[ad_1]
The townspeople have not forgotten that in case of illness, they will have neither a helicopter nor a marvelous serum at their disposal. In short, Trump has successfully shown that he solved the problem of a dangerous virus only for himself, but not for others.
According to the latest poll conducted by The Guardian and Opinium Research on October 13, the gap between Democratic candidate Joe Biden and his rival, current Republican Donald Trump, in the electoral race increased to a record 17 percentage points. At the moment, 57% of Americans are willing to vote for Biden, while 40% will support the current head of state, Ksenia Kirillova writes for dsnews.ua.
Superman’s failure
Trump, meanwhile, demonstrated the results of his miraculously quick cure for Covid-19 by speaking to supporters at a rally in Florida. The president danced, threw masks at the crowd to the accompaniment of patriotic songs, promised to kiss everyone present, and compared himself to a superman. All of this was obviously supposed to raise his rating in the eyes of the voters, however, as statistics show, it did not lead to a surge in popularity in any of the “wavering” states, whose vote will determine the outcome of the elections. .
Trump started dancing for the masses
This reaction from the voters, however, was quite predictable. While Trump himself and his political strategists, obviously, relied on demonstrating the strength and charisma of the president, creating for him the image of a “brutal macho” and a “virus winner”, for that small part of voters who have not yet decided their preferences in the first place. factors related to your personal well-being are important. Trump’s gallant appearance certainly had the right impact on his supporters and strengthened their “fighting spirit,” but exactly how the president of the United States is going to decide is far more important to the non-politicized part of society. they, not your own personal problems.
Based on this, they saw in Trump’s behavior both the inability to face the threat of a pandemic, that is, to protect themselves and their immediate environment (and, therefore, the entire country) from the virus , and the disregard for his health, which Trump demonstrated by putting his supporters at risk. contamination and minimization of the risk of diseases. Unlike the staunch admirers of the president, ordinary people have not forgotten that in case of illness, they will not have a helicopter or a wonderful serum at their disposal. In short, Trump has successfully shown that he has solved the problem of a dangerous virus only for himself, but not for others.
However, if the Trump administration succeeds in getting Russia to extend the Treaty on Measures to Further Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Weapons (START III), which expires in February 2021, this could boost its popularity somewhat as it is directly related to with security issues. The fear of nuclear war in American society is quite strong, and the worsening of the international situation is one of the main demands of the Democrats against Trump. However, even so, it is doubtful that the incumbent can close the gap with his rival. However, this will not necessarily mean your loss.
Moral appearance
But the earlier scandal associated with the release of Trump’s tax returns did not have a significant effect on the ratings. At the very least, it didn’t cause the sharp drop in support for Trump, as Democrats apparently hoped. As The New York Times pointed out, Trump has not paid income taxes for 10 of the previous 15 years, and in the first two years of his presidency he paid only $ 750. However, this information refers mainly to the ethical profile of the candidate. Trump and does not affect the safety or well-being of his constituents.
For those who did not support the head of the White House anyway, these figures became, of course, further evidence of his “criminal leanings.” Its supporters either have long agreed to make ethical commitments to preserve the “old conservative values” that are more important from their point of view, or, in principle, do not care about moral issues and see the things more pragmatically. Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that the majority of the representatives of Trump’s “nuclear” electorate simply do not believe in the liberal press and a priori consider that the Democrats are more corrupt. At the same time, for people removed from politics, the published information is not of special interest.
Throwing masks to patriotic songs is an element of electoral technology
However, a similar scandal initiated by the Republicans against the son of Trump’s rival, Hunter Biden, and his relationship with the Ukrainian company Burisma, which is gaining momentum in the American press, is capable of further influencing supporters of Joe Biden. than the “tax scandal” over Trump supporters. To understand this phenomenon, it is important to pay attention to the changing values of American society that have occurred in recent decades.
New ethics
Classical American capitalism was never particularly socially oriented, but it was largely limited not only by law, but also by the unwritten rules of business decency, which were the foundation of the ancient Puritan ethic. However, the natural weakening of this ethic, combined with the end of the Cold War that united the nation, left many people without ideological incentives to adhere to ethical standards. As a result, the achievement of the “American Dream” became increasingly banal social Darwinism, no longer limited by morality. At the same time, exponents of this approach are found among both Republicans and Democrats, and the latter’s custom of appealing to values in this context is perceived by their opponents as utter hypocrisy.
These trends have led to the fact that in recent decades, the level of unhealthy competition in society has led to a sharp increase in psychological problems for Americans and even a decrease in the efficiency of businesses and government agencies caused by the toxicity of the work environment. For example, according to a study by the American corporation RAND, almost one in five American workers is exposed to a hostile or threatening social environment at work.
Sociologists watch with concern the increasing atomization of society, which even the culture of volunteerism and charity familiar to Americans could not resist. In 2019, The Nation newspaper noted that suicide has become a veritable epidemic in the United States and, according to sociological research, its number has increased by a quarter in the last 15 years. At the same time, scientists note that this trend is largely due not so much to economic as social reasons.
As a result, in opposition to the terrifying trend in American universities, a new ethic began to form that proclaimed sympathy, altruism, gratitude, etc., as the basis for a happy life of an individual and a society. Judging by the many reservations of teachers, this approach is perceived with considerable skepticism in the modern world, but despite this, more and more young people accept the new ethics. Of course, the emerging fashion for the return of humanistic values is accompanied by extremes such as the growth of radical left ideas, the BLM movement, and newly discovered teachings like “critical racial theory.” However, the trend described is not limited only to racial issues and extremist demonstrations, and reflects a broader demand for justice, humanism and morality from the young part of society.
At the same time, American university professors, conductors of ethical concepts, as well as their students, are almost without exception the electorate of the Democratic Party, and for these people the moral character of a presidential candidate is important. Today they are not satisfied with the cult of tough power and jingoistic patriotism that Trump preaches, nor with the hypocrisy of the traditional democratic establishment and financial elites. And regardless of who wins the election this time, the United States will still have to face the consequences of a “generational war.”
The editors of the site are not responsible for the content of the blogs. Editorial opinion may differ from that of the author.
