Writing for Huffington Post, Paul Glover—an author, activist, and former professor of urban studies—argues that whenever Donald Trump finally leaves office, Trumpism will not go with him. Glover suggests that Trump’s tenure will coarsen not only US but global politics for a long time, and only a social movement will be able to reverse the trend. Here’s an excerpt from Glover’s piece:
Completely reversing dangerous trends, to build a stable economy based on ecology and justice, requires us to rebuild our nation, our cities, our own lives, starting where we live. New infrastructure will reduce fossil fuel use to a fraction. This gigantic task will fully employ the next ten generations.
At the same time, the middle class can rebuild itself as a powerful and generous Mutual Class. The Mutual Class gets ahead by getting together. We protect our homes and happiness without attacking the poor, by creating housing co-ops on land trusts, by starting health co-ops, starting solar co-ops and insulation co-ops, by expanding urban agriculture, establishing free universities that teach neighborhood management, moving our money into credit unions that support the above, and even printing our own community currencies.
These practical local and regional models reclaim direct control of land, law, and money, for people who are eager to fix problems rather than gripe. As they merge nationally they will pull authority toward sanity again.
Image: Trump dumps entire container of fish food into precious koi pond during a visit with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. Via The Guardian.