In considering the seemingly boundless dedication exhibited by the President’s base, it’s natural for any differently thinking person to wonder how so many can be so wrong. It may even lead this person to question their grasp of morality, understanding the tenets of moral decency and eventually, their own sanity. This election cycle, more than ever before, I’ve been forced to give this matter lengthy consideration. I’ve listened in bewilderment as his most ardent supporters defend, rationalize, divert, deny and often outright accept the most abhorrent acts of hate. Knowing many members of his flock, I find myself struggling to resolve what feels like a chasmic philosophic difference threatening even the strongest bonds, both casual and familial. This disparity isn’t merely an “agree to disagree” instance of polite political differences but rises to the level of breaching what I consider an essential ethical code. Seeking to resolve this internal conflict, I may have stumbled upon an insight that partially explains this man’s most fervent support.
In mounting a defense for their original vote and subsequent continued support, many will argue that his crassness and cold business approach appeals to them the most. They claim his disregard for conventional conduct and traditional diplomacy is both refreshing and endearing. That by bucking standard political practices, he challenges the very “system” that seeks to keep the little man down. For this, they happily give him a pass for speaking his mind even when he crosses well over the line of decency and barrels into the obscene. For them, it’s an acceptable byproduct of what they believe to be personally beneficial governance. It’s just one of those things we have grown to accept as the cost of doing “business” willingly. Tolerable collateral damage.
This level of rationalization should come as no surprise. We make exceptions daily for indecency, particularly when we benefit even remotely from that transgression. Take, for instance, our love affair with Amazon. Despite countless stories of companywide mistreatment of employees and a thinly veiled plot of world domination, we gladly look the other way for that endorphin rush of next day delivery. We happily forsake nameless, faceless warehouse workers to gorge on their products, stream their movies, shop at their hipster outposts, and add another zero to Jeff Bezo’s already titanic net worth. For the most part, we don’t source the products we consume and know virtually nothing of these transaction’s real human cost. Why then should we be bothered with something as trivial as the motivation or obscenity of the person for whom we cast our vote? His supporters look around, take stock of the world, and have determined that the benefits outweigh the downside. It is as transactional as it gets and seems to be one of the many side-effects of centuries of indoctrinated American exceptionalism.
I, for one, am guilty of it. I ignorantly use products stained with the blood of laborers, forged in the heat of hypocrisy, and procured under decidedly nefarious circumstances of trade. All so that I may partake of the latest and greatest in the land. The land of the BOGO free, home of the save. Capitalism at any cost, right? Get out and shop for America! Feed your gluttonous greed, your incessant need, just don’t ask too many questions. Why should our view of politics be any different? We are victims of our own success, both incapable and terrified of reevaluating the circumstances that led America to global domination. Our politicians need only facilitate our ravenous and preordained right to consume, and the means by which they feed us need never be disclosed to secure our vote. After all, the pill goes down easier coated with capitalist convenience, and with our throats numbed by indifference.
Mannino Acid 