The Politics of Resentment Essays 1 and 2
In current democracies, especially in America, resentment is central to modern politics. As Engles states, “political authority has been, in one way or another, invested in managing democratic resentment” (Engles 25). Engles continues to argue that resentment is not being used to better our current democracy in America because resentment is used to target citizens instead of social structures that benefit the wealthy and powerful. That emotion is used to uphold these political systems that are bad for the citizenry as a whole. This is clearly seen since president Trump’s inauguration where there has been an increase in racist incidents since citizens have taken the opportunity to attack others instead of the institutions.
http://time.com/4569129/racist-anti-semitic-incidents-donald-trump/
This resentment was not always apparent in politics, though. Engles frames two rhetoric shifts that were critical in reshaping the American landscape. The first occurred during the founding period when framers of the constitution wanted to rebuke the Greek and Roman misconceptions that democracy was a constant struggle between the mass and the elite to create a more unified democracy. This was accomplished through the rhetoric of enemyship, establishing the idea that “you’re either with us or against us” (Engles 27). I find many parallels between this and Ivie’s ideas in “Making War Difficult” where he states, “anyone who rejects ‘American’ values is deemed un-American” (Ivie 210). This misinterpretation about “patriotism” is still apparent in America today.
https://www.statista.com/topics/2482/patriotism-in-the-us/
The rhetoric of enemyship, however, dates back long before the United States existed. Hobbes opted for unification through naming a public enemy. That way, fear is shared equally by the rich and the poor would direct resentment towards other nations. Today, a once attempt to unify a nation appears to have become a problem in American democracy. There is a resemblance between the ideas Hobbes originally mentions and what president Eisenhower phrased as the military industrial complex in 1961.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY
America is in a constant state of war, whether against other nations, terror, or immigration. War has become a central point in American culture, and has been used to gain political popularity. Below are the approval ratings for president George W. Bush, which spiked after 9/11 when he directed resentment against terrorism and Middle Eastern culture.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/116500/presidential-approval-ratings-george-bush.aspx
While much of U.S. resentment is centered around unifying a largely fractioned public, Nixon changed that notion in the 1960s as part of the second rhetoric shift Engles mentioned. No longer was the rich versus the poor and the few versus the many an issue. Nixon changed the rhetoric to encompass “the great and silent majority” versus “tyranny of the minorities”. Since then, the politics of resentment has become even more central to American life. Nixon created a rhetoric that constructed the “us-versus-them, no-compromise, win-at-all-cost rhetoric” (Engles 81). Nixon was a master at choreographing resentment to divide the playing field further for more support.
Perhaps this idea of tyranny of the minority is what polarized American culture so much, especially in recent times. We have witnessed clashes over immigration policy, the Black Lives Matter movement, and even resentment from the “privileged white.” Especially after president Trump’s election, cultural gaps have “widened. Politically, this translates into race and identity as the main political dividing line” (Bacon).
Clearly, there are many ways resentment has manifested itself in American politics. It is constantly changing and morphing to different views. In the past, enemyship has proved to be an effective way for maintaining the status quo, but more recently, war has become a means for agitation and division. The current state of American politics is fractured, and even more so since president Trump took office. The future of America is unclear and hard to predict, but for the current situation, fragmentation, scapegoating, and victimization appear to be the cultural and political norm.
Citations
Engels, Jeremy. The politics of resentment: a genealogy. University Park (Pa.): The Pennsylvania State U Press, 2015. Print.
Ivie, Robert L. Dissent from War. N.p.: Kumarian Press, Incorporated, 2007. Print.
Perry Bacon, Jr. “The 2016 election exposed America’s deep racial and cultural divides.” NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, 11 Nov. 2016. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.