A Nation in Crisis?

In a recent newsletter James Basker, president of the Gilder Lehrman Institute, wrote: "Earlier this summer, I read a rather dispiriting poll from Harvard’s Institute of Politics: Only 57% of 18- to-29-year-olds said it is “very important” that the United States is a democracy; 7% of respondents said it is either “not very” or “not at all important.” The same poll found a third of young Americans questioning whether we’ll remain a unified nation." Although Basker received some encouraging news from another source, it is not difficult to see why young Americans might harbor such feelings.

There is very little in the news that supports the continuation of our democracy. Our politicians on the left and the right, but especially the right, are engaged in tricking the population about major issues. It would take a devoted academic, attorney or activist to keep up with the manipulations that constantly skirt the law and easily make us doubt the worthiness of our political institutions. 

The best example of this is the "border crusade". This is a series of actions waged by some border state governors complaining about "open borders" and unsafe conditions. Instead of urging members of Congress to engage in serious debate on an immigration policy, governors have decided to transport immigrants to several states that have designated "sanctuary cities" or are listed as "sanctuary states". The term "sanctuary city" and its use is also open to interpretation. Instead we should call what it is: Republican governors in Arizona and Texas are attacking the president's policies by sending people who have crossed the Mexican border and been granted access to America to northern states mostly governed by Democrats (either governors, mayors or both). 

It does not matter that the people being bused or even flown into to these cities are technically legally approved immigrants based on American refugee policy. And, these people are coming from nations, particularly Cuba and Venezuela, that the United States has deemed as dangerous (communist or socialist) and the migrants are seeking political asylum.  And, no one seems to care that transporting people to Chicago, Washington, D.C. or New York City is costing taxpayers in Texas and Arizona thousands of dollars. Instead, it is billed as a fight between conservatives and liberals as the New York Post describes the scenario. 

Taking my problems and giving it to you is the work of the "Trickster". This is the villain who wrecks havoc on the people in the community. He is always scheming to take your money. The Trickster somehow finds protection in the law and the legal structures. When I was a child the Tricksters were the pimps, bookies, and mobsters. Sometimes they were called a Trick Daddy, but now that name belongs to a rapper and the urban dictionary defines the term quite differently. Unfortunately, these characters, which I must now refer to as "political tricksters", have become our elected officials. They are the reason why democracy is in danger.

Let's explore this from a variety of angles. As we approach the mid-term elections, the degree of tricks are increasing. Although neither is running for office, campaign ads have place the president and former president on the ballot. In doing so, the depiction of the presidency has been tarnished in ways that will never be recovered. It has been associated with thievery, corruption and deception. We are still debating the election of 2020 in spite of the fact that there is no evidence to prove that Donald Trump won that contest. QAnon theories continue to exist and are growing in popularity and intensity. Racism has been used to strongly suggest that white supremacy is running the Republican party and that rampant criminality by black and brown people is supported by the Democrats. As a result the notions of loss, a lost nation, and financial handouts to a select group become a major part of the political framework. Ideas of corruption take us back to the mobsters and criminal bosses of the 1930s and 1950s.

Young people are being trained not to see redeeming elements in today's politicians. Republicans want them to see Joe Biden and his clan as a group of mobsters and Democrats describe Donald Trump and his family in a similar light. However, in a democracy, presidents should not be labeled as such. We are also challenging the mental capacities of Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden. Are they too old to run for another term? Where are their ideas for the future? And why, would young people support two men who never commanded favorable popularity rates with the nation?

Young Americans want to see the truth with their own eyes. They can already hear the words of their elders. Organized politics has decried the system as a failure. There is stagnation in Congress and no one is truly happy with the Supreme Court. Some Justices like Clarence Thomas have lost their aura of impartiality, and others have simply lied to be confirmed. This information is equally broadcast by FOX and CNN!

Yet, I am not calling the members of the Court or the presidents political tricksters. They might be opportunistic in nature, but they are not full fledged con-artists. The closest concept to political tricksters are congressmen/women, senators and governors. It is they who use their offices in different ways to manipulate and stretch reality.  And while both parties have members who are guilty of being tricksters, the Republicans have more. Their advertisements highlighting the idea that we have soft or open borders, that people are soft on crime, elected officials want to defund the police, and that elected officials want to take away people's gun and control free speech are illustrations of how our ideas of reality and democracy are being destroyed. That they say these things while contesting education, religious freedom, marriage equality, women's choice, voting rights, and public safety make them guilty of denying very things that they claim to suggest are the rights in a democratic society.

As this plan of transporting people from Texas to the North gained momentum, liberals figured that there would be national outrage among the Latino and Hispanic communities in Texas and elsewhere denouncing the plan and labeling Texas Governor Greg Abbott as the latest "trickster". Liberals equally assumed that people would help the migrants in their cities and demand political action against the Texas leader. Perhaps they also thought that Governor Abbott's re-election bid would be harmed by his actions. 

To the contrary, very little is harming Governor Abbott's chances of being re-elected. The contest is close but unless there is a miracle the status quo is secure. This trickster lives on the edge but remains confident. Seeing his success, Florida's Ron De Santis is trying to establish his credentials as a different type of trickster. De Santis is trying to become more than a trickster. The Governor wants to win the votes of every "injured American" by making their single issue a part of his bully pulpit. He has taken every social issue and made it a part of his political campaign. The "culture wars" are being waged in Florida as part of a political con. And De Santis hopes it can make him the next president. Imagine a real "Trick Daddy" being elected and installed in the White House.

Florida is not like any other state. But it is a good cross-section to access political cohorts. Its demographics reveal degrees of racial, gender and age diversity that are not found in other locations. The state has been and remains a retirement haven ranking 2nd in the nation with the percentage of senior citizens, and 2nd in the nation in terms of its Hispanic population, making it a way station for immigrants from the Caribbean and Central America, Just over 15% of Florida is black, Latinos are nearly 30% of the state’s population, and senior citizens are nearly 20% of the total. 

As Governor De Santis appears to be cruising to victory with nearly a 20% margin what does that convey to young people? He is winning the senior and Latino vote by weaponizing abortion, immigration, education, and marriage equality as campaign issues. Either he or Donald Trump are the presumed frontrunners for the Republican nomination. Why should young people feel confident in democracy?