Sometimes not getting what you want is an amazing stroke of luck…….for someone else.
Every week of the Trump administration has been a roller coaster ride of uncertainty. I go to bed each night wondering what the morning headlines will be and if I even want to read the news. This last week has been a revolution of revulsion with each day spinning in a different direction of disaster. From fears of a nuclear war with North Korea to openly racist rallies of white supremacist Nazis to the removal of confederate memorials.
While walking around during my lunch break today it occurred to me that the undoing of the GOP may be the GOP itself. The GOP has long used double-speak and dog whistles to round up votes. They have employed gerrymandering to stack districts with rabid, ultra conservative right wing voters that can elect far right fringe candidates unwilling to compromise. (i.e. Freedom Caucus…)
Now that their man Trump is in the White House they feel liberated enough to bring their undercurrent of hate into the open. Trump lifted the veil from the racism that has always existed but hid just under the surface. It was never talked about in the open but now has been given permission to be openly displayed. (Much to Mc Connell’s chagrin.)
What I find interesting as we propel down this dark path is that, while this is what these voters wanted (A racist president who speaks his mind), none of the voters that supported Trump could be prepared for what I think is an even bigger consequence of the election — awareness. For all the years that confederate memorials stood openly displayed in public spaces there was never as much talk like there is now for their removal. Trumps election gave the far right of the GOP an excuse to be loud and outspoken in their beliefs. They felt strong enough to ‘defend’ confederate memorials and to give interviews defending ‘white-power’.
But is has given equal power to the left. We are now seeing swift action and in some cases the quick removal of the monuments (thank you, Baltimore!). We are seeing more voices rise-up in defiance of these so-called monuments. I find it fascinating that the very thing (Trumps election) that inspired the coming out of white supremacists may be what finally leads to the dismantling and removal of the statues. (removing hatred will be a bit harder….)
As a country, we have been suffering from an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality about racism. No one ever worries about cockroaches under their sink until they open the cabinet door and find them. We know they may be there but we don’t want to look. Well, with today’s GOP base, after hiding for decades they felt it was safe to open the doors on their own from the inside. Their hubris will be their undoing. While they felt it was safe to reveal themselves, they have instead awakened others to their existence.
Can you imagine the outrage they must feel? After Trump gave them the green light to be themselves, they have started the engine of their own undoing. The country is having a national discussion for monument removal. Monuments will finally be removed all because this group was given the green light by Trump and his administration to be themselves. They rose awareness to a heightened level with their ‘rally’ in Charlottesville around the confederate monument — it is now a matter of time until its removal.
Trump has also been shooting himself in the foot with the Mueller investigation. Every time he opens his mouth, I feel like Mueller is given more evidence to pursue his case. How long will it take before the ENTIRE GOP is caught up in the same situation that the White-supremacists find themselves with respect the confederate memorials? Hopefully not long……...