Commentators have noted that Trump uses this strategy to divide the nation, pitting his allies against an imagined evil empire of straw men populated by everyone who’s ever said an unkind word about him. And that’s true. But the deeper truth is that he’s not just dividing us for the sake of dividing us, he’s pandering to the binary thought pattern that’s more pervasive among his base than it is among America at large.
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The escape hatch for Trump is there, and it’s one he’s taking before in private business. He thrives on winning, and if it becomes clear he can’t (win, that is), he’s likely to quit in a huff. But don’t expect him to go away, and don’t expect him to take any of the blame. Sure, he’ll lash out at Democrats, but he’ll also blame Republicans who, he’ll say, have turned on him.
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By taking Trump seriously — whether it’s because he’s the president or because we don’t want to look petty ourselves — we make him appear credible. And he’s not. We shouldn’t treat him like he is.
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Identity politics doesn’t start with pride, it starts with shame. If you want to blame someone for identity politics, blame the slaveholders, the segregationists, the people who’ve opposed equal rights for women, who’ve discriminated against and demeaned LGBTQUIA individuals. Blame the people who support or apologize for actions that make others feel inferior, based on nothing more than who they are.
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It’s very possible to be proud about living in the South without waving a Confederate flag. I know. I live in the South, and I like it here. And it’s just as possible to be proud about one’s Italian heritage without putting up a statue to Christopher Columbus. Are we really so narrowly focused as to believe that the only way we can honor our heritage is to erect statues to slaveholders?
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What if, instead of law enforcement cops, we had public service CAPs — Community Assistance and Protection representatives? Don’t call them “officers.” That’s a military term that, again, is designed to invoke fear and conjure up images of aggressive, violent action. That’s not what we need. We need people we can trust to work with us to create a more peaceful culture. We need people who will defuse tense situations, not escalate them with violence.
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