In 2016, prior to the election, I mused about what a President Trump could do to our culture and, particularly it’s effect on children. Naturally, everything we predict about this horrid man remains as truthful as the day we predict it. Here is that post from 2016. God help us if we have to deal with him after 2020:
Every new President brings with him a unique personality and set of values (and interests) that leave a huge imprint on our popular culture.
Jimmy Carter’s four years brought us a focus on religion (the Carter’s were very religious), entertainment geared toward Wildlife and Southern culture (where Carter was born and raised) such as Smokey & The Bandit, Carter Country (TV series), the Wilderness films, Dukes of Hazzard, etc. Our culture also benefitted from the qualities of truth and honest, something desired and truly lacking from the previous years of Richard Nixon.
Ronald Reagan brought us a new focus on jingoism, abstinence (thanks to Nancy’s Just Say No campaign), military might, and conservative fervor, which included entertainment like Top Gun and Iron Eagle, in addition to a lot of unchallenging music and media, and the growth of political correctness. Suddenly, people like Oliver North, who committed crimes against the country, were viewed by some as heroes. Other issues became black and white.
Bill Clinton fortunately infused the country with a sense of youthfulness not seen since Kennedy, but he also was responsible for loosening sexual mores and, thanks to the nature of our country at the time (courtesy of Reagan), it also ended up being his undoing. He was also unable to stop the push to the right thanks to a republican party committed to destroy him.
George W. Bush? Well, this moron made it acceptable to be mediocre, to ignore facts and evidence by replacing them with “gut instincts”, and being the catalyst to the great divide we see now between our parties (“you’re either for us or against us’). His reign also furthered the notion that as long as you have yours, to hell with everyone else. Ayn Rand rose in popularity and a white collar crime on Wall Street proved to be without penalty. A decade of stem cell research remained unfunded, and our political system got less and less done every year.
Barack Obama swung the pendulum back a bit. While the republicans still believed in gut over intellect, Obama did his best to undo what he could of that mindset. While race relations still has a long way to go, some inroads were made during his tenure, despite the rise in conservative voices looking to undo all of that.
This leads us to today. If, God forbid, the American people stupidly elect Trump to the White House (like it tragically elected GWB), would we be rewarding the act of bullying? Would his tactics of insulting others, vilifying them and threatening lawsuits suddenly become the ugly American norm? Is this what my children will grow up thinking is acceptable?
At this point in time, I can’t for the life of me see how this man will bring one positive thing to our culture, and can only ruin our reputation around the world (where the Bush’s haven’t already destroyed it).
Sure. There’s a lot of complexity to all of this, and no single person changes our culture 100%, but our President always seems to have a hand in what our Country becomes and, in a way, sees itself.
There’s a great deal that worries me if Trump gets elected and, given the implosion of Hillary and the question mark hanging over Bernie on being nationally accepted (and, also, how well he might stand up against an onslaught of negative marketing by Trump), it’s no longer a non-issue.
Hopefully people will come to their senses, but history has proven us wrong many times in the past.
