Columnists
Postmortem On The Election:
A Sikh-American's Perspective -
Janam Da Firangee,
Sikhi Mai Mangee
Part III
FATEHPAL SINGH TARNEY
In Sikhi, we have always had Miri-Piri, the tradition of acknowledging the importance of both temporal and spiritual components of life and living by them without neglecting either. Whereas some religions see an inherent conflict between the affairs of the world and those of God and Faith, we Sikhs have been taught to see the interplay and potential harmony between the two, and nurture it.
Thus, concern for social and political issues must exist along with our never ending involvement with the sacred.
Hillary Clinton received two million more votes than Trump and yet he is president-elect and she is not. The electoral college is an archaic system that must be changed. Truth has never inconvenienced Trump and he was more than willing to say and do whatever it took to win. In one interview, he even said, “I don't have the time to 'fact-check'!”
Trump is beginning to realize that pleasing crowds and governing are two entirely different things.
The way I see it, Trump supporters fall into these main categories with, of course, some overlap between them: 1) Hillary Haters. 2) People wanting change – any change from the status quo. 3) Some people who really think a business man can improve the economy. 4) White Nationalists who were not only not put off by any of Trump's offensive words and deeds, but were energized by them and ever ready to attend his rallies and campaign for him.
Last 4th of July, the Patni and I were in Michigan at our summer home and she chose to attend a fireworks event near our house. I do not attend such events as fireworks only remind me of the war I fought in. My wife was driven by a relative to the usual site where she and her family and friends watch the fireworks display as they have done for years. In the large SUV they were in were a cousin-brother, much older than her, other cousins about her age, and some younger relatives who were the equivalent of children and grandchildren.
My wife admitted that she was a Hillary Clinton supporter. Every one of her relatives in this vehicle began shouting at her – some even using obscenities - to the point where she was brought to tears. They were all fervent Trump people. My wife pleaded with the driver to let her out of the car so she could walk home – it was not a long walk. He refused to let her out of the car.
Obviously, this fireworks celebration was not the usual festive event for my wife. When she shared this incident with me, my first reaction was to confront these people, but because of what Sikhi teaches me, I chose not to. I have to live in this small town for much of the year. I knew, however, that the fervor for Trump, was such that he was going to win.
I do take some solace in the words of Mohandas Gandhi, “First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.”
Some pundits have said that accusing Trump of having Nazi or Fascist tendencies is counter-productive in that it sets the bar far too low for him. In other words, anything short of becoming a dictator will make Trump look that much better. This argument does have some validity. However, my retort is that we must remain vigilant and mindful of history, especially that of Germany in 1933. While it is true, we are not Germany, nor India, nor Russia, nor Venezuela nor Argentina, but populist movements under demagogues have often turned into autocracies – this is what history teaches us.
Dan Rather, the American journalist and former news anchor at CBS, recently wrote, "This is not a question of politics or party or even policy. This is a question about the very fundamentals of our beautiful experiment in a pluralistic democracy ruled by law."
Rather said he was stunned to watch a Saturday gathering of the alt-right National Policy Institute in Washington D.C., where attendees shouted "Heil" and "lugenpresse," the latter a Nazi term meaning "lying press."
"When I see neo-Nazis raise their hands in terrifying salute, in public, in our nation's capital, I shudder in horror. When I see that action mildly rebuked by a statement from the President-elect whom these bigots have praised, the anger in me grows."
According to Rather, the passive media turned that soft statement of mild rebuke from Trump into what they call a denunciation, he cannot remain silent and neither should Trump. The reaction from the right has been quite visceral and nasty to Rather. In other words, how dare you criticize American Nazis – Trump won.
With Trump, it has come to pass, one needs to be grateful for every unfortunate decision and appointment because it’s less bad than you feared.
Taxpayers will be supporting secret service protection for at least 18 members of the Trump family and there will be at least four White Houses: Washington D.C.; one in NYC; one in New Jersey, and one in Florida.
At least the Mughals and other rulers in India were forthright enough to use the word “palaces.” They had summer and winter palaces.
The Family Trump will not be outdone - chaar mahal, at least!
November 28, 2016