California And Self-Importance
The New York Times this morning featured an op-ed where the writer spoke of all the good things in California. The author made many good points and spoke on the myriad of ways in which the Golden State has contributed to the United States, both culturally as well as technologically. However, the piece reeks of self-importance, self-aggrandizement, and the hero-complex.
A common criticism of, for lack of better terminology, liberals and the “left,” is that they consider themselves as the heroes who will usher in the utopia.
We’re Going To Usher In The Utopia!
And the piece from the NYT this morning is emblematic of that fact. It isn’t the only one either. The beginning of Michael Lerner’s old article on shaming Trump supporters starts out on the right track but then goes on to denigrate white people and blame them for classism, racism, and the like.
Lerner seems to insinuate that the divide between groups based on their socio-economic status is the reason for the country’s problems.
He also can’t help himself but throw in some partisan politics in there and claim that conservatives and Republicans have weaponized their voters’ resentment for the sake of political gain.
In the beginning, Lerner acknowledges that many white Americans feel as though they’re being unfairly targeted by the intelligentsia. And it isn’t hard to understand why.
Traditional Media Is Contributing To The Problem
The media lately has been filled with articles and reports which seem to insinuate that white people are the cause of most of America’s problems. They use terms like “whiteness,” as if being white is something of which to be ashamed.
And journalists like to blame men, in particular, as the word “masculinity,” is almost never spoken of in the media unless it’s paired with, “toxic.”
Either way, if you’re able to get over the article’s sense of self-importance, it makes many good points and the theme of it is one in which we could all agree, and aspire to.
California And The USA
As much as people from other states don’t like it, when non-Americans think of the United States and all of its technological innovation and culture, they typically look to California.
And currently, a lot of policies that were once only considered as “Californian,” are picking up speed in other areas.
For the first time, states are focusing a lot of their energy on issues like immigration, energy reform, police reform, and suburban sprawl.
According to the New York Times, California, for the longest time, has set the agenda on issues related to the economy, culture, and technology. They open their doors to immigrants and concern themselves with environmental problems and other issues for which America is currently competing with China.
California and Trump
For the most part, it is a democratic state. Only 26% of its inhabitants support Donald Trump. Thankfully, the current leading political figures there are supposedly trying to get past partisan politics, which is a smart move.
For that reason, some consider California as the region to move America past its political divide, rather than continue to dwell within it.
Following the period after 2010, the Golden State has established itself as a leader and currently accounts for one-fifth of America’s economic growth: a huge amount.
And three of the ten largest companies have California as their home. To the writer of the New York Times, the state is the future of America, and they are diametrically opposed to the values espoused by the president.
Trump And His Base
Trump right now is gaining supporters by catering to the states which used to benefit from the coal industry. While California is working toward modern energy sources like wind and solar.
They have the most lax immigration policy in the United States, and people come from all over the world to work there. According to the Seattle Times, for those who work in San José in the tech industry, seven out of ten of those people were born outside of the United States.
Gavin Newsom, who is the lieutenant governor and candidate to succeed Governor Brown, thinks the state has one of two options. Either look to the future, “Star Trek,” or the past, “Mad Max.”
Newsom is adamant on providing a single-payer health care system to everyone in the state and wants to provide for all of their energy needs with renewable energy.
California is divided up into two sections, South California and the North. Northern California was the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement and Southern California was at odds with it because it supposedly was filled with suburban Republicans.
However, that has changed lately, as Southern Californians voted for Hillary Clinton in the past election. They are increasingly becoming unified in their political views.
The Potential For Progress Is Huge
The potential for progress is profound. However, it could also become a bubble or an ideological echo chamber filled with political grandstanding and virtue signaling.
This might be difficult for the state, as they consider themselves to be the center of Anti-Trump rhetoric. All you have to do is take a look at what celebrities and influential figures in the Hollywood scene are saying about Trump and his supporters.
Even though the state has the potential to be a unifying force carrying the Americans into the future, the truth is that the continuous slandering of Trump and his base will do nothing but continue to promote the cultural divide.
For lack of a better term, “liberals,” living throughout the United States, have a hard time understanding why Trump won, and they think that he beat Hillary in 2016 because of racism, particularly, anti-Mexican racism.
However, a significant reason for people voting for Trump is that liberals coming from the state are ostracizing his base, and have been doing so for the last two years. Possibly, even longer.
They look at Trump’s base and the Red States as being backward, in the past, and retrogressive on most issues that other parts of the world, especially Western Nations, are continually improving in.
If California Wants To Unite The Country, Quitting The Condescension Would Be A Good Start
If California really wants to be a leader in promoting a unified America, it would be best for their politicians to stop slandering the Red States and Trump supporters. People such as Lena Dunham, and many others, have stated that Trump voters are “voting against their own interests.”
And who are they to decide what their “interests” are?
The Golden State needs to become one of not only improvement but also having their boots in the dirt in a pragmatic or practical sense.
Rather than continuing to engage in oversensationalized news stories and fake controversies, they need to work on uniting the country in their shared goals, which is economic prosperity and living a good life.
They have to stop alienating the other side of the political spectrum with their “impeachment” rhetoric.
Accept Reality And Move On
The fact that the entire side of the spectrum is actively working toward impeaching the president is not a good look and contributes to the political polarization of the country.
It’s similar to the way that Republicans and others were adamant that Barack Obama wasn’t actually a United States citizen.
Once a president wins the election, the other side has to accept that reality and figure out the best way to work with it, rather than complaining and doing everything in their power to try and impeach him.