Is Donald Trump the King of Disconnection?

Not a single day goes by without hearing about the perils of a Donald Trump presidency.  Both traditional and social media are full of comments about the never-ending abhorrent messages that he proudly proclaims in front of all the world.  In my circle and in many others, Mr. Trump is the modern-day villain that can singlehandedly destroy our democracy, alienate our allies, and destabilize the fragile world order!  

While I certainly understand the personal criticisms of Mr. Trump and the doomsday-like predictions if he’s the elected leader of the free world, it implies that he alone has the power to change our world for the worse; and it suggests that if we defeat him at the ballot-box, our democracy and the world will be saved from the chaos of a Trump presidency.  I agree with the point of view that Mr. Trump is not good for our democracy. He does not bring people together, neither does he inspire our higher natures. But it is very dangerous to focus most of our attention on the personality (albeit, disgusting at times!) and not pay enough attention to the following facts:

·      Mr. Trump is nothing without the support of people who think like him - he can’t vote himself into the office of the President.

·    The ideas embraced by Mr. Trump will still be alive in his mind and in the minds of the people that support him, even if he does not win the Presidency.

It does not serve us well to criticize Mr. Trump, defeat him at the ballot-box, and bypass the questions that focus on the reasons why people support these horrendous ideas and behaviors that glorify incivility, separation, racism, misogyny, and protectionism.  What dynamics are at play in our beautiful country that nurture these ideas and behaviors? How are we conditioned to accept these awful things in our minds? Why is it so easy to disconnect ourselves from our individual humanity and from each other?

The real villains, the true kings of disconnection, and the imminent threats to our democracy, are in how these awful ideas (advocated by Mr. Trump and others) enter into our thinking and behaviors from cradle to grave.  If we do not pay attention to this, and focus our efforts primarily on defeating the personality, then it’s only a matter a time before the next “Donald Trump” is the President of our United States of America.