If there’s anything America seems to love, it’s bloodthirst and car dealerships. The Trump whitehouse represents both of these inclinations; just this week, Trump hosted what was effectively an advertisement for Tesla vehicles–on white house grounds, with Elon Musk (a Trump admin mainstay, and overall dork) leering on beside him, while beguiled reporters asked him his preferred color of electric-lemon. All this while the stock market crashes, the genocide of the people of Palestine continues with egomaniacal fervor, and Ukraine faces further horrific casualties, corruption, and loss of territory to Russia’s imperial ambitions. Of course, none of this matters to the lumpenproletariat; the top concerns in the heads of America’s wretched masses are that of egg prices (which, of course, are wholly disconnected from the oppressed migrants who often farm said eggs), transgender middle schooler volleyball players, and the shadowy cabal of woke communists who aim to degrade our precious Democracy. 

I’m sure you can hear my cynicism and snark, but don’t mistake me; above all, I feel empathy for those who are so earnestly captured by the fictions weaved by rightwing talking heads. After all, the impoverished Americans that make up much of Trump’s base of support aren’t to blame for their own lack of wealth–it’s something that’s been systematically extracted from them, by their bosses, their landlords, their politicians. These people have seen the machinations of American democracy largely leave them behind, and who can blame them correctly identifying the reality in front of them: that is, that substantial government change is never coming, and no political pundit is ever coming to save them. But the true tragedy is this; while the masses that elected Trump seem quite accurate in their diagnosis of the problem (that is, that liberal democracy has ultimately failed the working class), they are woefully incorrect in regard to its causes. The system hasn’t been hijacked by “woke,” communists, or anything, it’s working exactly as intended; the rich get richer, and the poor get ground to pulp as the machine lumbers on towards… What, exactly? 

Of course, this reality doesn’t justify bigotry–but it’s clear to see where it originates. Sure, the American democratic system won’t ever improve your material conditions, but hey; at least you can use it as a cudgel against those you consider weak. For those who are ultimately powerless, this opportunity represents the sole sense of power they’ll ever feel from the levers of government. 

For those who hold great faith in the democratic American project, this is the bitterest pill of all: that our beloved socioeconomic system may make a better weapon than it does a society.