For those who keep gloating about Trump's re-election, Americanist Peter van der Heiden has a few recipes ready. He experienced the election in the United States, where he picked up a message of hope from the manager of a former plantation in Louisiana. ‘What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.’
Peter van der Heiden, an Americanist at Radboud University, travelled through the southern states for three weeks in the run-up to the election. The reaction to the outcome is strongly determined by the lens through which you look at the election, he found. Whereas in the Netherlands Trump mainly evoked disgust, many Americans themselves reacted rather lukewarmly, both to the election itself and to the eventual winner.
Where outside the country surprise and outrage dominate, Americans are above all resigned, Van der Heiden observed. 'Many people are fed up with the elections, especially Democrats are tired of the constant political spectacle that is staged every four years. What was once an inspiring democratic exercise is now a repetition of the same play, with new actors each time with little new content.'
The dwindling voter turnout at elections underlines this climate, says Van der Heiden. ‘Trust in traditional parties is declining and more and more people are turning away from politics.’ But there is more to choose than just a president: the numerous local and regional officials are generating more enthusiasm, such as sheriffs' elections. ‘People often run more warmly for that than for the president.’
‘The most important leader’
What might help the gloom-and-doom viewer about Trump is a different lens through which to look at the president. It seems like a lot, ‘the most important leader of the democratic world’, but Van der Heiden likes to make a few comments. 'The president's influence on daily life in the US is quite limited. Decisions on domestic issues, such as education, healthcare and security, lie largely with the individual states. Only 10 per cent of legislation is federal.'
Van der Heiden is also not too concerned about Trump's being called a ‘fascist in power’. ‘The people he is going to surround himself with are probably not competent enough to make real chunks.’ He repeats the shrug he encountered several times on his trip. ‘After four years, he will have left again and we will see.’ A nice consolation for those worried now, he believes: ‘After this second term, it is really over. A third term is not allowed by the constitution. And even Trump can’t change the constitution.'
Sitting out Trump
A good recipe for gloomers is a visit to Whitney Plantation in Louisiana, where the administrator gave Van der Heiden a new perspective on the new president. How? By putting the new four years with Trump in a deeper, historical perspective. 'She talked about the history of slavery, from which, through trial and error, her impressive museum emerged. ‘After so much hardship this result, then we can get through four years of Trump too,’ Van der Heiden echoed the administrator's words.
Van der Heiden refers to a wisdom bequeathed by Nietzsche, ‘what doesn't kill me, makes me stronger’. ‘Some hope can be drawn from this perseverance for people who fear that because of Trump, the end of the world is near.’
Winter special 'Hope in dark days'
In the month of December, Radboud Recharge presents a series of stories about hope in dark days. The series offers tips and insights to provide new perspectives on the sometimes restrictive Christmas traditions, creates space for hopeful research, and shines a scientific light on the gloomy news.