Walking into the Propeller Blade of History

Many Americans are gob-smacked at the behavior of Donald Trump but there are precedents for it and they aren't heartening. Consider this:

White Southerners wanted more than anything not to rub elbows with black people and they refused to let up on segregation. If they had, the wonderful, expanding, existing black subcultures would have flourished with some actual integration by choice and everything would have been fine and possibly great. Hispanics are an example of what can happen when there aren't insurmountable, artificial, arbitrary social constraints on minorities. Some integration occurs naturally and painlessly and everybody is more or less happy.

It's called "freedom."

But Southerners wouldn't let up. They had the dreaded specter in mind of the black guys dating their daughters. And, so, what has happened? A national nightmare of forced integration, busing, and favoritism legitimately and rightly aimed at righting historical wrongs. And the white girls think the black guys are cool--that horse is off the property--a by-product of the psychology of the forbidden fruit, to say nothing of the physical prowess of the black guys helped along by being compelled to live in tough circumstances. 

Hell, I think the black guys are cool.

Anyway, great job, white boys. But this is what denial will get you, a rendezvous with the propeller blade of history. Republican politicians have now put us all on this plan as the bitter fruit of the southern strategy ripens, rots and poisons everything. Here are some areas in which the propeller blade of history awaits us:

Environmental Decay and Global Warming

Civil Rights and Economic Justice

Rational Taxation and Regulation of Financial Firms

Respectful International Relations

Donald Trump is a president of denial--he's never been held responsible--elected to reassure certain people that we will never have to grow up. But we have to grow up and Donald is the lesson of that, a flailing man-baby stumbling along and leading us incoherently into oblivion. And the issues are not all that difficult--or, at least, they weren't. In any case there's no better time to address them than now. Denial doesn't get rid of problems it empowers and exacerbates them, and worst fears are realized in attempts at avoidance.

Pardon me, I think I hear a whirr...