If you’ve ever pondered the complexity of American society, you must have wondered what is real and what is propaganda dreamed up to distract the population while sinister forces seek to run the show.
Is the Trump charivari real, for example? Does this cartoon character reflect the true face – even one of the true faces – of America? Or is he a fictional figure, a mere theatrical act, created to appeal to a sleazy subculture?
Does Trump stand for anything of significance in America?
And if he does, will that ugly America prevail in the future?
Or will the America of tomorrow be totally different? Is America’s destiny reflected not in Trump’s vile doctrine but in the beauty pageant he used to own?
I know, what’s a beauty pageant got to do with anything?
Isn’t it just a trivial exploitation of women? An outdated display of the female form? A silly and shameful waste of time and money?
I submit there’s more to it than that. When I see a lovely African American woman like Deshauna Barber (above) crowned Miss USA, I see an encouraging sign of the changing times.
This could not have happened when I was a boy. This could not have happened when I came to live in America a generation ago.
A lot has changed in my lifetime. It was not until the mid-1960s that a mixed-race couple could get married in many states, for example. The schools are no longer racially segregated. Neither are the water fountains and washrooms. Americans have elected and reelected their first black President.
So, while Trump and his followers might signal a dismally regressive trend, I am convinced that America’s destiny is reflected not in their snarling faces but in the eyes of a beautiful young woman.
