Opinion: The MAGA movement is just a skewed rendition of "Let America be America Again"


On Friday, when we were reading Langston Hughes's poem, Let America be America Again, Sohum was given the last line: "And Make America again!". Sohum, very nearly said: "Make America Great Again!". It may have been an honest mistake, but I found some deeper meaning behind his Freudian slip. I found that the MAGA movement, was just a skewed rendition of Langston Hughes's poem. 

The MAGA movement built its roots from the "Occupy Wall Street Movement". Discontent with the disparity of wealth in this country, people marched upon Wall Street in New York City. They deemed themselves the 99%, and hated that the '1%'. In fact, it is through this movement, that major present-day GOP figures, like Ted Cruz, got elected. Though the protest was in 2011, the ripple effect could be felt even in 2015, when Donald Trump descended the 'golden escalator'. To the members of OWS, Trump had effectively cut ties with those that they had fought against, building a sense of ethos with these protesters, much like what Langston Hughes does, by referencing the different marginalized communities of the past. By blaming American unemployment on Mexico, and promising a wall, and return of American jobs, Trump resonated with the blue-collar worker, like those  in Youngstown, Ohio, who lost their jobs due to globalization.

Langston Hughes built ethos, and a sense of connection with his audience, by referencing the "The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies". Trump built a connection with his audience through epithets, like "Crooked Hillary", "Crazy Nancy", "Crying Chuck", and even "That Woman From Michigan". Though this may have seemed like just pure bullying from Trump, he builds a connection with his base, insinuating that politicians that they don't side with, are crooked, and crazy. By doing this, Trump quietly polarized American politics

 I leave you with my Krazy Opinion for the Week: Hughes's poem, was a powerful one, inspiring many Americans to try to return America to its glory. Trump's movement was equal if not more powerful than Hughes's.

Comments

  1. Owen CaiNovember 13, 2022 at 6:21 PM

    This blog was very interesting. Not only were you able to connect a small detail from a class read aloud, but you also built upon it quite nicely and with a unique perspective. I never would've thought to make a connection like this.

    ReplyDelete

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