I find it difficult to dwell on this subject, but in the aftermath of the election last year, with so many people asking one another what went wrong, I feel the need to finally weigh in. Like most of my friends, I had hopes of a Democratic victory, but also had profound doubts, having witnessed the other candidate's merciless path to victory over his fellow Republicans. And when I was privately approached by inquiring friends the day after Clinton's defeat, I had but one explanation, which terrified me every time I thought about it. Forget for a moment about the Russians, the Republicans, and the Federal email investigation. In the end, only one group of people will be blamed for the Democrats' disaster, whether justly or not. And where there is blame, there will be retribution.
Future generations will likely be taught that one of the greatest betrayals in human history happened in 2016, when black men refused to endorse, support or even show up to vote for Hillary Clinton, despite the overwhelming support among liberal whites for Barack Obama in 2008. This stunning treachery, which has not been seen in the last hundred years of identity politics, will have profound consequences for African-Americans well into the 21st century, as Northern Whites, who have until this point been the only steadfast allies of blacks, search for some way to have vengeance.
The last time something like this happened was in 1917, when the German elite were accused of betraying their nation by orchestrating a premature surrender to the French and British in World War I. Within a generation, the German people had overcome the humiliation of war reparations, and had re-industrialized, re-armed, and invaded half the nations of the world, laying waste to any and all metropolitan areas that fell into their grasp. Meanwhile, the elites who they had blamed their defeat on ended up imprisoned, tortured, and executed by the millions. So when I mention "profound consequences", I'm referring to something of that magnitude happening in America within the coming decades.
As to why blacks in the South and in Northern cities chose to either not vote, or to vote for the Republican candidate, I have no real explanation. It took the entire world by surprise. Even many African-Americans couldn't believe it had happened. But it did, and completely fractured what had until then been a healthy, vibrant and nearly invincible demographic coalition. In all honesty, the damage that has been done likely will not be repaired within our lifetime, if ever, as it has ignited a political rivalry that will last for many years, spiraling out of control. My only hope is that, after the dust has settled across this great nation, future generations will gaze back through their history and realize that someone, somewhere, saw the approaching storm, and tried to warn as many people as humanly possible. Perhaps that will count for something.
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