Donald J. Trump's win as the 45th President of the US unleashed a cavalcade of social media commentaries about how 'stupid' the electorate has been to elect a 'racist and misogynist' to the post of the most powerful man in the free world. Some have labeled this day as a dark day in the history of the US.
Trump's rhetoric in the election campaign was simple and clear. A majority of the society is feeling left out and it wants its voice heard. Most of the commentators on social media are from the college educated, progressive crowd which roots for the ideals that have been propounded by the liberal media across the globe. To them being politically correct is the ideal. Conveniently enough, they don't face the same set of problems that the majority of the population faces. The effects of the 2008 recession are still seen across the country. Millions of people live below the poverty line and struggle to make their ends meet. The anger is palpable but the media houses liked to focus on the foreign issues. The Islamic State of Iraq and Levante is much more interesting; the Russian incursion into Crimea more exciting. These issues are important geopolitical affairs and should be given their due importance, but not at the cost of domestic issues.
A state's duty is to its people and it cannot wish it away, however much it would try. The people will hold you accountable if you fail in your primary task. And the US government failed in doing justice to its primary task. The progressive crowd failed to see beyond the glamorous geopolitical issues and is now passing the buck on to their less privileged countrymen who according to them don't know what is 'good for them'. An opportunity to learn from the entire 'fiasco' has been let go and instead they choose to remain in the cocoons of safety and blame 'the others'. What they fail to realise is that ideologies are important only when you have a filled stomach and a comfortable bed to sleep in. Expecting people who don't have these basic needs to dabble in the ideological warfare is nothing short of living in a dream.
Both the candidates were shoddy and didn't deserve to be given the opportunity to run for the presidency. But they did. Many people saw Donald Trump's bid for the republican candidature as a fluke. They jeered him, his antics became the source of jokes (internet memes they call it). What they failed to realise is that this was a call for help by the poor, the underprivileged ones.
In management education, we are told to empathise with others. Place yourself in the other person's shoes, we are taught.
Today, I see how important empathy is. It can make you the President of the US.
Trump's rhetoric in the election campaign was simple and clear. A majority of the society is feeling left out and it wants its voice heard. Most of the commentators on social media are from the college educated, progressive crowd which roots for the ideals that have been propounded by the liberal media across the globe. To them being politically correct is the ideal. Conveniently enough, they don't face the same set of problems that the majority of the population faces. The effects of the 2008 recession are still seen across the country. Millions of people live below the poverty line and struggle to make their ends meet. The anger is palpable but the media houses liked to focus on the foreign issues. The Islamic State of Iraq and Levante is much more interesting; the Russian incursion into Crimea more exciting. These issues are important geopolitical affairs and should be given their due importance, but not at the cost of domestic issues.
A state's duty is to its people and it cannot wish it away, however much it would try. The people will hold you accountable if you fail in your primary task. And the US government failed in doing justice to its primary task. The progressive crowd failed to see beyond the glamorous geopolitical issues and is now passing the buck on to their less privileged countrymen who according to them don't know what is 'good for them'. An opportunity to learn from the entire 'fiasco' has been let go and instead they choose to remain in the cocoons of safety and blame 'the others'. What they fail to realise is that ideologies are important only when you have a filled stomach and a comfortable bed to sleep in. Expecting people who don't have these basic needs to dabble in the ideological warfare is nothing short of living in a dream.
Both the candidates were shoddy and didn't deserve to be given the opportunity to run for the presidency. But they did. Many people saw Donald Trump's bid for the republican candidature as a fluke. They jeered him, his antics became the source of jokes (internet memes they call it). What they failed to realise is that this was a call for help by the poor, the underprivileged ones.
In management education, we are told to empathise with others. Place yourself in the other person's shoes, we are taught.
Today, I see how important empathy is. It can make you the President of the US.
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