Trump V Clinton: Will the US come to its senses?

If you haven’t watched the Netflix masterpiece documentary, ‘The Thirteenth’, then you should, even if it means taking out a Netflix trial period then cancelling it.

This is one of those documentaries that historically, and precisely documents how a powerful nation can teach its populous not only to hate and fear another ethnic group but to put in place the full weight of the State to ensure a self fulfilling prophecy occurs; "they deserve to be hated."

‘What you see in the news is a 150 years in the making’, begins the ground breaking documentary.

The early part of the documentary  shows snippets from one of the most popular films of its generation: D W Griffiths, ‘The Birth of a Nation’. Made in 1915 the film depicts a brave new world, but in that world the nation has one distinct enemy; The Black man. This Black man according to the film - the ‘devil incarnate’, - will think nothing of stealing and raping white women. The leading white woman dramatically throws herself off the cliff rather than be defiled by the Black man.

The knights in shining army, otherwise known as the KKK, save the day and capture the Black man, and the nation is saved from its worst nightmare. So begins the long poisonous narrative that uses the State apparatus - Drugs policy- to target Black men and the Black community, whilst leaving white America virtually ‘scot free’. As a direct result 100 years ago African Americans made up 5% of the prison population, today that number has risen to a staggering 35%, with more than a million African Americans behind bars, and when they are out they can never vote.

Why is this awful narrative so relevant to one of the most important elections in recent history?

Well, if Donald Trump wins the popular vote to become the 45th President of the United States, history will repeat itself, only this time public enemy No 1 will be Muslims, No 2 Mexicans and No 3 African Americans. Never before as a Presidential candidate pitched his narrative on such a racist ideology, which, has he has promised, will be backed up with the full State apparatus - policy; building a wall across the US- Mexican border; banning all Muslims from entering the USA; and carpet bomb Muslim countries where he deems ‘terrorists’ to be hiding.

History tells us that this draconian action will no doubt cause a backlash to the US and its citizens, which in turn will result in more brutal firepower and demonization of the other. As a result full hatred of the other becomes complete, and like the decades of demonization of African Americans from consecutive Presidents- Bill Clinton locked up more Black men for longer terms than any other President with his ‘three strikes and you’re out' rule,- the vilification of Muslims, Mexicans, and African Americans becomes totally engrained in every aspect of the American fabric.

Lets' be clear, Donald Trump’s narrative, ‘Let’s make America great again’, is one that resonates across the USA particularly with white disenfranchised and disillusioned Americans, but also including African Americans too. However,  the method to make the nation great: blaming and hating the other only serves for the US to eat its own soul.

For her part Hilary Clinton has failed to inspire a nation the way Barack Obama did in 2008 and again in 2012.

That said when every vote is counted, let's home Americans come to their senses.

Simon Woolley