Faustian bargain — “A pact whereby a person trades something of supreme moral or spiritual importance, such as personal values or the soul, for some worldly or material benefit, such as knowledge, power, or riches.”
I initially struggled with who to credit for the presence of Donald Trump in the White House. We all know who and what he is. Yet 63,000,000 people found a way to support him in his bid to lead the nation. Caring little or perhaps desiring to go in the direction he led. Almost 66,000,000 people voted for Hillary Clinton. They are not absolved because they sat idly by and left a system in place, the Electoral College, where the minority dictates its will to the majority. That was always its purpose, giving slave states the ability to prevail over the will of the others. Over 100,000,000 eligible voters simply stayed home, not caring enough to participate in the process, come what may.
Of the excuses for voting for Trump, the one least convincing is that “we didn’t know who he was.” In some ways, Trump is as transparent a person as ever lived. The nation knew he was a liar and a bully. He had/has no respect for women, discriminates against minorities, and will cheat others to advance his own goals. No bargain with Trump ever went well, he cheated his contractors, didn’t pay his lawyers, and his steadfast followers are starting to go to jail. Yet Trump remains because the nation allows it.
“The triumph of President-elect Donald Trump represents the failure of many things. One of them is white feminism.” Tamara Winfrey Harris
I could have singled out 53% of white women who voted for Trump. Days after the infamous Access Hollywood tape was released where Trump bragged about assaulting women saying he could kiss them or “grab ’em by the pussy,” they voted for him anyway. 94% of black women voted against Trump as well as 69% of Latinas. White women have long applied feminism selectively according to their needs. Ask Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell about how white women deserted them after the Suffrage Movement got them what they wanted. White women got the right to vote, only in this case to abuse the privilege.
It’s true that some of the same women that voted for Trump participated in and perhaps helped organize The Women’s March. The day after the Trump Inauguration, over a million women (and some men) protested nationwide, over 470,000 in Washington D.C. alone. But has it proven to be more of a moment than a movement? Where did they go after the first day? Has that 53% number changed at all? The answer will become clear in the November 2020 election.
The religious right has been a significant part of Trump’s base since the beginning. When he was pushing the racist “Birther” lie, they were there. The bargain they made was to place an unrepentant sinner in a position of power in order to get a pipeline of judges to implement their agenda. Trump, primarily by letting Mitch McConnell run the show while he took the credit; has fulfilled that promise if no other by filling the Federal Courts with lifetime appointed jurists. Some of them only qualified by their dogma.
Little need be said about the loyalties of the White Supremacists, skinheads, Neo-Nazis, and the like. They went mainstream with their support of Trump. Some like Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon were rewarded with positions in the White House. While Bannon eventually left because of turf struggles. Miller is still in charge of immigration policy, despite the release of hundreds of his racist emails. Bannon is spending much of his time in Europe, saying things like, “being called a racist is a badge of honor.” There are plenty of badges being handed out in the Trump White House.
The military was presumed to be the one entity that would stand up to Trump. His generals were initially thought to be a tempering force that would always put their Country first. One by one, they disappointed as they proved to be his primary protectors, helping to cover up his misdeeds and ignorance. When Seoul, South Korea was shown to him on a map, how close they were to the North Korean border. Trump insisted the city with a metropolitan area of over 10 million people, “has to move.” The military hid Trump’s using his golf course in Scotland to house military personnel as well as his failure to protect the interests of Ukraine and our own national security.
Black people are not exempt. During his campaign, black celebrities like Kanye, Jim Brown, and Ray Lewis came to Trump Tower to genuflect and give praise. Jim Brown had stood up for his people in the past. Maybe he was trying to remain relevant, hoping to be known more for his good deeds and less for abusing women? Why they came matters little. They buttressed his claims against being racist, despite having had applications from black prospective renters marked with the letter “C” for colored so they would be denied. He was sued twice for housing discrimination, settling each time. Black voters are being targeted by American Republicans and Russian bots; urging them in one way or another to stay away from the polls. Voter suppression is not only a strategy but a policy. We must not submit.
“The first thing the cracker does when he comes in power, he takes all the Negro leaders and invites them for coffee. To show that he’s all right. And those Uncle Toms can’t pass up the coffee. They come away from the coffee table telling you and me that this man is all right.”
The worst of all, whose souls are surely in jeopardy, are those in Congress. I give them credit for being unwilling to throw the first stone, recognizing they themselves aren’t without sin. They stood idly by while Trump caged immigrant children, separated many from their families with no thoughts or means of reunification. He banned Muslims, trampled the rights of Native Americans in favor of a pipeline, criticized “shithole countries,” and did more to improve the daily lives of Russians than Americans. Democrats have generally chosen to do no more that will hurt their re-election chances while Republicans see and hear no evil. During the one moment in their political careers they are called upon to do the right thing; they balked. Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham don’t even pretend to be impartial. They’ve made their deal with the devil and are all in.
I didn’t mean to exclude white men. They most of all are the beneficiaries of Trumpism. Under Trump; #MeToo has become more of a #NotMe. You are the people laughing when Trump calls Elizabeth Warren (Pocahontas) or Rosie O’Donnell a “pig.” You were understanding of Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual assault because it could have been any of you. You use words like “feminazis” and make sure to categorize any minorities as the other.
Yes, there are some in the nation who have resisted Trump at every turn. But they are far too few and haven’t been able to do enough to overcome the legions whose souls are wholly-owned if not at least leased to the devil. Fortunately, we live in a world of second chances. While the Senate is highly unlikely to take advantage of theirs during the impeachment process. Voters will get their chance in November of 2020. To reenlist with the devil would be a sad day indeed for the nation.
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Previously published on democracyguardian
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