When the ‘emperor’ has clothes

A week after an historic election, we are witnessing an historic epidemic of mass hysteria. Shock, surprise and dark anger abound. Houses and condos are going up for sale in California as Californians concomitantly scream succession; celebrities muse whether they want to leave the country; schools, colleges and houses of worship are offering special sessions to discuss personal angst, and offering private counseling for those delicate souls more deeply affected. Meanwhile, demonstrations have broken out in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Portland, San Francisco and elsewhere.

On the other hand, the stock market, projected to dive 900 points has exploded upward. The man accused of being a racist and xenophobe, especially toward Muslims and Hispanics, received his first call of congratulations from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and received 29 percent of the Latino vote, larger than Romney’s 27 percent in 2012. The man accused of being the worst kind of anti-Semite has been congratulated by Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu as “a true friend of Israel.”

So why are so many shocked, stunned, in grief and looking for escape? Because reality has busted open their monolithic “progressive” world. This world consists of many factions.

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The first faction is education. In our educational system, from pre-K through graduate school, the system has been relentlessly spewing propaganda and assault on free speech. This is evidenced through edicts on group think, the creation of micro aggressions, white privilege, male privilege, rape culture, and outright censorship. American history has literally been rewritten. Words, thoughts, ideas, food preparation and costumes deemed inappropriate are banned, as is anyone with the temerity to object. G-d is dead, replaced by climate change and an ode to saving the planet, and sex is divorced from emotion and reduced to a hook-up sport.

All the above is accompanied by the prevailing philosophies “everyone deserves a trophy,” pass-fail grades, and parental chants of “good job” for breathing, as they treat their offspring as pampered poodles.

The second faction to be busted is our press. What was once referred to as a free press is now anything but. It has been exhibited in the “echo chamber” of talking points, where in any news cycle, a specific word or phrase has been transferred through the mainstream media like a baton passing in a relay race. This biased coverage extended into Election Day.

The third faction busted open is progressive Hollywood, and the cult of celebrity. Once dotted with patriotic stars who proved their worth by fighting in World War II, supported by movies that extolled the American way and the defeat of the evils of Nazis and communists, the hills are now singing a different song. Movies and rap stars are universally pro-radical left. Dissent is hidden in fear of employment discrimination. Paradoxically, misogyny is alive and well — in the lyrics of rap music, and the antics and political alignments of the stars who mouth them. In this world Democrats are 1,000 percent good and right, while Republicans are 1,000 percent evil and wrong. The sins of the former are ignored and buried, the sins of the latter are hyped and over-reproduced.

The fourth faction busted open is our corrupted federal bureaucracies. This is a world in which connections matter, following orders is mandatory, and being fired is a thing that never happens. Responsibility and accountability don’t exist, retention of job and position rank way above doing one’s job, federal corporate credit cards are used for personal expenses, and vendettas are raged against dissenting thinkers and members of the opposing party. Manifestations are rampant.

In totality, this is the world where if a government agent is caught red-handed committing a wrong, they merely say “I accept all responsibility,” but receive no punishment.

Enter President-elect Donald Trump, and the world where other folks live. They do not have government jobs that are

supported and pampered and paid for by taxpayer money. They live in a world where if one makes a mistake, saying “I’m sorry” might not be enough, especially if lives are lost. They live in a world where one does have to obey the laws, and if they don’t, they may face real consequences.

supported and pampered and paid for by taxpayer money. They live in a world where if one makes a mistake, saying “I’m sorry” might not be enough, especially if lives are lost. They live in a world where one does have to obey the laws, and if they don’t, they may face real consequences.

Why Trump? It’s not simple, but it’s not that complicated either. America was founded on equality and justice with a lot of optimism thrown in. It was founded on the belief that its leaders would follow the will of the people, and that justice would be blind. Most importantly, it was founded upon the twin pillars of sovereignty and the rule of law. Under Obama, the perception has solidified that none of these founding ideals is important or worth being followed. In fact, they are being trashed.

Brexit was the canary in the coal mine. Brexit was the expression for self-rule and autonomy that was mirrored in the subtext of Trump’s campaign. Most thought Brexit would fail where Trump did not. Almost all the political and pundit universe missed Trump’s subtext: Maintain sovereignty, implement the laws, get government accountable and off our collective backs, and put Americans first. The ruling class didn’t get Trump’s message, but the voters did.

The Trump who governs as president will not be the Trump we have seen as promoter, actor, playboy or detractor. He also will not be Trump the candidate. The Trump we will see is a man who delegates successfully. A man who praises success. A man who loves our country and people. A man who, at the Republican convention, openly expressed his support of gays, and then profoundly thanked the raucously cheering crowd who supported his statement. A man, who at that same convention humbly admitted that he did not deserve all the support he had received from religious groups. The Trump we will see as president shows respect and thanks to people who serve, in the military and civil protective services, and to people who work for him. The Trump who will be president will select the best and the brightest, who share common sense and a dedication to solving problems.

On the world stage, the fear regarding Trump’s effect on foreign affairs is risible. Here is what foreign policy under Obama and Clinton has wrought: The Middle East is in shambles. Protestors in Iran cried out for American assistance, but were cruelly left to fend for themselves; many were tortured and killed. The Arab Spring died before it turned into an Arab Summer and chaos there now reigns. The world has watched a barbaric cynical genocide of Christians and Arabs carried out by the radical terrorist group ISIS. Obama’s Syrian line in the sand turned red from the blood spilled due to American inaction.

Essentially this campaign, like Brexit, was a war between the denizens of a dystopian, greedy power-sucking Washington elite and a citizenry that has felt its increasing stranglehold on their autonomy. Additionally, Americans looked at what progressive policies in Western Europe and the European Union have created and don’t like the outcomes.

Now that the people have spoken, the press will start reporting more honestly, Hollywood celebrities will not leave America — the greatest country on Earth — and a World War III will not erupt from anything Donald Trump provokes.

Lynne Kessler Lechter is an attorney in Philadelphia at Lechter & Sasso, P.C., and serves on the President’s Council of the Republican Jewish Coalition.