Morning Sides or "Morgenseiten" is 
These past three years have left me dizzy -- right and left have lost most of their meaning. I'll never forget the sunny November day in 2008 after President Obama was elected. Like millions of others, I had projected all kinds of personal hopes and dreams unto him. Think about it, even the Nobel Prize committee gave him the Peace Prize based on their expectations of what he would do. I had to fight back the tears when he appeared at the park in Chicago with his family for a victory celebration. America elected an African-American with a Muslim name, HOPE had WON!
Eight years later the big banks were bigger than ever, the national debt had doubled, and the Big Brother surveillance state was stronger than ever. The "Arab Spring" was heralded as a game changing moment, but instead it left hundreds of thousands dead and displaced. Political correctness was championed as if it were an enlightened development, but it appears instead to be a bridge to an intolerant totalitarian dystopia. Identity politics were cynically used to "divide and conquer."
Many people who voted for President Obama twice ended up voting for Donald Trump, and even a significant number of Bernie Sanders supporters voted for Donald Trump. Despite that fact, Hillary Clinton described Donald Trump's supporters this way:
“You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?” she said to applause and laughter. “The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic — you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.” Hillary Clinton quoted in the NYTimes
Bill Clinton was slick, Barack Obama was smooth, and Donald Trump was an authentic human being. Hillary Clinton didn't understand the power of a genuine connection; however, Trump connected with millions of people who had been disappointed with the promise of "HOPE." They liked his message of unity based upon love of country and ignored the MSM's caricature of him.
Here in Germany I rarely encounter people who understand how and why Donald Trump was elected. Here are a couple of passages from his Inaugural Address, which was an anti-establishment rejection of identity politics, central government control, and economic suicide.
Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are the just and reasonable demands of a righteous public. But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system, flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential...
At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The Bible tells us, “how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”
We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity.
Establishment politicians are panicking because more and more people are rejecting identity politics, it is no longer about left or right, republican or democrat. The simple message of equality of opportunity, freedom, liberty, and security is resonating with people everywhere -- they may find the messenger distasteful, but they like the message.
This weekend the news was about what Kanye West tweeted to his 11 million followers: he loves the way Candice Owens thinks: