In September 2016, I ate dinner with a colleague, Michael, who is from the US. I distinctly remember a part of the conversation when we strayed into talking about the 2016 Presidential election. Michael told me how he believed Trump would become the next President. Michael went on to say he believed Trump would indeed Make America Great Again, but not in the way Trump thought he would. (You can imagine my skepticism at this point)
Michael explained how he believed the culture Trump would create will bring all the ugly parts of US culture to the surface. Racism, sexism, privilege, guns, economics, and more would all be front and centre. Once those realities are on the surface, it’s then up to the people to decide if and what they would do about it.
Well, Michael, in my opinion, you called it perfectly. All of those ugly things, and more, are clearly at the forefront of people’s minds. Some people continue to deny these truths, but it seems that far more people are talking about them than ever before.
Now, the question becomes, what are the people of the US willing to do about it. It’s going to take confronting some uncomfortable truths if there is any hope of creating a better future.
What the conversation with Michael highlights for me is that there’s no going back. The parameters have changed, including the visibility into some of the ugly parts of humanity. We can deny their existence or…
