A Political Regression

Following the results of the US election, I wanted to write about the recent global groundswell in conservative thought. While it may shock some that Americans chose Trump over Harris, when you look at the global pattern of politics the pieces of the puzzle start to come together. As opposed to being an outlier, America is following the trend started by its European counterparts. 

For example, during the recent elections in France “the far right made its strongest ever electoral showing”. Not to mention, just across the border, the right-wing recently gained popularity in Spain for the first time since the fascist dictatorship, which ruled over the country from 1939 to 1975 – and Spaniards aren’t the only ones forgetting their history. In Germany, the far-right recently won its first major victory since World War Two. 

All of this is to say, there seems to be a collective desire to turn towards traditional, family values and reinstate the ‘status quo’. Case in point? Trump ran on a platform of protecting working-class, white Americans, improving the economy and getting the immigrants out of the country – and he won. Of course, his political stances were far from the only factor that contributed to his victory. That being said, one does have to stop and question exactly why this is happening. Surely, in an age when people are more vocal than ever about respecting others and promoting diversity and inclusion, we should be seeing forward momentum – not a complete regression. 

Unfortunately, in tandem with younger generations attempting to live more authentically, there has been an increase in the fear mongering and misinformation being broadcasted to the masses. One crucial example is the ‘debate’ regarding transgender individuals using public bathrooms. I want to make one thing very clear before I delve into this – transgender people are people. Period. As such, they deserve to use public bathrooms just as anyone else would. That is to say, according to the gender they identify as. 

Despite this seeming like a fairly open and shut case, right-wing conservatives have made this into an issue of public safety, especially when it comes to women, and in doing so created a mountain out of a molehill. They claim that by allowing transgender women into women’s spaces, cisgender women become vulnerable to sexual predators entering those spaces under the guise of identifying as trans. However, time and time again this argument has been disproven.

In fact, “The predator argument is based on an assumption that men who prey on women will be inspired to dress as women and enter women’s spaces because they could falsely claim to be transgender and therefore allowed to stay. But, advocates emphasize, if a female alleges she was sexually assaulted, the gender identity of the perpetrator has no bearing on the criminality of the act.” While this is a long quote, it gets at the heart of the issue. If any critical thinking is applied to these types of arguments, they dissolve. The same goes for teaching children about LGBTQ+ relationships, drag culture and so much more. 

In all the cases mentioned above, the right is using society’s sympathy towards seemingly vulnerable groups, such as women and children, to justify their bigotry – and it’s working. The reason is that they can manipulate and distort actions to make it seem as though the youth, or family values, are being threatened by those crazy, woke liberals. What’s more, they can share it to a wider audience, thus increasing the chances that that messaging will find people who resonate with it for one reason or another. This results in ordinary people being scared that their way of life is under attack and rationalising support of conservative values as an act of self-preservation. And, of course, this group is bolstered by those who are just good old-fashioned haters that never outgrew the 18th century. 

In other words, right-wing populists can use this rhetoric to allow people to justify believing in conservative values, which increases their support in the polls. This has been made more apparent than ever as of late. It appears that the ease of following the right’s distorted logic and finding community in being united against a common enemy, as well as having a scapegoat in said enemy, have come together to create an environment where tradition is comforting, while progression symbolises uncertainty.

Image: Flickr/Trump White House (Shealah Craighead)

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