Trump is our Putin. Putin is their Trump.
I've lost count of the number of books on my shelves that have bookmarks in them, marking where I left off reading them as I juggle and flit from one to the next. One that I've picked up again recently is Secondhand Time, the massive oral history from Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexeivich, chronicling the time between the end of the Soviet Union and the rise of Vladimir Putin. One thing that's struck me is how similar the people Alexeivich interviewed are to the people supporting Trump here in the US. It's no wonder the Putin playbook has worked so well on them.
The older Russian generation, the one that remembered Soviet times, felt lost and adrift in the new Russia, and that made them long for the Soviet past. One interviewee recounted the year he spent in prison, being interrogated and beaten because his wife had been caught up in one of Stalin's purges. Despite all he went through - including the loss of that wife, who didn't survive her own imprisonment - he declared himself a loyal Communist to the end. Other interviewees mocked the new Russia that had emerged, complaining that their country had sold its soul for a bigger supply of salami and a McDonald's on every corner.
The older Russian generation felt lost and confused, discarded and ridiculed by a younger generation that didn't share their values. They may have endured hard times in the past, but they thought it was worth it because of the society they had and the dreams they were building toward. Now that society was being swept away, and those dreams were being dashed. They wanted someone who would make Russia - their Russia - Great Again.
Sound familiar? The history may be different, but the motivation is the same.
Dealing with the Trumpocalypse is hard for me because so much of it is happening outside the world of logic and reason. It has nothing to do with facts or truth. Like Putin, Trump is always trying to make "truth" be whatever he says it is, and his followers are perfectly willing to go along. That's because truth doesn't matter to them. What matters is that Trump makes them feel like their old selves again, like they did when they were on top of the world. He gives them a chance to spit in the face of everyone and everything they blame for their fear and confusion, and the sense of loss they feel.
It won't work, though. Practically speaking, the US has more diversity than Russia, so Trump followers make up a smaller percentage of the population than Putin followers do. Plus we're too accustomed to having free speech and a free press. Putin was able to gain control over Russian media because a free press hadn't really had time to get established the way it is here. Trump may have FOX News, but he'll never be able to match Putin's degree of domination.
And it won't work because truth and time always win. No lie can last forever. No generation can stay in charge forever. I think a lot of Trump followers know that, and it's why they cling so tightly to him. They know their days are numbered, so they circle their wagons in an attempt to hold on just a little bit longer.
How much better it would be for everyone if they could face their fears and be open to what's coming. They don't have to give themselves or their lives up completely. There's room for compromise and adaptation. Sure, it can be uncertain and scary, but it can be amazing, too.
I keep wishing I could persuade people on that point. Maybe someday.
The older Russian generation, the one that remembered Soviet times, felt lost and adrift in the new Russia, and that made them long for the Soviet past. One interviewee recounted the year he spent in prison, being interrogated and beaten because his wife had been caught up in one of Stalin's purges. Despite all he went through - including the loss of that wife, who didn't survive her own imprisonment - he declared himself a loyal Communist to the end. Other interviewees mocked the new Russia that had emerged, complaining that their country had sold its soul for a bigger supply of salami and a McDonald's on every corner.
The older Russian generation felt lost and confused, discarded and ridiculed by a younger generation that didn't share their values. They may have endured hard times in the past, but they thought it was worth it because of the society they had and the dreams they were building toward. Now that society was being swept away, and those dreams were being dashed. They wanted someone who would make Russia - their Russia - Great Again.
Sound familiar? The history may be different, but the motivation is the same.
Dealing with the Trumpocalypse is hard for me because so much of it is happening outside the world of logic and reason. It has nothing to do with facts or truth. Like Putin, Trump is always trying to make "truth" be whatever he says it is, and his followers are perfectly willing to go along. That's because truth doesn't matter to them. What matters is that Trump makes them feel like their old selves again, like they did when they were on top of the world. He gives them a chance to spit in the face of everyone and everything they blame for their fear and confusion, and the sense of loss they feel.
It won't work, though. Practically speaking, the US has more diversity than Russia, so Trump followers make up a smaller percentage of the population than Putin followers do. Plus we're too accustomed to having free speech and a free press. Putin was able to gain control over Russian media because a free press hadn't really had time to get established the way it is here. Trump may have FOX News, but he'll never be able to match Putin's degree of domination.
And it won't work because truth and time always win. No lie can last forever. No generation can stay in charge forever. I think a lot of Trump followers know that, and it's why they cling so tightly to him. They know their days are numbered, so they circle their wagons in an attempt to hold on just a little bit longer.
How much better it would be for everyone if they could face their fears and be open to what's coming. They don't have to give themselves or their lives up completely. There's room for compromise and adaptation. Sure, it can be uncertain and scary, but it can be amazing, too.
I keep wishing I could persuade people on that point. Maybe someday.
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