Much of the rhetoric we see in newspaper articles, social media and on television suggest that Donald Trump is the cause of most of the problems in the U.S., and now that he will no longer be in charge, these problems will disappear and the country will return to “normal.”
While it may be true that Trump has several undesirable and egregious personality traits, Trump is just a symptom of and a result of many very serious issues facing the country. It is a gross oversimplification and miscalculation to suggest that America’s problems will magically disappear when Trump and the Republican party are no longer in power.
A recent article entitled The Five Crises of the American Regime predicted that what we are witnessing is “the slow-motion disintegration of the USA in its present form.” The author describes the condition of the U.S. as dystopian; a society where there is great suffering and injustice.
Many countries, including Canada and the U.S., are facing a serious and growing drug problem. Many cities are increasingly being overrun by homelessness that is mainly associated with drug addiction. Some cities are now lawless because city bureaucrats believe the solution is to overlook the crime that is associated with drug addiction. Generally, efforts to address the drug-related issues are too limited and ineffective.
In his book, America, The Farewell Tour, author, journalist and historian Chris Hedges explains how the loss of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. to countries like China and Mexico has resulted in poverty, mental illness and drug addiction in many states including the “Rust Belt” of the midwest.
Promises to replace lost employment with jobs in other sectors have largely failed.
Donald Trump was elected by an American population that was crying out for different leadership. Many who voted for Trump have been directly and adversely affected by an ineffective government that is largely oblivious to the disintegration of the middle class in America. Their suffering will not be relieved simply by a change of government.
Many on the left would have you believe that most of America’s problems have been the result of Republican policies and leaders, but the truth is that most of America’s problems have been in the making for decades and have existed under both Republican and Democratic administration. Those who believe America’s problems will all be solved under a different administration need to look closer at the reality that is America in 2021.
Jim Curry, Sudbury