Trump's Campaign Proves That America Is Rigged Against The Poor

Every major political issue Clinton and Trump claim to care about can be tied to the fight for equal access to quality education for all American students. And while Trump in all his mediocrity leaves much to be desired, his claims that America is unjust and rigged in many ways rings true - even if he himself has not or perhaps cannot wrap his mind around how.
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For many Americans, the 2016 presidential election has left a bad taste in their mouths. More common than talk about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's email transgressions, repugnancy over Republican nominee Donald Trump's inflammatory and often downright problematic rhetoric, or vapid conversations surrounding third party candidates Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, is a shared sense by many that America deserves better.

Perhaps most stunning in an election where the two leading candidates could not possibly be further apart on most issues is the fact that our collective political conversation continues to devolve into a shouting match - often in response to Trump's latest vexatious remarks and unrelated to the major policy decisions that lie ahead. Trump's claims have run the gamut - from positing that global warming is a Chinese created hoax, to suggesting the Clintons killed former aide Vince Foster, to praising world dictators, to questioning the legitimacy and citizenship of President Barack Obama, to commenting on women's looks, religious freedom, and even their menstrual cycle. Buried within many of Trump's assertions is his belief that the presidential race in which he finds himself and surely the country itself is rigged. Love or hate him, Trump is absolutely correct.


Trump himself, and his pedestrian campaign, fully represent the ways in which America is rigged against the poor in this country.

And to be clear, talk centering on the ways in which American institutions are rigged is nothing new. Democratic superstars Elizabeth Warren and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders have moved millions with fiery speeches about the ways in which the American system is rigged against the "little guy." The difference between these stalwart rebukes and Trump's whining, however, is in the subject. Warren and Sanders have raised awareness to the ways in which American financial systems are rigged against the average American, while Trump's rigging claims focus solely on himself. Narcissism aside, though, Trump is spot-on. Ironically enough, Trump himself and his pedestrian campaign, fully represent the ways in which America is rigged against the poor in this country.

Trump serves as the current poster child for just how power and wealth provide unparalleled access to success in this country - and apparently the ability to run for president, absent any qualitfications. Trump's family wealth provided him the opportunity to attend prep schools (e.g. the Kew-Forest School of Forest Hills, NY) and some of the nation's premier collegiate institutions. That same wealth allowed Trump's father to gift him a "small loan" of $1 million to jumpstart his now global business, which thereby allowed Trump to provide his children similar access to the world stage. Wealth does indeed beget wealth. And to be clear, no one should fault Trump for being wealthy; however, his success does beg the question: what allows for the current and long-lasting racial disparities in generational wealth.

Without question, the racial disparities that exist today stem directly from 400+ years of free labor white families stole from enslaved Africans. The persistence of these racial disparities is arguably exasperated by the rigging of American systems that has led to the disproportionate incarceration of American minorities (recently highlighted in "13th" by Ava DuVernay) and segregation of American minorities in communities of poverty with limited access to quality schools.

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It is widely known that while poverty does not correlate to children's intelligence or ability to learn and achieve at high levels, it does directly correlate to children's preparedness when entering kindergarten and later school success. (The good news is that the gap in kindergarten readiness between affluent and poor children is seemingly shrinking). It is also widely known that one's educational success directly correlates with their ability to attend college, lifetime earning potential (thereby the economy), social and civic engagement (thereby voter turnout), lifelong health (thereby healthcare), and ability to move freely in the circles in which Trump and Clinton, among many others, find themselves.

Why then hasn't there been much more conversation about education in this presidential election? Or any for that matter? Perhaps it is because it is not as sensational or tantalizing as Clinton's emails or the myriad of sex scandals in which Trump finds himself. Perhaps the reason is much more nefarious, in that those with power and wealth remain most concerned with maintaining their societal position and ensuring that their children have access to America's most elite schools. Not to mention, our capitalistic society requires a constant "under class." Meanwhile, American politicians only seem interested in symbolic and/or incremental change versus system overhauls - the likes Warren and Sanders call for or that would be needed to ensure all children in this country are afforded an excellent education. As a result, the most disadvantaged students - those segregated in failing schools with ineffective teachers and leaders - often students of color - remain invisible in the current political circus.

"I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves or figments of their imagination, indeed, everything and anything except me." - Ralph Ellison (Invisible Man)

Every major political issue Clinton and Trump claim to care about can be tied to the fight for equal access to quality education for all American students. And while Trump in all of his mediocrity leaves much to be desired, his claims that America is unjust and its systems rigged ring true - even if Trump himself has not or perhaps cannot wrap his mind around how. The deafening silence regarding issues of education equity is not a sign of how the system is rigged; it is in fact one of the many ways the system remains rigged.

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