FEAR FUELS POPULIST RHETORIC

During the run-up tot the midterm elections, Donald Trump, in raucous stump speeches designed to energize his Republican base, made wildly inaccurate and baseless immigration claims, painting a doomsday scenario if Democrats were to take control of Congress. In rally after rally Trump exclaimed that: "Democrats are openly encouraging millions of illegal aliens to break our laws, violate our sovereignty, overrun our borders and destroy our nation in so many ways. We can't let that happen." He continued to assert that a caravan of a few thousand migrants moving north to the U.S. border consisted of MS-13 gang members, violent criminal and "unknown middle-easterners." Clams for which he never provided concrete evidence. (Ashley Parker et al., "Trump and Republicans settle on fear," The Washington post, Oct. 22, 2018).

While many of us in this country may have looked at his approach as a peculiar style Trump cultivated and applied during the 2016 election, assuming that it would work again this time around, the concept of spreading fear among electorates has become commonplace in an increasing number of countries dominated by populist, nativist and nationalist politicians. Populism has grown rapidly, its roots run deep, and analysts believe that the social and economic trends that have caused it will last long after the current crop of populist leaders has faded from the scene. Causes include: economic insecurity, social insecurity and political in effectiveness. Economic insecurity stems from income in equality, stagnation in average real in comes, and a drastically challenging labor market. Social insecurity comes from a perceived threat of immigration, generating cultural dislocation an loss of identity. And the feeling is that traditional political parties have become ineffective in coping with the dislocation fueled by globalization and technology.

Populism - a political doctrine that supports the rights and powers of the common people in their struggle with the privileged elite, targets lower income, less educated segments of the population, and plays on their fears of becoming economically irrelevant. Nativism, which seeks to protect the interest of native born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants, stresses the fear of losing cultural identity. Nationalism, in its extreme form of chauvinism, jingoism or xenophobia, develops as a direct result from exploiting these fears, and become dangerous when manipulated by crafty politicians.

Examples of the use of "fear" in political rhetoric to attract a compliant following have become ubiquitous. Viktor Orban in Hungary, often referred to as the "Trump of Europe," spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer money on ad campaigns conjuring up an atmosphere of hatred and fear of immigrants, promising to protect his nation against foreign enemies that, he said, are seeking to undermine its identity, integrity and sovereignty. In Italy, Mateo Salvini, who graduated from the position of Federal Secretary of the populist, neo-nationalist, Northern League, to, after recent elections, became Interior Minister and Deputy Prime  Minister, has declare a public safety emergency (even though Italy's crime rate has dropped for years), cracked down on immigration by facilitating deportation and severely restricting pathways to legal status, and loosened gun laws , making it easier for people to injure or kill intruders. In Germany, the anti-immigrant, Eurosceptic, AFD - Alternative for Germany - Party has become the third largest party in parliament. While impressive for a relatively new organization, in states that formerly belonged to Communist East Germany, the party clearly dominates,  achieving this status by praying on a long-simmering sense of discrimination, injustice an anger among those who, dating back to unification, never felt integrated in the overall society. After the influx of more than one million, mostly Muslim, refugees, the party projected even greater economic decline and cultural marginalization.

In extreme cases, the politics of fear practiced by populist politicians can become cataclysmic. Case in point, Germany post World War One. While Germany was weighted down by debt and feelings of defeat, Adolph Hitler promised to restore the country to its former glory. He spoke from an ultranationalist platform and positioned himself as a voice of the people against he government elite which brokered the Versailles Treaty and left the country weak and in debt. "Germany is broken, it needs to get up, to find its identity, it needs  leader, someone capable of restoring its character." (Tom Whipple, "From Hitler to Trump, Populist Leaders Profit form Fear," The Times, June 13, 2017.) We all know how that ended.

Globalization of the world economy, enhanced automation resulting from a destabilizing technological revolution which already eliminated many traditional occupations, and shifting demographic realities compounded by migration patterns fueled by conflict and despair elsewhere, threatening a cultural  mix natives no longer identify with, re causing distress among a growing segment of the population here and elsewhere. This extreme discomfort is real, and established governments have difficulty coping with a dynamically changing environment. Populist practitioners exploiting and exacerbating resulting fears may corral these disenfranchised groups to help themselves get elected. However, thus far they haven't shown an ability to solve underlying causes either. At best, they have succeeded in polarizing the political landscape, frequently making it more volatile and dangerous.

IN FLANDERS FIELD

Last Sunday, November 11, 2018, marked the 100th anniversary of the armistice signed in Compiegne, France, which went into effect November 11, 2018, marking the end of World War One, victory for the Allies and defeat for Germany. (The latter did not formally surrender.) This has been called "the Great War," by all accounts the most miserable and most brutal military conflict the western world has ever seen. Over 16 million military and 10 million civilian casualties were attributed to this "great" war. America mobilized 4 million combatants. Of these, 116,708 died, and another 204,000 were wounded.

The day before the anniversary our president was scheduled to honor the dead and lay a wreath at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau, 50 miles north of Paris. In 1918 the U.S. Marine Corps and French military repelled German forces in this location. More than 1,800 Americans died here, and 2,300 are buried in this cemetery. Because it was raining, Donald Trump decided not to bother doing the honors, and stay in more comfortable surroundings in the French capital. Our insensitive, void of empathy, Commander-in-Chief may not have cared about the expressions of incredulity from attending dignitaries and on social media, but the response was quick, and overwhelmingly negative.

Nicolas Soames, one of Winston Churchill's grandsons, tweeted: "They died with their face to the foe, and that pathetic inadequate Donald Trump couldn't even defy the weather to pay his respect to the fallen." Former Secretary of State John Kerry remarked: "These veterans the president didn't bother to honor fought in the rain, in the mud, in the snow - and many died in trenches for the cause of freedom." On social media a cartoon depicting a medic comforting a dying soldier with the caption: "It's OK marine ... some day in the future and American President will travel great distances to honor your sacrifice. Unless of course it's raining," was shared several hundred thousand times. Trump's insensitive reaction to mildly inclement weather generated myriad emotional responses, none uplifting. In the meantime, 92 year old Queen Elizabeth of England did attend a ceremony, braving the rain, credibly displaying empathy and a sense of responsibility.

My wife and I were fortunate enough to be able to attend the Hawaii World War One Centennial Commemoration at the War Memorial Natatorium near Waikiki in Honolulu. Since I became aware of the disgraceful disrespect exhibited by someone we supposedly elected to lead us in honoring those who gave everything for our freedom, I experienced emotions that were difficult to shake, became teary-eyed, and ashamed for our country. The opportunity to participate in Hawaii's commemoration ceremony helped take the edge off.

Hawaii was still considered a territory during WW1. However, on a per capita basis, this territory mobilized more of its citizens to active military service than any state or territory in the nation. A total of 9,800 Hawaiians served in uniform, mostly in the army. The depth and diversity of Hawaii's contribution were staggering. Native Hawaiians, as well as immigrant Chinese, Japanese and Filipino men all stepped up to serve. The ceremony was solemn, at times emotional, and was well attended by veterans of all ranks and cultures, government officials from dozens of countries, Governor David Ige and his wife, Mayor Kirk Caldwell, and Admiral John C. Aquilino, Commander of our Pacific Fleet. It featured a vintage Hawaiian, inclusive, Polynesian, multi-cultural ceremony, framed appropriately and respectfully by expressions of the nation's gratitude for the service of its veterans.

One of the most emotional presentations, leaving few dry eyes, was a recitation by First Lady Dawn Ige of John McCrae's poem "In Flanders Field."  These words, written in May 1915, only ten months after the conflict began, remain powerful today:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we
lie in Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies
grow in Flanders fields.

Someone should read this to Donald Trump, since he famously does not read, and explain its content. Then again, he probably won't get it.