There Is No Such Thing as an Ultimate Winner in American Politics
Simple-minded dichotomies have replaced ideas of progress with those of domination
Americans of all ages see the world in terms of Hollywood genre movie narratives. Good versus evil. The Rebels versus the Empire. The Avengers versus Thanos. These simpleminded dichotomies, ingrained in our nation’s thinking by decades of big-screen storytelling, where “us” versus “them” ends it, the triumph of “us” has polluted our social and civil discourse to the point that we can’t think straight — only right and left. This way of viewing the world is not just ahistorical but leaves precious little room for the nuances and complexity of real life.
It’s very obvious how this reductive view pollutes the right in America. Well before Trump’s rise, the GOP was the party of easily demonized straw men. Back in Ronald Reagan’s day it was welfare queens, tax and spend liberals, and communist regimes. The Trump era version includes Mexican immigrants, rich Black athletes, Antifa, and China. However, it’s remixed foreigners and Black folks are always featured players in nightmare scenarios.
No movement, on the right or left, is dominant for more than one or two election cycles, much less forever…
