In 2016, Donald Trump's ascent to the White House hit like a genuine gut punch, a shocking event that felt almost as if it was dared into reality. But eight years and one stunning political comeback later, one thing is clear: Americans made a choice. The majority wants this. It can—and—did happen here.
I know these are difficult things to accept, particularly for those who still cling to the preciousness of American democracy. But the morning after Trump's sweeping victory—after a twice-impeached, convicted felon ran the most hideous political campaign—I sincerely believe that the sooner we shed such lofty, self-serving views of this country, the better prepared we'll all be for the next time around.
Not convinced? Read David Corn's searing piece on voters' undeniable national embrace of the politics of hate, and even a potential fascist future:
Despite Trump’s multiple offenses (criminal, political, and social), tens of millions voters—more than half of the electorate—said they want more of him and desire this felonious, misogynistic, racist, and seemingly cognitively challenged wannabe autocrat to lead the nation once again. Trumpism triumphed, and the godhead of this cult has become both the first fascist and the first convicted felon to win an American presidential election.
At this fork in the road, Americans made a decision on what sort of country the United States will be. A judgment has been reached: This is a nation to be ruled by Trump’s politics of hate. It can happen here, and it has.
So I'll say it once more. The sooner folks accept and even embrace that a decisive majority of Americans support the deeply racist, misogynistic, lying, cruel politics of MAGA, that this is indeed who we are, the sooner those opposed to this ugly vision can turn the tide. Just please leave the saccharine narratives out of it.
And though I'm not feeling too much of it personally, I do feel compelled to leave on a hopeful note. For that, I'll leave it to the inimitable Rebecca Solnit, who writes today:
They want you to feel powerless and surrender and let them trample everything and you are not going to let them. You are not giving up, and neither am I. The fact that we cannot save everything does not mean we cannot save anything and everything we can save is worth saving. You may need to grieve or scream or take time off, but you have a role no matter what, and right now good friends and good principles are worth gathering in. Remember what you love. Remember what loves you. Remember in this tide of hate what love is.
—Inae Oh
