For those of us who are not familiar with the biography of P.T. Barnum, he founded the Herald of Freedom newspaper, which was involved in several liable law suites before he began his career as a master showman in 1835. By 1871, Barnum’s keen sense of media savvy led him to his greatest triumph, the Barnum & Bailey Circus, better known as “The Greatest Show on Earth.”
If you happen to be a visitor from another planet or out of touch with reality, this last 17 months of the American electoral process has been nothing less than the “Greatest Show on Earth.” Indeed, there are many parallels between P.T. Barnum and real estate magnate Donald Trump. Both are master salesman, and both share the innate ability to manipulate the mainstream media.
Everything the mainstream media did and said played into the hands of Donald Trump and his campaign. The mainstream media’s attempt to trip-Trump-up failed, giving way to a movement that became unstoppable. Let’s give credit where credit is due: Donald Trump knows how to sell himself to the American people, the question is—can he sell himself and his policies to the world?
Several policies Trump put forward in his campaign along with his offensive rhetoric are questionable. But remember, nothing is beyond the American Dream. Those who believe Trump will not necessarily fulfill his official promises may be repeating their initial mistake of disbelieving in his election win.
President Elect Donald Trump age 70, born June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York.
Trump was able to feed-into the great discontent in America based on polarization going back to the 2001 Bush/Gore election, which first gave birth to a movement for Change and the presidency of Barack Obama. But real change never came.
In my view, a vote for Trump was a vote for the anti-establishment segment of society, who we now know are a very large majority of people fed-up with the status quo, and fed-up with the direction American politicians both ―Democrat and Republican—have taken the country for the past 16 years.
Unfortunately, change in government takes time. But in this instantaneous world of Smart phones and Twitter, positive change was not as swift as most would demand. What is staggering is there are 231 million eligible voters in the United States, but 97 million eligable American voters refused to vote in this critical election.
From failures at war in Afghanistan and Iraq, which led to the financial crisis of 2008; from out of control stimulus spending plus an $18 trillion national debt; to eight years of nothing accomplished under the Obama administration; the American public in general and people from every community now appear ready for a populace revolution of change based on the promises of one man to make America great again, President Elect Donald Trump. Hopefully, this historical election in this our early 21st Century, will become an American Renaissance of thought, compassion, and peaceful change―without the need for violence? Let the show begin.
