Someone should start a blog – or a Facebook page – with that title. Perhaps they already have. The current president of the United States of America has much to answer for, but his utterances of the past week surely take the prize for ignorance. They are perfect examples of what my late mother would have described as ‘uncouth’.
But what makes me even sadder than the fact that this supposedly educated man, successful in business, holds such views, is the fact that so many ordinary hard working people in North America, Britain and Europe share them and admire him for having, as they see it, the courage to say them aloud.
What have we come to? I am an atheist who, never the less, subscribes to the Christian values I was brought up with. When did people stop teaching those values? When did their students stop listening? Why do so many people believe they are ‘entitled’ to a share of the proceeds of other people’s work? How can the widespread acceptance of such views ‘make America great’? Or give Britons ‘their country back’? In my experience, of over 70 years in Britain, my country was never like that.
Read Rosaliene Bacchus’s article below, in which she quotes from another blogger, living and working to make his way in the USA, having come from one of those countries so disparaged by the man who has done so much to drag his own country into the mire in the eyes of the rest of the world.
Frank Parker's author site 
I am so embarrassed by that man. He does not represent the vast majority of citizens.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for the like and the comment. There was a Facebook thread about his comment which featured quite a few people saying ‘where’s the beef? They are shitholes.’ But I know they do not represent the majority of Americans.
LikeLike
It’s a little misleading to describe Trump as well educated and successful in business. He’s superb at being a con artist, but not much else. He must have started honing this skill at an early age, when he supposedly got through school without ever cracking open a book. His business career is a series of boondoggles that someone else always ended up paying for. And yes, I am embarrassed too.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks for that clarification!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Listening to him this past week, he could have early onset dementia. Its the only thing that makes any sense!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Eloquently put thoughts, Frank. If I may wax flossofical for a moment, in the greater movements, in social movements known as civilizations, just as in weather “ages” there are cycles. Nothing actually really changes over time. The man carrying his kill to the cave is the same man piloting a Boeing 727. Outwardly it’s all different but inwardly, the same mindset holds the center of the wheel and as the wheel turns, so the outer aspects of cycles appear and disappear to reappear again. Unfortunately a short-lived “Earthian” doesn’t know this, cannot remember. Since the Renaissance there has been an apparent change: greater education, greater knowledge and lots of industrial and technological advances along with the social experiment with democracies. On the other hand, mostly hidden from our limited visions, another cycle was preparing, due to entropy caused by our very advances. Medical science and the sudden rapid movements of goods, particularly of food, and the development of mega cities allowed populations to go off the rails. We definitely took advantage of our sudden boon. But the wheel, it kept on turning, inexorably bringing us face to face with the downfall we had inadvertently and ignorantly set in motion. We had an entire 20th C to become aware of this great cyclic change, including two world wars that certainly should have made us question the validity of our civilized thinking. We’re now plunging into two great changes simultaneously: planetary climate change which, it now appears could be a mini ice age, and another dark ages of civilization. We stand at the cusp. DT and such do actually represent the majority; the ignorant, uneducated and entitled or desperate masses about to become revolutionary mobs. DT speaks the vernacular of a plundered and hopeless citizenry, and like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, he will use ethnic minorities, racism and “enemies of the state” to both, placate and incite his supporting mob. With or without Trump things will continue to worsen but most will be blamed on ethic minorities, esp. the non-whites. Then there will be more wars. We’re on the downside of the cycle. Those of us in our seventies will only get a glimpse of the fires, the famines, the genocides and mass deaths by resurgent plagues. The younger ones will bear the brunt of the assault from the two fronts mentioned. Predictably, they will do all in their power to survive and they will fight, thus ensuring their own end through the completion of this cycle. Mankind has yet to clue in on these repeating cycles and learn how to counter them intelligently.
LikeLiked by 2 people
” Those of us in our seventies will only get a glimpse of the fires, the famines, the genocides and mass deaths by resurgent plagues.” I fear we already are. I dread to think what my grand daghter’s life will be like.
LikeLike
Frank, thanks for sharing a link to my blog post. I appreciate your sentiments. It would appear that when secular organizations and governments threw out God and their allegiance to any religious institution, they also threw out the human moral values, present in all religions. Emphasis on individual achievement and success, as separate from the community or society upon which our individual achievements are made possible, set humanity on our path to alienation and self-destruction. Just look at the behavior of our giant corporations that evade paying their fair share of taxes and hide their assets in safe offshore havens.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I guess I remain an optimist despite so many indications to the contrary. As for values, I call them Christian values, but I believe them to be universal values, not necessarily associated with any religion. Variations of the ‘golden rule’, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” are found in all cultures. It ought to be possible for a supposedly intelligent species to understand and practice that without the need for carrot or stick encouragement from some mythical external power.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Quote: “We have so much more in common that it ought to be possible to unite against those who seek to divide us, whilst remaining proud of our heritage, be it Polish, Hispanic, African, Haitian, Irish or whatever.”
As an immigrant myself, I learned some very important lessons in adapting. While I would like to agree with you, that does not work, in fact it’s an oxymoron. No, we cannot, should not, remain “proud” of whatever is our heritage. My parents did that after emigrating from our own version of a “shit hole” country that could not give you work or feed you. They caused their kids (us) so much grief by their pride. Forget the heritage, it’s a main ingredient in conflict. Lesson? Adapt and blend, blend, blend. Paraphrasing from the book of Ruth: “I shall follow you. Your people shall be my people, your God shall be my God.” This does not mean abandoning one’s values, should they prove “superior” as in giving, kindness, caring but it means giving up those “alien” ethnic aspects that are as red flags before a bull. By the same token, those who receive the immigrants, or refugees, should welcome them and support them while they adapt and learn the language and the ways. Then the remaining “problem” of skin tone would not be as much of an issue. The old American concept of the melting pot for immigrants was maybe one of the best ideas to come from that nation. Unfortunately they were already so deeply imbedded in violent racism, the concept would only work if you were a white European, and if you were smart enough to learn and blend. Here in the BC, Canada Lower Mainland there is little racial/ethnic conflict although a large %age of our populations are Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern. We mix and blend. Our large Sikh population wears its turbans, yes, but they don’t flaunt their ethnicity. They’re just like everybody else, truckers, farm workers, taxi drivers, lawyers, teachers, members of Parliament or legislature, leaders of political parties. They’re just people and like all the rest of us non-native or indigenous, they’re immigrants!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Quote: “It ought to be possible for a supposedly intelligent species to understand and practice that without the need for carrot or stick encouragement from some mythical external power.”
Hear! Hear!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I would put “majority of Americans” in the conceptual shithole. There is no such thing. We are the most factionalized, racist (regardless of where you start), caste and socio/ecomonically biased mass of humans on the planet. We live in a country without a “we” mentality. My mayor is a Haitian, not an American. Not even a hyphenated American. “Where did you get your surname?” “I’m Haitain.” Not decsended, not hyphenated, not an American. He’s Haitian. Huh? We’re everything disparate shithole represents most days. The most troubling is the shithole of angst, not big mouthed politicians. We were factionalized stereotype “my flag first” waving cartoons long before we had a “blackish” or a “white trash” president. America is broken. Trump is just another loud mouth who bought his way into political prominence. Given the option I wonder if some of the “better” countries would us shitholers in.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Phil, I guess it’s too easy for people like me, over here in Europe, to forget that all of the USA, apart from the few remaining indigenous tribes, are immigrants. Does that mean that American society is inevitably factionalized? And, by extension, does it mean that those I would regard as racists over here are right and that the increasing levels of immigration to European countries will create similar divisions here? I said in another reply that I am an optimist. I am also, still after all these years, an idealist. We have so much more in common that it ought to be possible to unite against those who seek to divide us, whilst remaining proud of our heritage, be it Polish, Hispanic, African, Haitian, Irish or whatever.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I very much like the idea of a blog titled, “The Shit Hole Chronicles”!!! Spread it around, Frank.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do so share your views on values. Unfortunately, Trump is a product of our society and there are people like him on all sides of the political spectrum. Gone is reasoned debate, to be replaced with uninformed insult. Rosaliene Bacchus’s article is so elegant. Whatever we think of where Mr Trump is going – and, personally, I’m still unsure – behaving like an egotistical oaf demeans the office. I didn’t agree with Obama on everything, but least the man had (and has) style – and he was out for America’s best interests too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Frank,
Trump would have to get beyond himself to care or be concerned with his country and the world. It is all about him and his image. He does not see beyond his pathetic world of ignorance and bigotry. Remember his statement saying he could stand in the middle of Times Square and shoot someone and still get elected. He essentially did. That ‘someone’ was the citizens of the United States. Thank you for the post and the opportunity to sound off my objections to Trump.
LikeLiked by 1 person