As the great philosopher, Pogo, wisely proclaimed, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” There can be little doubt that the problem with America is Americans. While the right-wing media flails widely about casting blame on others, especially immigrants, there can be no question that the culpability for our current situation resides internally, not externally.
The real issues are the gullibility, shortsightedness, and frequent lack of critical thinking skills that plague the country today. That is exemplified in a thorough examination of our political leaders. As Elizabeth Warren stated several years ago, “a country that elects a Donald Trump is already in trouble.” That remains true today. While he is out of office, the danger remains.
The great analogy posited by Jennifer Mercieca, and several other researchers is the dramatic equivalencies between Trump, his rallies, and the professional wrestling events of the WWE. In her insightfully analytical book, Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump, she notes the obvious parallels in his ascendancy.
As borne out by his repeated business failures, Trump is no genius! But rather, as the Washington Post book review accurately pointed out, “He’s a sophisticated con man who used the tools of rhetoric to pick the pockets of the American body politic. He double-talked his way to power. He buried his opponents with an avalanche of gibberish. He convinced more than 60 million Americans that the barnyard odor of his bombast was actually the pungent aroma of pure truth.”
Then, in 2020, even as the deaths soared toward more than 3,000 per day from Trump’s inept handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was able to con more than an additional 10 million voters. His incompetence is exemplified when compared with the appropriate response to the Covid-19 pandemic that broke out in South Korea on the same day as in the U.S.
To date, while America has over 600,000 Covid-related deaths, South Korea has experienced just about 2,100. Yes, they have a smaller population, but a total comparable number in the U.S. would be well under 14,000 fatalities. The real difference is recognition of the dangers posed by Covid, belief in science and capable leadership.
Mercieca’s professional wrestling observations are real and with merit. It is worth noting that Trump has participated in the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), even famously knocking over the founder, Vince McMahon. Donald Trump is so much a part of that scene, that in 2013 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
From his perspective, his base voters are like wrestling fans. Trump considers them a naïve audience that will believe anything he tells them. Like professional wrestling matches, his major political moves are scripted and carefully choreographed by eloquent speechwriters.
However, his impetuous tweets and off-the-cuff remarks often reveal his disregard for reality. To Trump, his voters are as malleable and naïve as WWE fans.
Just as pro wrestlers are expendable, so too are Trump’s many enablers, the likes of whom litter the legal landscape. Hint, you can’t love a narcissist enough. Ask his latest casualty, George P. Bush, who betrayed his family for an endorsement that never materialized.
Despite many exposés on the orchestrated nature of the outcome of professional wrestling matches, fans become emotionally engrossed by the caricatures that are presented to them. That does not mean the moves are fake, just carefully executed to minimize the physical injuries to the performers.
To the thousands of fans, emotions override logic, and they believe the fanciful tales that unfold. While betting is allowed on many sporting events, no rational person would place a wager on the outcome of a WWE match.
Concerning constituents, as a wrestling forum posted, “So the average WWE fan is male, 30-44 years old, high school diploma, with a household income of $25-$35000 per year with no kids.” Sound familiar?
Just like the WWE, most members of the GOP hierarchy follow the storyline their ringmaster dictates. Their rationale is the same as the wrestlers; if you don’t adhere to the designated scenario, you won’t stay employed. In the WWE, that means no more high-paying matches. As with Trump, in the WWE loyalty is a one-way street. If injured or can’t help them, or speak out of turn, you’re gone.
For the GOP, digression from Trumpism, or inadequate fealty, will result in being “primaried.” That means learning the party is sponsoring someone else, a Trump loyalist, to run against you. Ask Liz Cheney.
While I was drafting this article, Senator Mitt Romney also commented on the professional wrestling analogy. On recent Sunday news programs Romney noted, “that claims made by former President Trump, and other Republicans, about the 2020 election being rigged against the former New York real estate mogul are a bit like [WWE]”
Indeed, it is a sad state of affairs when the governance of the world’s leading democracy can be placed on the equivalency of the WWE. Yet that is exactly the image that Trump has brought to the US presidency. His rallies continue to epitomize the entertainment aspects, clearly focusing on the emotional bias of his supporters, and most frequently exploiting demonstrably false statements.
Nothing could more characterize such actions as Trump’s incitement of insurrection on January 6, 2021. His fundamentally flawed argument, The Big Lie, that he actually won the 2020 election, still reverberates throughout the land. So much so, that many Republican candidates for office in the 2022 election continue to emphasize that travesty.
Notably, there have been 59 presidential elections in American history. Of those, 58 losing candidates have conceded, even when the outcome was extremely tight and contested. Trump alone has disgraced the office, and thereby damaged fundamental underpinnings of democracy, both domestically and across the globe.
Many political analysts claim you cannot blame voters for the worthiness of the representatives they elect. I disagree. One has to but examine the quality of members of Congress to understand there is something seriously wrong with our electoral system.
A leading example would be the election of Marjorie Taylor Green as a representative of the state of Georgia. With a known history of conspiratorial beliefs, the people of the14th District chose a known QAnon supporter. Even after her outrageous comments were reported, a substantial number of people who voted for her still voiced support. That support continued even after she claimed the devastating forest fires in California were started by Jewish space lasers.
Unconscionably, Green, with her continued shameful commentary, is one of the biggest fundraisers for the GOP. That alone does not bode well for the continuance of democracy.
Not to be outdone, Andrew Clyde, Congressman for Georgia’s 9th District, stated that there was "no insurrection," and that video of the storming resembled a "normal tourist visit" with Trump supporters behaving "in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes taking videos and pictures.” Interestingly, he had only been in office three days, so maybe he had no idea what “normal tourist visits” usually look like. Although he was photographed helping to barricade the doors, he was one of several Republicans who voted against awarding medals to the Capitol Police who helped save his ass. On July 27, at the Congressional hearings, he affirmed his outrageous claims once again.
Arizona has its share of winners as well. Representative Paul Gosar, a supporter of overt white nationalists, is so bad that he is rejected by his family, who tried in vain to warn voters in his district about him. Six of his nine siblings endorsed his opponent.
After the Congressman claimed that Ashli Babbitt “was executed by Capitol Police” as she breached the building on January 6, several of his siblings felt compelled to issue an apology to the nation for his behavior “on behalf of the sane members of the family.” His brother, Tim, noted publicly that Paul had become “a pathological liar.”
Like 20 other Republicans, Gosar, too, voted against the recognition of the heroic efforts of the Capitol Police. Despite his antics, Paul Gosar easily has been reelected several times, which speaks volumes about the constituency of the 4th District, which comprises the northwestern sector of that state.
Maybe the dumbest remarks come from Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert who asked the U.S. Forest Service if they could change the orbit of the earth or moon as a means to fight climate change.
Some perspective on Gohmert can be gleaned from a $5,500 donation to Steve Anderson, a vehemently anti-Semitic Holocaust denier. Notably, Gohmert was elected in 2004 and has been reelected eight times since then, usually by an overwhelming majority.
So yes, we can blame the people First District of Texas, for returning this totally incompetent representative to office. Gohmert even admits that people think he is the dumbest guy in Congress, a title for which there is much competition.
Considering that he has a JD (juris doctorate) from Baylor University in Waco, perhaps the university’s standards for granting degrees should be reexamined. While there are pockets of educated people in Texas, it ranks 43rd nationally in educational achievement. Gohmert’s district clearly is not one of those spots of enlightenment.
Not to be outdone in demonstrating lack of mental acuity, is fellow Texan, Chip Roy, Congressman from the 21st District. Another JD, Roy’s district runs from South Austin through parts of San Antonio. Having served as Senator Ted Cruz’s Chief of Staff, he previously was a first assistant Attorney General for Texas.
Of note should be his repeatedly televised rant regarding reinstatement of masks as a requirement for Congress. And what was called “a DEFCON-1 tantrum” on the floor of Congress, he screamed they should “shut the place down,” all because he could not comprehend why those who had been vaccinated would need to wear a mask. Despite considerable discussion, he seemed incapable of understanding the most basic virology in which vaccinated individuals can still pass COVID-19 on to other unvaccinated people.
Notably, Chip Roy was another of the 21 Republicans voting against awarding medals to the Capitol Police for their heroic actions on January 6. Also demonstrating his lack of interest in defending freedom and democracy, in March, Roy voted against condemning the insidious military coup taking place in Myanmar.
The congressional menagerie also includes Matt Gaetz, who is likely to be indicted for his penchant for very young sexual partners. Gaetz represents the First Congressional District of Florida which includes an aging community with many military members and retirees.
He often pulls stunts, such as wearing a military-style gas mask to demonstrate his disdain for the COVID-19 restrictions and has said that the open carry of weapons was a right "granted not by government but by God.”
Similarly, Pistol Packin’ Lauren Boebert, of Colorado’s 3rd District was so concerned about her safety on the floor of Congress, she brought her guns to town, just to make a statement. A 34-year-old high school dropout, Boebert proves you don’t have to be educated to get elected to Congress. So, not surprisingly, many of her stated views concur with QAnon conspiracies.
A real danger to her district, which is experiencing an extensive COVID-19 outbreak, she decried the vaccine outreach program as “Needle Nazis.” The health professionals there are not happy with her rhetoric. Since she missed science in school, her disdain for it continues. When a staffer provided a mask as required in Congress, Boebert contemptuously threw it on the floor. Manners obviously were not part of her upbringing either.
The people of Kentucky have inflicted extensive damage on the country through the selection of their senators. First, there is Senator No, also known as Moscow Mitch McConnell. An obstructionist, this seven-term hypocrite is personally responsible for converting the federal judicial system to a relic of the 19th century.
McConnell couldn't care less about the country and focuses solely on his ill-begotten senior position in the Republican Party. Repeatedly, he has lied to the American people, but never so capriciously as his comments about the insurrection on January 6, 2021, in which he initially (and correctly) blamed President Trump, only to totally reverse course. In another anti-American move, he orchestrated the GOP resistance to even formally discussing the voting rights bill.
Kentucky’s other senator, Rand Paul, is equally obstinate, outspoken and often acts in ways that are not in the best interests of his constituents or the country. A medical doctor, he has been consistently negative in his vocal opposition to nearly all recommendations regarding Covid-19. The diatribes with Dr. Fauci are legendary.
More despicable has been his stance regarding relocation efforts for Afghan translators that bravely assisted our forces for the past two decades. Though more that 300 of them have already been killed, Paul believes they should stay in Afghanistan. He claims it is an advantage to have English speakers in the country even though they are already being hunted. Shameful, but he does represent Kentucky voters.
While there are a number of highly educated individuals who support Trump and Trumpism, it is no accident that poorly educated states tend to vote Republican. Kentucky, for example, has the fifth-lowest educational achievement level in the country. Notably, of the top 20 most educated states in the country, only three voted for Trump. Conversely, of the 20 lowest educationally-ranked states in the union, only four voted blue in the 2020 election. The correlation is obvious.
Senator Ron Johnson is another prize-winner who consistently is in conflict with reality, a disgrace to humanity and an embarrassment to Wisconsin. Regarding the January 6 insurrection, he claims he saw “mostly peaceful protestors” storming the building as he ran for cover. That is a position he reiterated on January 27 following the Congressional hearings about the attack on democracy. Not only a climate change denier, he also actively discouraged constituents from getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
The list could be extended, but facts remain that Americans do a very poor job when selecting their representatives and holding them accountable. Herd allegiance frequently takes precedence over job performance, and incumbency provides name recognition that is too often insurmountable.
As false narratives are spun, realities become blurred, and the general public tires of the sheer banality of the situation. Though warned by the founding fathers of the need for constant vigilance, most Americans have tuned out and failed in their civic responsibilities to remain actively involved and knowledgeable. That is difficult indeed in this post-truth world,
COVID-19 may be a defining factor in the survival of the republic. What was proven was that a large segment of society rebuked science, medicine and their fellow citizens. Like the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 Super Bowl LI, who spiked the ball in the third quarter, only to be defeated in overtime, tens of millions of unvaccinated Americans spiked the ball too early in 2021. With mask mandates relaxed, they failed to follow the science or the rules. Undetectable, and thoughtlessly, they joined in public activities, and in so doing accentuated the vicious Delta variant and undoubtedly gave rise to new mutations yet to be discovered.
Rejecting sound advice for persons unvaccinated, they doomed the country to extended grief. A combination of circumstances has led to the current situation in which Americans are experiencing a needless new wave of infections. A dominant factor is a willful ignorance, often spurred through their selection of sources of information. These are predominantly right-wing news outlets and reliance on self-affirming social media.
Counterintuitive is an understatement when considering the mental density of the anti-vax adherents. Despite being exposed to a myriad of horror stories from relatives of loved ones whose unvaccinated family members contracted Delta variant of COVID and died, they remain steadfast in their stupidity that not even death could sway. Darwin would cringe knowing they perpetuate behaviors more supportive of extinction than survival.
Possibly the worst example was the group of Republican congressional representatives who staged anti-mask protests, despite the new evidence that even vaccinated people are susceptible to acquiring and transmitting the Delta variant. They choose to ignore the fact that party affiliation is irrelevant to the rapidly mutating virus. As such, eschewing science, they are proven unfit to govern, yet remain in office. Then beyond willful ignorance, we must accept that there are many millions of people who are just not too bright and are often the ones responsible for electing those working to the detriment of their health, economic well-being, and democracy itself.
For perceived political advantage, the leadership of the GOP has embraced a demonstrably false alternate reality; one dependent on fealty to Trump and devoid of conservative principles. Knowing emerging demographics are against them, they employ accentuated, fear-based, often fact-free, scenarios, designed to agitate their emotionally fragile and volatile constituents.
With impassioned pleas, they yearn to return to a time that never was. To that end, they create phantasms that stimulate the already hyperactive amygdala, (the emotional center of the brain that signals fight or flight) as found in many Trump supporters. Concurrently, they engage in overt voter suppression legislation and extensive abuse of the judiciary with frivolous lawsuits. And all of that culminates with the intentional undermining of confidence in our democratic institutions. Without confidence, democracy cannot flourish and is not likely to survive.
Indeed, the problem with America is Americans. The bottom line is that collectively we are not smart enough, or politically sophisticated enough, to govern democratically. Despite the fact that there have been many political scientists, and other well-educated people, raising flags for years, like lemmings, too many people run frantically towards the cliffs. Hurtling into oblivion, fear-driven and devoid of facts, they embrace an alternate reality.
The historians of the future (most likely Chinese scholars) will not comment favorably on the degradation and possible demise of American governance. They may note with abhorrence the presence of the WWE-like narratives, and political shenanigans so abundantly clear yet consciously ignored in this country’s downward spiral.
Most probably, they will chronicle that Americans did not have the political savoir-vivre, maturity, critical thinking skills, or common sense to save democracy.