Trumpism isn’t just about Trump. It’s born of historical forces of racial resentment | Opinion

Part of the Reformation in Europe, initiated by Martin Luther, was the rise of Calvinism, a new interpretation of Christianity. The Calvinist creed includes the ideas of separation of church and state, hard work, self-reliance, individualism, and the belief that some people are chosen over others.

Calvinism became the creed of the emerging Puritan and Presbyterian branches of Protestantism, and they (including Separatists) constituted a large percentage of early immigrants to Colonial America.

Through time, Puritanism developed into various Congregationalist churches. Hence Calvinism today is prominent in the Congregationalist, Reform and Presbyterian churches — and some Southern Baptists. These denominations tend to have numerous Evangelicals and closely related Fundamentalists (who also have their own non-Calvinistic churches). Many good folks are in these churches, but they have also long sought to impose their paternalistic hierarchy onto society.

The Calvinist ideology has, moreover, run in tandem with laissez-faire American capitalism. Hence, it’s promotional of capitalists, libertarians, and oligarchs.

Another ideological influence shaping America began with the importation of African slaves. There can obviously be slavery without Calvinism, but the particularly brutal form of American slavery was shaped by a religious-sanctioned embrace of social hierarchy and racism.

Social and economic differences grew to be so large and intractable between North and South that there was eventually nothing left to do but duke it out in the Civil War (1861-1865). The North won, but the paternalistic view of racial and gender superiority didn’t die. During Reconstruction (1865 -1877) the term “socialist” became a derogatory slur toward people wanting social equity, as it still is today.

Jim Crow laws followed the Civil War to maintain white superiority in the South. Moreover, beginning in the 1930s, some people began attacking FDR’s New Deal. They hated the idea of a more equitable income distribution, social security, business regulations, and a lack of overt racial segregation. The opposition came mostly from racists, libertarians, and business elites. With Nixon’s southern strategy, they grew in power, and around 1980 the GOP merged with the new religious right (fundamentalists & right-wing evangelicals).

Former President Ronald Reagan attacked the “common good” commitment that had enriched our society after WWII. He deregulated businesses and let the corporate raiders of the 1980s, such as Carl Icahn, transform American economics.

We currently live in a plutocratic oligarchy (rule by the rich) where Wall Street fat cats usurp the wealth produced by hard-working Americans and then use their economic power to control our political system. To defend their privilege, they tell the shafted, white, middle class that minorities, women, and liberals are to blame for their troubles. Democracy is barely hanging on.

The essence of the contemporary conservative movement, which is not led by true conservatives but instead radicals, is the belief that some people (themselves) are better than others and should paternalistically control society and possess most of the wealth.

If you listen carefully, you’ll notice that the core message from Donald Trump is that you (white, Christian men) used to dominate society, but those socialistic Democrats and their evil federal government have taken that away. Be aggrieved, outraged, and fearful of what they’ll do next. Take back your country; “Make America great again;” and “Drain the swamp” of people unlike yourselves.

When Jan. 6 rioters striving to overthrow the Constitution carried a confederate flag into the nation’s capitol, that was no coincidence. In addition to oligarchs and fundamentalists, the GOP is now openly welcoming white supremacists and neo-Nazis into their party. They will do anything to take power, roll back civil rights, and impose their autocratic ideology onto the country.

All people beware, for elitists don’t just subjugate women and minorities; they eventually reduce most white men to menials too. Deceiving con men who exploit social wounds, fabricate scapegoats, and say only they can fix it are the real threat to your freedom.