Wednesday, July 27, 2016

The Last Stand

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Michael Moore, through his unflinching documentary films, has pulled back the shroud on the seamiest depravities and excesses of capitalism and free enterprise, showing us some of the awful costs associated with American exceptionalism - and author Stephen King has given us monsters so disturbingly vile (and real) that they follow us to bed and claw their way into our nightmares.   Both of these creative geniuses know the pulse of American culture, its flow and rhythms, and both are concerned with the disruptive force that Donald Trump is having on our society.

Moore describes the blowhard billionaire as a "wretched, ignorant, dangerous part-time clown and full-time sociopath," and he is predicting that Trump is going to win the presidency.  He feels that Trump's economic fear-mongering will ultimately prevail, particularly in the Rust Belt (states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) where jobs have been steadily disappearing and displaced workers and their families tend to blame international trade deals like NAFTA and TPP.  He also feels that many voters view Hillary Clinton as untrustworthy and dishonest.

The filmmaker sees an element of rebellion in the movement toward Trump.  He says that people will vote for him just because they can - and that they have a desire to "upset the apple cart" and "make mommy and daddy mad."

Michael Moore believes that we should all get used to saying the words, "President Trump," though he, himself, remains dismayed and disgusted at the prospect.

(I tried saying those words together, but my gag reflex kicked in!)

Stephen King recently described Donald Trump in a tweet as a "thin-skinned racist with the temperament of a 3-year-old."  King, while not predicting a Trump  victory as Moore did, does see him as a viable candidate, and feels that he will be more of a threat at the polls in November than some of his Republican adversaries would have been - particularly Ted Cruz.

Interestingly, both men - Michael Moore and Stephen King - describe Donald Trump as being the wall holding back the incoming tide of women, immigrants, and minorities.  Moore labels it "the last stand of the angry white man," and King gets a bit more specific with his description of the Trump rise to power as being "the last stand of the sexist, racist American male."

Perhaps they are right and it truly is the last stand, the final battle in the centuries-old war on ignorance.  Let us hope - and pray (if you must) - that it is a battle in which the forces of hatred and intolerance are finally defeated and put to rest, and that America can right itself and move forward into the light of a more just and equitable tomorrow. 

Donald Trump has taken his stand, but he cannot and will not stand in our way.  Enlightenment beckons.

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