“The Donald”. The 45th President of the United States. It boggles the mind. Popular vote or not, there are a lot of people who support him. I struggle to understand how intelligent people, and he does have intelligent people who support him, have come to terms with his misogyny, his confession of being a sexual predator, his racist and hate rhetoric, or his disdain for scientific facts and anything that puts the health of the planet over corporate greed. He has been labeled as being a “straight shooter”, a guy who speaks his mind. I don’t understand how anyone can be classified as a straight shooter when he is a known liar. You may agree with his ideas and promises but again, the man is a confirmed liar. Are you expecting that everything you have chosen to look past is not going to come back and hit you in the face anytime in the next four years? Yes, I get the argument that all politicians are liars. But not all politicians are sexual predators, nor do I believe any other US President has lied so blatantly in his inaugural address. But I digress, here we are. Somehow a man who can’t be trusted to tell the truth has somehow become one of the most powerful leaders on the planet.
I understand that by appealing to people’s emotions and fears creates an environment where facts and reasoning are ignored. Furthermore, people acting on fear will gravitate to authoritarianism at the expense of democracy and personal freedom. The part I don’t understand is that those same people do not find Donald Trump that much more scary than the status quo.
CBC Radio 1: Ideas - The Truth About Post-Truth
“Democracy is not compatible with capitalism but is congruent with a version of democratic socialism in which the wealth, resources, and benefits of a social order are shared in an equitable and just manner.” - Henry Giroux (b. 1943)
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