The election is over, but
liberals keep sniping at Trump. It does
not seem to matter what he does. As long
as he is the one doing it, it is regarded as evidence of depravity. We see this inclination in the media, on
college campuses, and from the mouth of our current president. But why is this so?
Almost no one is happy to
lose; nevertheless most adjust gracefully.
They do not spend weeks trying to demonstrate that the winner is
illegitimate. They do not give the
nation the finger by stabbing an ally (Israel) in the back. Although they might cry in their beer, they
do not try to box in the victor.
So what is going on? Why are liberals so distressed? It is not enough to say that they were
surprised by their loss. They were, but
they have been surprised before. Neither
is it sufficient to point out that they do not trust Trump. They did not trust Reagan or Nixon either.
So, I repeat, what is going
on? My conclusion is that liberals are
terrified. We see their anger, but I
suspect that it is being employed to cover up their massive fears. Yet what is it they fear? It cannot be that they worry about never
winning again. They have been down in
the past and come back.
What is different this
time? First, liberals know that the
Obama administration did not succeed. It
did not furnish the anticipated hope and change. The economy has been sluggish for eight
years. Foreign policy is a mess. What is more, the nation is more divided and
rancorous than in generations.
Yes, I know that Obama brags
about having created millions of jobs. I
also know that his partisans insist ObamaCare is a roaring success. Many liberals even have the temerity to claim
that the Iran deal ensured that the mullahs will never get a nuclear weapon.
Nonetheless, in their heart
of hearts, liberals know these assertions are false. And that is their problem. They are not afraid that Trump will destroy
the country. They are afraid that he
will succeed. The last thing they want
is for him to make America great again.
If he does, you see, it will
put the lie to their boasts. It will
demonstrate that they have brought us neither prosperity, nor safety, nor
social justice. They will be exposed as
Charlatans who can talk a good game, but are unable to produce.
You might imagine that what
troubles them is the prospect of enduring the pain of public humiliation. No one enjoys being revealed as wrong or
inept. This was why the New York Times
hated Rudy Giuliani so much when he proved that New York City could be
governed; that its crime rate could be reduced.
As distressing as this sort
of revelation might be, even more distressing would be the realization that the
liberal agenda is fatally flawed. Liberals
believe their own propaganda. They are
convinced that they are smarter and more compassionate than others. They are equally certain their opponents are
dumb and mean-spirited.
But what happens when events
put a lie to these conceits? If liberal
egos are punctured, can they still consider themselves special? The liberal ideology enables its adherents to
make sense of an otherwise confusing world; hence if this worldview is
discredited, they will be emotionally and intellectually adrift.
This is their chief
fear. Their belief system provides them
with a sense of control. As long as they
are convinced they possess the formula for personal and/or social success, they
need not dread unexpected developments.
If they, and only they, know where history is going, they can continue
to feel in charge.
Without this, however, their
inner cowardice would come to the fore.
When deprived of their fantasies, they would be forced to confront their
personal inadequacies. Mind you, we all
have weaknesses. We all fool ourselves
about some things in order to keep our demons at bay.
The point is that, at this
moment, it is the liberals who are in danger of being stripped of their
ideological defenses. Many of them are
in panic mode, lest their feet of clay be uncovered.
Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University
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