Some people wonder; Why do people attend Trump rallies? How can they support such vitriol?
Obviously, I don’t know. I’ve neither been to one, nor have I talked to people who’ve gone, although I did read this article. But if I would attend one, it’d be to join them in indulging some base emotions.
I’ve done this before- at sporting events. Getting caught up in the suspense. Empathizing with the efforts to move the ball downfield or execute a basket. It’s fun. And it’s more fun with other people around- people shouting and yelling, elated and disappointed. Part of the fun is in the sport, but part of it is indulging and expressing emotions.
What’s really happening in a football game? Big guys wearing padding are trying to move a ball downfield. In boxing, guys are trying to knock each other out. At a concert, people make rhythmic noise to “rock out”. At a Trump rally, a guy is trying to overthrow the political establishment with yelling and bravado. That has an added edge of reality. And at all of these events, the goal is to make the fans go wild.
Politics is a game. It has rules. Where pro-football teams play for money and bragging rights, politics is played for money, power and bragging rights. We willingly put our lives, our economy, and these days even the deadly warming of the planet into the game of politics. How many millions of people did Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and their buddies kill and displace in their quest for power and Cheney’s quest for wealth? They cost us trillions of dollars, too, and ignored economic problems till the economy collapsed and an adult had to take over.
Trump is just doing overtly what the Republican elite has been cultivating. Fox News took over much of it years ago, creating anger against Democrats and indignantly claiming the right to be politically incorrect. We should thank Donald Trump. By playing it so crassly, many more Republicans are seeing what they’ve been party to.
Politics ALWAYS worked when people made it work. It was never designed to keep out the troublemakers and bullies. And we’ve seen lots of problems with it over the centuries- fights, killings, corruption and political machines.
Election politics has not been about good governance for a long time. It’s not about responsible representation or accountability. It’s about generating excitement and energy among people to “fight the good fight” which means donate money and turn out in mass spectacle. It’s about winning and acquiring power.
Do you want a better game? One designed to cultivate responsibility and accountability?Join our efforts here at PeopleCount. Add your name to our announcement list and make a contribution.