If there were one word I could use to describe this presidential election, the one to come to mind would be anger. It seems that no matter where you look on either side of the political aisle – democrat or republican – anger is everywhere, and what makes it all the more disheartening is that this anger seems to be directed at just about everyone and everything, but especially towards Washington and the current political environment that thrives. This has led to the rise of extreme ideology on both sides. A sense of irrationality has overtaken this election. It’s as if an Internet comment section has taken human form and registered to vote. An “Anger Movement” has swept through a small, but highly vocal minority and they have taken control of this election’s conversation.
On march twelfth, Donald Trump, the leading candidate for the republican presidential nominee, as well as the leading patriarch for America’s “Anger movement” was supposed to hold a rally at the University of Illinois in Chicago, but between his supporters and the protesters that had gathered to speak out against what they saw as hateful rhetoric, the rally was cancelled. In the wake of this violence broke out and led to the arrests of 4 people and the detainment of one journalist from the Chicago Sun-Times.
This is just one example, and it isn’t just Trump and his supporters who are guilty of this style of political screaming matches. But Trump is arguably the most visible and most “angry” of them all. Only a candidate like Trump could thrive in this sort of political climate. This is something we haven’t seen in a long time in American politics, and this kind of irrational passion and anger has come to many as a shock to many. Where did it come from? The truth is that this is something that has been boiling for a long time. Only now, with a candidate like Trump serving as its conduit has it found a way to organize itself into a true movement.
This “anger movement” is particularly made up amongst the white working class, many of whom lack a college education, as well as young people, who are attending or leaving college. But although they may be college educated, they have found themselves entering into the world that has become fractured by ideological deficiencies that have made it economically challenging to find any kind of entry level jobs that can help support a living wage. They are the ones who have placed Donald Trump on his rocket towards becoming a true presidential candidate, and every day his chances of becoming the next president of the United States of America seem to grow.
So what is the cure for this anger? I’ve thought about this for a while and have come to the conclusion that it is ultimately something that we must face, not attempt to ignore and try to push to the side as merely a temporary lapse in judgment. Perhaps, in some way, it is for the best that this has happened. Now that we have finally reached a boiling p[point, the time has come to face this problem head-on. It is not something that will end with this election cycle. Whether or not Donald Trump becomes president ultimately doesn’t matter. That may seem strange, but the truth is that this is something that goes beyond Donald Trump and his shenanigans. We face a crossroads, not just economically, politically, but spiritually as well. Do we give into the blind rage to guide us, or do we search for a better way. The choice, as it has always been for our still young country, lies with the people.
