That worry has very little to do with Donald Trump but a lot more with this man that was in my living room. What happens if Trump is brokered out of the nomination? What if he loses the election? What if he is all bullshit and empty promises? What does my new friend do then and where does his anger go?
I met a Trump supporter the other day and this is what I learned.
As he was repairing a sofa, we got to talking about things. He was certainly skillful and seemed a nice guy. It didn’t take long for him to start telling me about how he wound up doing the job he’s in now. He started at age 14 in the shop that his father started and both had managed a living in it for over 15 years. His father and mother had had 10 children and all had gone on to lead productive lives. Then along came the recession and the business crashed. Part of the crash was because people no longer get things fixed but throw them away and just buy new, cheaper made stuff. But he stressed that the recession was the big thing and he blamed Obama and the politicians for much of that. Now he was forced to work as an independent contractor for a company which meant he got no health insurance or benefits from them and a lot less income.
The depth of his anger for what he and his family had lost was palpable. I could feel his rage when he damned the Government for taking away everything 2 generations had tried to build. He thought that Trump was the only option. He despises ‘Bernie’ for ‘wanting to give away everything to a bunch of sh*ts!’
Not unusual right? Just another blue collar, ignorant hater right? Probably a closet racist too.
Well here’s the weird part and maybe it will force you to re-examine some of your Trump Truths and show you why Trump has been so successful and why he is so such a threat.
This man’s father was an immigrant refuge from Palestine and his son, this man working in my living room, identifies himself as a Palestinian Muslim and American citizen! He sees nothing but more violence in the Middle East and blames all sides for it. He sees no real future here anymore and talks about how the ones who want everything for nothing and the politicians have ruined everything. His only hope is that Trump gets elected and makes America Great Again.
If this man can support Trump even though he’s everything that Trump is supposed to frighten away, what does that say about the real state of America? The other candidates? The entire political system?
I’ve lived through the 60’s, the Civil Rights battles, the Vietnam War and all the wars since, the Counter Revolution, recessions big and small and Hope and Change but I’ve never been so worried about my country’s future as I am now.
That worry has very little to do with Donald Trump but a lot more with this man that was in my living room. What happens if Trump is brokered out of the nomination? What if he loses the election? What if he is all bullshit and empty promises? What does my new friend do then and where does his anger go?