John Daniel Davidson of the Federalist tackles a popular myth that has motivated much of the discussion during the 2016 election campaign.
No matter who wins the election Tuesday, the story of 2016 is that great swaths of the American people spanning the political spectrum have given themselves over to a myth, which is that our problems come from afar—from impersonal economic forces, great migrations, and foreign powers. A powerful part of this myth is that no one and nothing can be trusted, from the media to the banks to the government and law enforcement, because these institutions are corrupt and exist primarily to serve themselves and an elite few.
The 12 million Democrats who voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders in the primaries believe America’s problems come from Wall Street and multinational corporations that have rigged the global economic system to enrich themselves at the expense of working people. The Democratic Party has so completely absorbed these ideas that its nominee, Hillary Clinton, whose entire career has taken the form of rigging the system to enrich and promote herself, now repeats them without irony.
Donald Trump captured the Republican Party nomination by declaring, bluntly and without apology, that America has been sold out by corrupt elites like Clinton, that immigrants and foreign countries are taking advantage of us, and that our leaders are complicit in this. In a crowded GOP field, he channeled the discontent of a Republican primary electorate, or at least a vocal portion of it, that accepts without question the myth of 2016.
Although it’s true that Trump’s primary voters on the one hand, and Sanders’ supporters on the other, do not speak for most Americans, they have revealed the basic myth that most Americans now believe about themselves and their country. After this long general election, with all its scandal and intrigue and outrage, it is impossible to believe that the myth belongs only to a faction of the Democratic Party’s base, or a plurality of GOP primary voters.
Rather, it now defines us broadly as a people, for better and for worse. How we respond to the dictates of its logic will determine much for our country in the near term, regardless of who occupies the White House. Breaking free from this myth and preserving the republic will be America’s great challenge of this century.