It’s been a long three weeks since Donald Trump won the electoral college count to become President. A lot of people are still trying to figure out how it happened. Among the fact-driven articles are several compelling analyses — which, of course, will require further analysis — explaining the underlying reasons:
- The Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, ignored the anger of middle-aged and older white Americans (especially males) who think (for various reasons) that globalization — which our two main parties’ fervently embraced — has screwed them out of jobs, prestige, honor, and the American dream. They also like to blame their situation on undocumented immigrants and foreign countries.
- Disinformation molded the campaign more than information or facts. The so-called “social media” circulated many millions of messages with false information about Clinton. Since many Americans get ALL of their “news” from these channels, and since studies have shown that they have very little ability to sort fact from fiction in them, it’s no wonder that real facts don’t explain what happened.
- The corporatist media, particularly the TV networks, shunned reporting on policies. According to one trustworthy estimate, the Big Three commercial news programs devoted 35 minutes to policy issues and 125 minutes to Clinton’s e-mail “scandal” over the course of the entire campaign.
In the absence of clear facts and analysis, it’s only natural that people are still defending their impulses and emotions — and the “social media” will do their best to prolong that.