Richard Durbin For President in 2020!

"Socialism never took root in America because the poor there see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires" -John Steinbeck

This is a really good Washington Post article. "How Trump Won: The Revenge Of Working Class Whites" 

(and aptly titled, because I do believe many voted for Trump to get "revenge" for eight years of good works and prosperity that Obama ushered in)

It reaffirms what Michael Moore and others have been saying all along, that there is a HUGE amount of sadness, frustration and anger among lower middle class white men. About a year ago the New York Times printed an article about how the death rate of this group has skyrocketed because of alcohol, drug and suicide death— every other group is living longer. Uneducated white men are dying faster; this indicates a profound problem among that group. Why wasn't this factor taken into consideration by Democrats? I think someone between Sanders and Clinton would have been a better choice, and sad to say, it would probably have had to be a man. BABY STEPS! People who were so gung-ho about Sanders don't seem to understand the give and take of politics. I'm as left wing as you can get- I don't have a car and haven't for years, I buy all my clothes at thrift stores and am a true believer in equality and fairness. But I know the reality that most Americans, even Democrats, are way more in the center. A lot of Democrats are living in a bubble (see how badly the New York Times underestimated Trump's ascendancy?) and an echo chamber. Having said all that, and in regards to this very well-written article about Trump's victory, I also want to say that America needs to change in the same way the Netherlands and Scandinavia have changed and are still changing—more focus on educating people and not relying on industrial jobs! Trump is barking up the wrong tree trying to bring us decades back in time. The only way ahead is to go forward: save what's left of the environment, make education affordable for everyone (when my mother went to college in the 1950's, she paid for it herself working part time in a bakery. Why can't that be done now? School should not be a racket! She had NO DEBT.) Once again Republicans have played their constituents to profoundly vote against their best interests, using pro working-man rhetoric. It worked once again—no surprise there. If a person doesn't read, educate themselves and think critically, they are easy prey for power-hungry politicians. This time there is a hell of a lot in the balance. I am currently reading "It Can't Happen Here," maybe to brace myself for the worst.

I understand the confusion, sadness, anger and frustration of the lower middle class white men. My family's roots are firmly planted there. My mother's parents immigrated from Holland in the 1920's and were not in favor of my mother going to college. Her father sold wholesale produce in Chicago and bought a house during the Depression. My mother's mother came from a family of poor fishermen. My father's family were farmers in rural LaSalle, Illinois. Both of my parents wanted to do more, learn more, be more. As I said, my mother put herself through college and so did my dad; he entered the Korean War so he could go to college on the G.I. Bill. This is why my sympathy only goes up to a point. I understand that there are a lot of very unhappy people in America who feel neglected and bitter, but their bitterness is so profoundly misplaced. They've allowed a buffoon like Trump to stir up bigotry, hatred and xenophobia so that he could live his dream of ultimate glory. They are endangered the environment in such a frightening way, based on ignorance, greed and indifference. They are allowing a goon to undo all the hard work of decades of civil rights advancement. There is an utter lack of understanding on everyone's part on the way progress occurs–it happens slowly and in stages, you are not suddenly prosperous over night. It's work, people.

As for the educated white men and women who voted for Trump, all I have to say to that is how nihilistic, how misanthropic to do such a vile thing. Cutting off your nose to spite your face is never a very good idea.

©2016 Alice DuBois