Part of the reason why 30 percent support Trump is that they resist change and wallow in the past

 

~By Kenneth Tiven

If Indians are having some trouble understanding what is happening in America, take heart, the Americans are having just as much trouble understanding each other. The myths that every country develops about itself may be barely true but they persist.

The US Declaration of Independence stated: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal….” But when the war for Independence was over, the founding fathers, (mothers clearly excluded above) created a constitution that provided a legal basis for slavery, a problem that even a civil war only superficially erased and which haunts the nation to this day.

Another persistent myth in America is that “united we stand, divided we fall”, suggesting there are significant shared understandings and beliefs which ultimately bind us as a nation.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack, this was frequently invoked as mandating support for whatever the President of the United States decided to do—in this case make war against Iraq, which had little to do with the New York City attack.

Recent polling suggests that 67 percent of Americans disapprove of the way President Trump conducts himself on Twitter. Regarding the 30 percent who would support Trump no matter what he says or does, the suggestion frequently heard is  that these folks must be really stupid, insensitive and uncaring, lacking a basic understanding of what it means to be the president of the USA.

In the past few weeks, I have been talking to Trump supporters in America, trying to listen to what motivates their faith in him regardless of behavior that generates an opposite reaction in so many others. There are many factors, some of them built on each other, while some seem to multiply certain beliefs.

“Nostalgia for a past vision of life in America” is at the heart of much of the support for Trump, or maybe it is easier to say, opposition to change.

My theory is that “nostalgia for a past vision of life in America” is at the heart of much of this, or maybe it is easier to say, opposition to change. Recent studies suggest that people who still live within 100 miles of where they were born are much more likely to support Trump than those who have moved, leaving home for university and work.

Growing up in a middle class suburb and still living there 50 years later means you have seen the complexion of the neighborhood change. It seems less middle class, probably because the people on your street no longer look like you or even speak the same language. This is easy to dismiss as racism and often is, but people everywhere resist change even while finding aspects to embrace.

Think about life before mobile phones. Communication is now greatly enhanced, but often we complain about bothersome calls from people we don’t want to talk to, or unwanted marketing sales pitches. This may be a simplistic example but transpose it to larger societal issues.

One Trump supporter whom I know well is absolute in his defense of his right to own and carry a gun. This issue determines much of his political outlook. He says: “I support anything the President or his administration may have done to undermine Hillary’s campaign. The end justifies the means.” And that endgame is keeping conservative judges on the Supreme Court.

This devotion to a single-minded outcome perceived to preserve the America they think once existed is not complicated. For many of them the benefits of the 21st century are detrimental to their firm belief that things were better in the 18th and 19th century.