The political triumph of Donald Trump is a symbol and symptom — not cause or origin — of our imperial meltdown. Trump is neither alien nor extraneous… - Cornel West

The political triumph of Donald Trump is a symbol and symptom — not cause or origin — of our imperial meltdown. Trump is neither alien nor extraneous to American culture and history. In fact, he is as American as apple pie. Yet he is a sign of our spiritual bankruptcy — all spectacle and no substance, all narcissism and no empathy, all appetite and greed and no wisdom and maturity.

"Needless to say, this fragile experiment began by taking for granted the ugly conquest of Amerindians and Mexicans, the exclusion of women, the subordination of European working-class men and the closeting of homosexuals. These realities made many of the words of the revolutionary Declaration of Independence ring a bit hollow. yet the enslavement of Africans — over 20 percent of the population — served as the linchpin of American democracy; that is, the much-heralded stability and continuity of American democracy was predicated upon black oppression and degradation. Without the presence of black people in America, European-Americans would not be "white — they would be only Irish, Italians, Poles, Welsh, and others engaged in class, ethnic, and gender struggles over resources and identity.

"Only a visionary leadership that can motivate "the better angels of our nature," as Lincoln said, and activate possibilities for a freer, more efficient, and stable America — only that leadership deserves cultivation and support. / This new leadership must be grounded in grassroots organizing that highlights democratic accountability. Whoever our leaders will be as we approach the twenty-first century, their challenge will be to help Americans determine whether a genuine multiracial democracy can be created and sustained in an era of global economy and a moment of xenophobic frenzy."

If the only alternative to fascism we produce is a corporate-driven, milquetoast, neoliberal , fascism will come to America. Let us be very clear. It’s like a America.