The political developments in the United States of the 24 hours should not be regarded as simply another stage of the political battle that supposedly finished on November 8th with Donald Trump’s election. Part of the campaign was fought on the basis of a clash of Cultures where the enemy was supposedly Moslems against the rest of the world. The immediate reactions to the allegations show that what is at stake is the clash of Cultures within American Society and which, if the allegations are proven, simply gave the country’s greatest rival a weapon to use effectively.
The Deplorable Moment
Political campaigns are always battles between opposing forces which force the citizens to judge the candidates and to decide the future direction of their country. Promises are made, some sincere, some less so. Speeches are given and the candidates are put through the grinder of opinion and their every comment and word is analyzed. One such comment revealed a split within American Society that is proving to be more significant than it seemed to be at the time.
Democrat Candidate HillaryClinton was soundly criticized for defining a section of the Trump supporter base to be composed of “deplorables." At the time this was considered by many to be condescending and demeaning and it followed her for the rest of the campaign.
The effect of this one word was to polarize even more a Society that is not at all homogenous, but made up of many and contrasting groups.
This is the true clash of Cultures which the United States is now fighting and is driving the condemnation or support for Donald Trump after the intelligence report leaked by Buzzfeed overnight.
An important symbol weakened
The Presidency of the United States is considered the symbol that unites the country and yet it has not been so for some time. The position was first weakened by Nixon and Watergate, then the country was further polarized by the wars of the George W Bush administration in reply to 9/11 and then was split even more by the open contestation towards Barak Obama begun by the Birther Movement supported by Donald Trump.
A simple look of the voting map for November 8th clearly shows in geographic terms the
The allegations against Donald Trump of Russian involvement in his campaign potentially further weaken the Presidency as a unifying force for the country. Those who already oppose Trump have been reinforced in their opposition and many Trump supporters will now solidify their support in reply. Both reactions are wrong and both must await the outcome of the investigations.
The intelligence services now have the duty and obligation to either confirm the allegations, or to provide solid, irrefutable proof that they are false. Failure to so will only fuel the divisions in the country that are already causing disruption to the political system and give fanatics of all colors the opportunity to make violent protests.
Troubled times ahead
In any case, Donald Trump will begin his presidency with a troubled nation and the controversy will inevitably revolve around his personality. The presidential race was won by taking advantage of the cultural divides within the country and it will be his success at overcoming these divisions that will be his ultimate test and the measure by which the future will judge his Presidency.
There will be troubled times ahead for the country. If the allegations are proven false President Trump will need to show that he represents all the population and not just those who voted for him. If the allegations are proven to be true, then the Republican Party will need to examine its conscience closely and act within the principles of the Constitution and not simply out of Party loyalty.
The answers will not come quickly for they will need to be decisive and irrefutable. In the meantime, the cultural clashes revealed must be addressed and resolved because the cost of not doing so would be too high to contemplate.
