same impunity as Trump himself.  Republicans are campaigning “Trump style”-using the same divisive rhetoric that Trump constantly uses.  Trump has done and said so many uncivil things that that it’s not funny. Others would have been penalized in some way for the same actions.

Without cause, a white-haired elderly woman belligerently pursued CNN’s Jim Acosta at a recent Trump rally in S.C., and tried to provoke the ire of rally participants against him. Common sense and decorum has been thrown out of the window by Donald J. Trump, and many of his followers are exhibiting the same behavior.  It has to stop before it gets worse!

Trump has hijacked the Republican Party and besmirched its character. He is in the process of hijacking America’s norms and values and besmirching America’s character.  Putin himself couldn’t have done more to divide America and besmirch its character than the uncivil Donald J. Trump!  

Trump and his emissaries are derailing America and its values at a fast pace on a daily basis. We can’t successfully go into the future led by a self-proclaimed “great businessman” (who has four verified business bankruptcies) who is a man of questionable character with a history of dishonesty.   If we don’t redeem our traditional values (among them, civility, equality, honesty, justice, and respect for all nations and people) we may well be headed toward the “scrap heap” of history.  As a nation without respectable values, our traditional friends may eventually desert us. Many nations may not want to deal with us if they have an alternative. If we fall as a once prominent nation, our enemies will not be saddened.

It is now time for America to wake up and make its true values known at the ballot box.