In 70 plus years of observation, nothing remotely like the present state of affairs in American politics have I ever witnessed. The specter of a utopian socialist, Bernie Sanders and a capitalist mogul, Donald Trump, winning enough primaries to be the presidential candidate from their respective parties! This phenomenon wasn’t a remote possibility during the years I taught U.S. history in public schools. What is happening in the election process that makes this scenario more than just a nightmare for the powers that be in both camps?
It appears that a large number of voters, on both sides of the isle, are disgusted with elected officials willing to sell their vote to the highest bidder, taking advice from lobbyists rather than listen to the “common man”, and in general following the money trail of special interest groups. Not only that, we now have a new class of so-called “millennials” with some radical ideas about how politics ought to work with Bernie Sanders style; free college education, universal health care and “cradle to the grave” handouts.
If that isn’t plague enough we have the scion of wealth, Donald Trump, pledging to bar all Muslims from entering the country, and having the Mexican government paying for an impenetrable wall across our southern border. Besides that he vows to make China and Japan follow his rules about foreign trade instead of allowing them to steal us blind.
Finally Bernie Sanders has guaranteed the American people he will make the Wall Street “fat cats” repay the billions of dollars they stole from the hard working people over the past ten years and reallocate all the filthy lucre to the rightful owners. And Donald Trump has promised to destroy the Islamic State as soon as he takes the oath of office and force the rich Middle East oil tycoons pay for all of it.
Perhaps the lyrics from the Bob Dylan song; “Blowin in the Wind” has something to do with the mood in America today, “…how many years can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see? The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind…”.
— Carl D. Liechty, Lima
