Leering, Lascivious, & Lecherous; But America Looks the Other Way

Of the many awful things that we have witnessed on TV, read, or lost sleep about in the continuing nightmare that is Trump's America this, for me, is one of the most telling. It speaks volumes about the man and his supporters, and the fact that there has been so little reaction from ordinary, right thinking, Americans says much about how America has learned to live with and no longer express outrage at the stuff that is spewing from the mouths of Trump and his acolytes. In 2016 Hilary Clinton was vilified by supporters of Trump when she described them as a "basket of deplorables" because of their misogynistic, racist and morally repugnant policies and beliefs. She was not wrong then or now, but today, only nine years later and a little more than 2 months into Trump's presidency, America has forgotten her warning and submissively accepted and normalised evil, no longer registering its crude vulgarity, lies, extremism and moral vacuity. Now, it is accepted as "just Trump sounding off". "Let it go", "Move on", “Look the other way” America whispers - and in so whispering abdicates itself of all responsibility.

I grew up (as did most of the world) on a diet of Hollywood where the good guy stands up to be counted and ultimately beats the bad guys; westerns like "Shane" or "High Noon" or "The Magnificent Seven" and war films where John Wayne or Audie Murphy or more recently Tom Cruise single headedly overcame insurmountable odds to ensure that the little good guy won over the big bad guy. By implication America and Americans were and are a force for good; that was Hollywood’s message and the raison d'être  of successive American administrations. In the musical “Miss Saigon” and in a moment of high emotion ex-Marine Chris says to his wife Ellen “Christ, Ellen, I’m American.....How can I fail to do good?” – and we all knew what he meant; it was what we all understood of America, part of the evangelical spirit to bring freedom and goodness to the world.

Of course, we knew it was all fiction, America promoting itself, Hollywood dreaming and rewriting history. But we didn't mind, it was exciting and reassuring that the bad guys always lose and America will always stand up for what is right - in short it was a deeply moralistic message. But today we know it was all a myth. America now, it seems can no longer police itself and protect its much vaunted moral high ground, no longer able or wishing to stand up and be counted, and in so doing keep the bad guys from taking all the prizes and doing their worst. The best it can do is post its disapproval on Twitter or Facebook; it has lost its moral compass. It's too easy for Americans to simply vent their spleen on Trump - he would be nothing without their votes and their lack of support. Let's be clear, he is in power because America allowed him to be and Americans did not and do not stand up and be counted when they had to or have to. Where, in contemporary America, are the John Waynes, the Shanes played by Alan Ladd who faced down the unscrupulous Rufus Ryker and his henchmen and fought to the death the evil gunslinger Jack Wilson, where are the Marshal Kanes played by Gary Cooper in "High Noon" who, on his wedding day, single handedly fought Frank Miller and his gunslingers? Who now, in contemporary America, will act and say to Trump and his basket of deplorables "This shall not be?" As Einstein famously said: "If I were to remain silent, I'd be guilty of complicity" - and America remains silent while the bad guys take over.

A couple of days ago Trump spoke at a Women's History Month Event and this clip shows a little of what he said. It's not the words - if I push myself I can believe that they were just about acceptable although appropriate is quite another thing. No, it's the way he said them and the leering expression on his face, the innuendo, the "dirty old man" self promotion; the "unspeakable" being hinted at; and behind it all is a lascivious message of power: "I am a man and I can/will/am able to force myself onto any woman; that is my role and my right, and it is the role and duty of women to submit to my will, my lust".

This was Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" made real; the Republic of Gilead alive and well in the Oval Office, and it is a frightening measure of contemporary America that few seem to think this is not totally unacceptable from any man let alone the nation's elected leader. Trump promised to make America great again - that frightening project still under construction and may, or may not, materialise - but what he undoubtedly has succeeded in doing is creating a nation of the cowed and the quiet, unable or unwilling to stand up for what is right . Hardly the stuff of greatness.