The Last Generation That Has a Say

I actually have to disagree with you on one point Gregg, because I do think there is something important to be said about Mr. Trump that may be brought out in a future draft. To me at least, Trump's whole appeal comes from the fact that he is a master of straddling the contours of hidden meaning in a political noosphere dominated by social media. Repeatedly, Trump says stupid and offensive things with a sarcastic wink and a nod, causing Twitter and Facebook to erupt in arguments over what he actually believes. Our side gets offended, while his supporters simply talk about how all the snooty liberals just "don't get it." Donald Trump, after all, is simply a man who says what he believes and is not afraid to talk about all the subjects the "left-wing PC police" would prefer we avoid. According to them, the fact is that politicians need to talk about how immigration is ruining America and how ISIS is scary; parsing words and calling people names merely serve to detract from those conversations.

The effect of this dynamic is that anyone who raises concerns about anything Trump says at the surface level is ostracized from the public forum, simply written off as butthurt and humorless. I find all of this interesting and functionally distinct from previous forms of demagoguery. Donald Trump's candidacy is, at its root, about silencing dissenting minorities (the "cultural establishment," as he would call them) by mocking and laughing at them. I don't really know what that means for free speech and democracy in the Internet Society, but I believe it is relevant and that a thoughtful discussion of Trump is vital to the essay.