Reactionaries think so, but you would have a very hard time finding an objective basis for that opinion. Unemployment is below five percent; the market is over 18,000; inflation is basically nonexistent; we’re not engaged in any large scale ground wars anywhere in the world; crime is far below its previous peak; and the rates of divorce, teenage pregnancy, and substance abuse are stable at worst. And yet, the far right-wing press tells us that the apocalypse is at hand, and that Trump is our only hope of avoiding it. What is going on here?
I will be discussing this issue from a variety of angles this week. The bottom line is fairly simple, however; some elements of white Christian America view themselves as a severely oppressed minority in a country run by and for foreigners, people of color, atheists, and gays. In their view, this is the last chance of the traditional rulers of the nation to take their country back from a government which (with the aid of big business and the MSM) not only does not represent their interests, but actively works against them.