JOHN CHUCKMAN COMMENT: THE ELECTION SHOWS SOME PROFOUND CHANGES IN AMERICA – BOTH ELITES AND ORDINARY AMERICANS ARE UNSURE OF WHAT TO DO ABOUT AMERICA’S RELATIVE DECLINE – TRUMP’S BELLIGERENCE OFFERS ORDINARY CITIZENS AT LEAST A SENSE OF MOMENTUM – A PROVEN FAILURE OF A PRESIDENT HAS MANAGED TO RUN AN ELECTION WHOSE OUTCOME IS QUITE UNCLEAR THE FOLLOWING DAY - THE ELECTION HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY FEARS AROUND THE MANY DEMONSTRATORS ON THE STREETS, BY FEARS OF INCREASED TAXES, AND BY FEARS AROUND AMERICANS’ BELOVED GUNS – TRUMP HIMSELF RESEMBLES IN MANY WAYS SOMEONE WHO NEVER GREW UP – “I WANT” DOMINATES HIS EVERY THOUGHT AND WORD

John Chuckman

EXPANSION OF A COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN GLOBAL TIMES

“US election shows profound change in American society in past 4 yrs: Chinese analysts”

 

There are some quite accurate observations here.

America is a changed and changing place, largely a reflection I believe of the anxieties felt around its relative decline in the world.

The decline is something both elites and ordinary people are disturbed by, and no one seems to know what to do.

Regardless of whether Trump wins in the end, he has managed to run an election whose outcome remains quite uncertain the following day, and he has done so despite an enormous number of errors and misrepresentations and failures over four years.

Trump's belligerence and know-it-all attitude seem at least to offer a sense of momentum for many. They are also, of course, in keeping with the attitudes associated with the country’s ever-growing, now-monstrous military-security establishment on which it spends about a trillion dollars a year.

I do agree that the many demonstrations on the streets have upset middle-of-the-road voters.

So too Biden’s words on taxes. Although taxes are absolutely necessary to begin to fix some of America’s many problems, Americans have always hated taxes, going back to the founding of the country.

I’ve always regarded that as a sign of how immature America is. It wants to be like a child with no responsibilities forever.

Another significant factor is guns. Many Americans just love guns. It is a trait closely related both to the country’s many imperial wars abroad and to racism at home. A great many White Americans fear Black Americans.

While Biden has made no sweeping statements about guns, he is advocating some tightening of controls. Trump stands for a wide-open, Wild West approach.

Note that there are an estimated 300 million guns in private hands in America.

All in all, these political events tell us that America is going to remain a belligerent and dangerous player on the world stage.Trump himself resembles in many ways someone who never grew up. “I want” dominates his every thought and word.