Columnists
Postmortem On The Election:
A Sikh-American's Perspective -
Janam Da Firangee,
Sikhi Mai Mangee
FATEHPAL SINGH TARNEY
I'll not mince words in this column. I thought that both major U.S. Presidential candidates, Clinton and Trump, were highly objectionable. I could not believe that in a great country of 325 million people, these two were all that the key political parties could settle on.
Meri Patni was an ardent Hillary Clinton supporter. I knew that as soon as Mrs. Clinton got the Democratic Party's nomination, she would lose as her weaknesses far outweighed her strengths.
Trump, on the other hand, was completely unqualified for the job. The desire for change was so strong that people overlooked Trump's indiscretions and other defects.
The Patni was convinced of a Clinton victory for months and I kept warning her of a Trump victory in order that she would be disappointed, but not devastated in the end. Mrs. Clinton's real and fabricated liabilities, coupled with her cardboard personality, with no warmth or passion, made her a very weak opponent against Trump. Hillary could not win the presidency simply because she felt it was her turn.
Just how weak a candidate Hillary was compared to Trump is illustrated in how he could get away with the most arrogant and outrageous statements. “I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose support.” He could have added, “I could sexually assault a woman on 5th Avenue and not lose support.”
Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, once said “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” Trump saying over and over “Crooked Hillary” was, if not an outright lie, a charge that people internalized and took with them as a mindset into the voting booth.
In the past, the ideal presidential candidate had knowledge, experience, a stable temperament, civility and statesmanship. Trump has shown that there is a new path to the White House: lie, cheat, steal, insult, and philander. Bravado rather than knowledge and experience in government is the new key to power.
Very worrisome to me is that Trump has a very limited attention span about anything other than his own ego. True, now that he has won, we are witnessing a personality makeover and I hope that it is more genuine than his blonde hair and orange skin tone.
I reject the idea that the end justifies the means. Some say that Trump has become the leader of the free world and it does not matter how he got there – but, it does matter!
I contend that the Trump presidency is the last hurrah for white supremacy in America. The demographics are an all-powerful indicator: in 1950 – the country was 90% white; in 2015 - 60% white and by 2040 - whites will be the new minority group.
It has been said that King Canute of medieval England, Denmark and Norway, set his throne by the sea shore and commanded the incoming tide to cease and not get his feet and robes wet. The tide came in regardless of his royal commands.
American demographics are comparable to the tide and Trump, like the earlier King Canute, cannot stem the tide of the non-white population, whether it comes via birth rate or immigration. It is interesting that many of Trump's closest advisers are not only against illegal immigration, but want to curtail legal immigration as well. They support, both explicitly and implicitly, a favored status for white people. They have activated the Republican base with real and imagined fears of the immigrant. Multiculturalism is anathema to them.
This is nothing new in American politics. What we now have is white identity politics – the last gasp of white dominance. But it will be short-lived.
I am ashamed of the fact that almost 100 million eligible voters chose not to vote in this election. We in America are lucky if half of eligible voters do, in fact, vote.
In India, by contrast, approximately 80% of eligible voters do vote. India also, in my view, has the advantage of being better able to remove corrupt and incompetent politicians from high office. Australia is also instructive in that voting is compulsory and if one does not vote, one gets fined. Some would argue that this is antithetical to democracy. My retort is that compulsory voting is essential to democracy.
36% of Hispanics in my home state of Florida voted for Trump despite all that he has said and done disparaging them as a group. Therefore, how offended should people like me be at Trump for anti-Hispanic positions?
The so-called liberal media enabled Trump by paying so much attention to his words and antics. This increased their viewership. The more knowledgeable and experienced Republicans, such as John Kasich and Jeb Bush, were virtually ignored because they behaved in dignified ways. Americans are enamored of celebrity and flamboyance. Trump was never really pressed to justify or defend many of his outrageous statements.
For example, Trump has said “I know more about ISIS than the generals do!” I know of no rich and famous journalist who ever bothered to ask Trump some simple questions like, “Mr. Trump, can you remind us what ISIS is an acronym for?” [The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] I am not sure if Trump even knows what an ‘acronym’ is! “Mr. Trump. Can you share with us one or two facts about ISIS that the generals may or may not know?”
One of Trump's key military advisers is a retired three-star army general. Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn has claimed that Sharia law is being implemented in the states of Texas and Florida. I live in Florida and I know of no such thing. This is total nonsense. No journalist pressed him on this. What does exist in Texas, Florida and other states, are religious mediation groups that attempt to resolve legal disputes outside of court, which can save people time and money. There are Christian, Jewish and Muslim mediation groups – this is not Sharia law. This general, who will be at the center of power with Trump, does not know what he is talking about, but ringing the Sharia law alarm bell seems to have worked for Trump.
Trump wants to make abortion a matter for the individual states to decide. Thus, a state like New York might legalize abortion, whereas Alabama might not. He thinks that women in Alabama who want or need to terminate a pregnancy will simply have to go elsewhere. The journalist interviewing him did not bother to ask him about poor women, some working several jobs, who cannot afford time off work, child care and travel expenses. Trump's simple answer regarding abortion: “Just leave it to the states.”
Trump insulted John McCain, a war hero, tortured as a prisoner-of-war in North Vietnam. Moreover, whilst I was fighting and bleeding in Vietnam, Trump was being a playboy in New York City having avoided military service on account of alleged bone spurs in a foot and now he cannot recall which foot had this problem.
America now has a royal family that will wield enormous power. It remains to be seen what will be its effects.
I am trying to remain in chardi kalaa, but it is not easy!
November 16, 2016
Conversation about this article
1: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), November 16, 2016, 12:00 AM.
Fatepal Singh ji, what a lovely erudite commentary. It often happens when you have limited choice between two evils. It is like a choice of any colour so long it is black. This exercise quite often takes place in our gurdwaras with fist fights and taking out the rusted small kirpan to underscore the argument. Some years ago in a particular gurdwara, they had such a violent disagreement in the choice of their president. Seeing no breakthrough, a wise man suggested a nonentity to be appointed, and the good man named thus won. He got up with folded hands and teary eyes in all humility to thank the sadh sangat for the honour and said that he was really not fit for the onerous responsibility. Some one in the sangat piped up: “Oye, Bhai Sahib, sit down, we only need people who are unfit." If said in the original Punjabi it is hilarious: 'Fit' in Punjabi is 'Layak'. And ‘Unfit' is 'Na-layak'.
2: Rosalia Scalia (Baltimore, Madison, USA), November 16, 2016, 7:50 PM.
I was a Bernie Sanders supporter and still support him. When he didn't win the nomination -- which I felt that Clinton wrestled from him with the help of Debbie Wasserman Schultz -- I was angry and disappointed but supported her nonetheless because Trump offered an even more odious, terrible choice with his xenophobia and sexist behavior. When she lost, I sat in my office and wept while I worked. It felt like a bad breakup but without the Significant Other to mourn. I moped around until this morning when I realized that Congress gets re-elected in two years and we will have a chance to vote out the GOP. This country is filled with conservative bigots. Unfortunately, some can be found among my own family members, and I am bucking myself up to be around them for Thanksgiving. I prefer not to be around them, honestly, and like the author, I hope my cheerfulness and zest for life will return. It occurred to me that we have a wild card as yet unconsidered. I have a feeling that President Obama is going to raise his sleeves and get to work as soon as he can after he returns to being a private citizen. Thank you for this piece. I have a feeling millions of people are trying to reclaim their chardi kalaa after this election.
3: Dr K.N. Singh (Johor Baru, Malaysia), November 16, 2016, 10:06 PM.
Frankly, the American public has little choice. They had to choose between a liar and a thief. They just chose the lesser evil. May go well inspite of Trump as God always has a plan. It has shaken American politics to the core. Just proved thst polls are a waste of time.
4: Brig. Nawab Singh Heer (Pomona, New York, USA), November 17, 2016, 8:38 PM.
An interesting write-up by the author. Two issues. One, first time in the history of USA it was vote against and not for a candidate, since both were a lose-lose proposition for USA. Now, Trump may have some good points, but his ethical values will erode USA forever. Many 'whites' in exuberance have overlooked this fact. There is still a theory that he may still not become President. May be wishful thinking. Second, what is the stance we as Sikh-Americans need to take? We need to create make umbrella organizations and group all under one with a common denominator. Also, educate the Trump team about Sikhs and push for introduction of education about Sikhs at school level on lines done by the Sikh-Pac in Indianapolis.