Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
I should read the Mueller report but I have not.
It is plain, however, that it makes President Donald Trump look too desperate in his efforts to stop Robert Mueller’s investigation, whether or not they reached the level of criminality.
The continued steadfast loyalty of President Trump’s base to “their” guy, who has shown himself to be delusional, amoral, dishonest, and narcissistic enough almost to declare “I am the state,” is even more of a mystery in light of the Mueller report’s revelations.
To fire up his base to come blindly to his defense, all he needs to do is proclaim “no collusion, no obstruction,” and they rush to his side, evidence be damned.
I’m not talking about Sen. Lindsey Graham, Rep. David Nunes and others who know better. I’m talking about the mass of voters who have managed to cow the whole Republican party into masking their horror and standing by Trump.
What does a spoiled, well-heeled rich boy from Queens, New York, have in common with his base of voters that makes them see him as some kind of savior?
I’m going to take a stab at this and say isolation.
People in rural communities generally don’t have much to do with anyone else except the people who live in their towns or areas. Shared interests, like agriculture, and limits on exposure to other communities tend to isolate them.
The dwindling opportunities for rewarding work and a downward slide in living standards also create isolation in former industrialized areas, especially in “one-industry” towns where the industry has gone away. Declining incomes mean people become more withdrawn into their own communities.
Isolation makes rural and declining communities into echo chambers that magnify fears, prejudices and preconceptions.
Trump has been no less isolated. He grew up among the privileged, living within their sheltered walls, fairways and private schools, and within their echo chamber.
Their luxurious isolation, too, served to reinforce fears of the unknown and magnify prejudices and preconceptions.
It seems to be human nature that people will always blame “them” for their troubles.
Among whites, it is common to blame minorities, foreign trade and immigrants.
Equal opportunity laws are seen as giving minorities unjust advantages over white competitors.
Foreign trade is seen as robbing jobs from Americans, and immigration policies are seen as encouraging an invasion of job-stealing, resource-absorbing criminals.
That seems to be the way isolated communities, rich and poor, view minorities, foreigners and immigrants, whom they suspiciously and uncuriously eye through narrow slits in their self-imposed walls.
Anyway, that’s my theory. It is untested, and may be way off base, but I am seeking an explanation for continuing, unquestioning loyalty to Trump even as evidence mounts exposing his weakness of character.
Steve Hansen writes about our life and times from his perspective of a semi-retired Tucumcari journalist. Contact him at: