The Stunning Election of President Trump: What Does it Mean?
How do you react when you are shocked and shaken up? Do you try to rationalize and explain away the shocking events, or do you allow yourself to be open to a new reality and adjust accordingly?
Shocking moments are reality checks. The way we respond to them teach us volumes about our characters and how trapped we are by our comfort zones and conventional wisdom.
The stunning victory of Donald J. Trump surely goes down as one of the greatest shockers in recent history.
And how people are reacting to it is most telling.
Stunning. History in the making. Shocking upset. The greatest upheaval in US Presidential history. A devastating loss. These are some of the ways that the surprising election of Mr. Trump is being described.
No one (except for a select few, who perhaps are as stunned as everyone) expected it — not in the establishment, not in the government, not in the media. Without even a campaign office in some of the states he won, without a well-oiled political machine, without spending exorbitant sums as the Clinton campaign spent, without the support of his own party, against all the polls and predictions, despite all his guffaws and offensive remarks — despite all the odds, Trump pulled off this sound and astounding victory, winning states in which no one ever expected him to be a contender.
Every one — foremost in the media and political leadership — is rubbing their eyes. Just look at their faces — like a doe caught in the headlights. What happened?! No one can wrap their head around this.
What did indeed happen? Is Trump a genius? Was the establishment and the media too arrogant? Did the blatant bias of the most powerful voices in America backfire? How could so many experts and strategists have so misread the sentiments of the US public? How did a man vilified by many reputable voices win such a resounding victory? What does it say about the credibility and reputation of the venerable New York Times, as one example of many media outlets that made it their crusade to defeat Trump (venturing far beyond their mandate of reporting the news without prejudice)? The questions will certainly be asked for years to come. But will anyone ever find the answers?
Perhaps this belongs in one of those watershed junctures in history which can never fully be understood. Maybe there is an invisible hand which shows its guiding force at key moments in time?
This unprecedented election can only be understood by placing it in historical context of events that are shaking up the world today, forces that are disrupting the existing systems and institutions, leading us into a new era.
Shock is the natural reaction to changes that jolt us out of comfort zones and conventional wisdoms. Shock always comes hand in hand with true transition from one state to another. As we see a ne order arising it disturbs our existing institutions.
Groundswells like these can either overwhelm and upset our very foundations, they can demoralize and disorient us; or they can be seen as convulsions preceding a new birth.
If we allow our egos to stand in the way, we will look to blame others and all types of factors (except ourselves) for these shake-ups. However if we stand humble, and set aside our own agendas, we can allow these seismic shifts to open up new horizons.
When your comfort zone is challenged you can either feel threatened or you can embrace the new possibilities and opportunities it opens us up to.
Ask yourself: When things don’t turn out the way you expected, do you try to find ways to explain it away, or do you challenge yourself and your expectations? In other words: Do you adjust reality to fit your existing framework, or do you adjust your framework to fit the new realty?
How you answer this question will define, with far-reaching implications, your personality and your capacity for growth.
I submit that the shocking or stunning election of the 45th US President is far bigger than Mr. Trump and the electorate. It is part of many dramatic changes taking place in the world today – in the Middle East, in Europe and in the USA. It is the “invisible hand” of history exposing to us that we are on the threshold of a new world order.
We are now at a major juncture. And we have a choice how to proceed: Either we will embrace a new unknown and be part of a new era, or we will stubbornly hold on to the past and to our old perception, criticizing what we don’t understand, and thus dooming ourselves to a faded yesterday.
As a recent Noble Laureate wrote in the turbulent 60’s: Come mothers and fathers throughout the land, and don’t criticize what you can’t understand, your sons and your daughters are beyond your command, your old road is rapidly agin’, please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand, for the times they are a-changin’. The full text is below.
How we choose will make all the difference.
Please go here to view a more elaborate talk I gave last night on this topic.
Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’
For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’
It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin’
Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’
Thank you! May we see, in a revealed way, the hand of G-d guiding our leaders, and all of us, rapidly to what signs I saw as a youth during the massive massive peace marches in San Francisco:
The signs were about beating swords into plowshares, and nation not lifting up sword against nation any more, but it really was. . . .
Signs calling for the coming of Moshiach!!
The protesters were decrying the Vietnam war then, but there was a bigger picture . Trump was elected and there is a bigger picture, also.
I think the damage that has been done to AmeriKa over the last couple of decades may be irreversible. One thing I do know is that President Trump will be a friend and supporter of Israel, unlike obama and the clintons.
Things may not have turned out as expected, due to some of the reasons the article mentioned, but they turned out as i had hoped. The shock i felt was over the direction the U.S. was headed in. Changing times……hopefully for the better.
Dear Rabbi Jacobson, Thank you, for your video on the Trump election and this commentary. However, I have two concerns:
1) You mention lines from a “recent Nobel Laureate” but you do not mention who that person is. I assume it is Bob Dylan. It seems to me that his name should be mentioned out of respect for his work. In addition, I hope that you obtained permission to reprint the lyrics, which may be subject to copyright. (If so, it might be good to mention that permission was granted in the text.)
2) I wrote a short note on RESPECT which appears on Chabad.org . Here is the link: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/880178/jewish/Musings-About-Respect-and-the-Omer.htm
(You can Google for this note easily with:” Respect Chabad”) Chabad is all about respect for everyone.
3) As a result of the election, I am thinking of sharing my ideas on mutual respect on an ongoing basis. I think part of the reason we lack respect, is because we may feel that we can AVOID certain people and situations in life. We can OPT OUT. But there are situations where opting out is not possible or desirable. The election outcome is an example. The journeys of Avraham has many examples. Noach opted out.
THANKS SO MUCH Harry in Rochester (EASY button guy)
WOW! I love your articles but reading the lyrics of Bob Dylan (one of my favorite songwriters) reminded me of his genius! The times are changing and may the hand of Hashem guide us in the right direction. The moral relativism and secular humanism of the 70’s and onward have been and continue to ruin our country. This article coming out on Veterans Day will hopefully be a sign that all those who have sacrificed their lives, limbs as well as their families and friends throughout the generations, will not have given it in vain.
Very excellent, but not sufficient credit to the author of this ode:
Bob Dylan. A Jew.
Please correct.
Rabbi Jacobson frequently offers an insightful interpretation of current events, life and Torah. I find his Wednesday evening online lesson to be enlightening and helpful. I truly appreciate Rabbi Jacobson’s insights into our president elect. It has given me a much needed way to think of our country’s future. Many thanks
are you kidding me? what you write and all the comments above make me ashamed to even be associated with this brand of orthodoxy. It’s why I left and – though I was on my way back – I will not return.
it sounds like your saying is that the ‘invisible hand’ is behind the outrageous and sickening election of this scoundrel. do you call everything you like this ‘invisible hand’?
then you not-so-subtly say that we should embrace this new era of racism, sexism, and the end of health care and social services for the poor. otherwise you say, “we will stubbornly hold on to the past and to our old perception.”
this is so disgusting i want to scream. why is equality and help for the poor and mentally ill an “old perception” that needs to be changed. i’m no Torah scholar, but I know that this is what i was taught that God loves us and cares for us.
and is trump’ perceived love of Israel worth getting rid the rest of our other values (which i highly doubt – and he is such a liar how could you)
but really, who are you to say what the “invisible hand” is or is doing. are you God? are you that egotistical? you used to write like you cared about people – all people; but now i see what a lie that was. so sad.
i’m unsubscribing from your work from now on.
The sun is setting and Shabbat is beginning. I am not sure how to respond to your post as I have many concerns. I, too, believe that Hashem is present to help us and guide us.
Sadly, if I support Trumps election I will be supporting those people who are staunch and unyielding who believe in the destruction of other human beings (is this a throwback to the 60’s when we will find ourselves hanging from trees again?). How can I support the Ku Klux Klan, the white supremacist movement, and the Neo-Nazi movement? Yes, I realize that they are part of life too. And in this recognition, I still try to see the face of G-d in them as well.
I am still trying to see the face of G-d in Mr. Trump (despite his own lying, cheating, abusive behaviors and hurtfulness to other human beings whom he has come into contact with and employed over the years). He, too, is currently being investigated and has had scandals that have occurred.
Sadly, at this time, I see no one as winning. The problem is, that when I respond to comments and post, those people who are hard-core and don’t see the face of Hashem in myself, respond with vitriol. This to me is sad as my practice remains to try to see the face of G-d in everyone who walks this earth.
I personally am scared. I hear Trumps rhetoric coupled with his ego-centered behaviors and immediately think of Hitler. Hitler was an elected official as well. I hope that this does not come about. I know how many people are truly upset about what effect Mr. Trump will have on them and whether or not Lives will be lost. These are people who are black, Mexican, LGBT, and/or Islamic, amongst others. How do we teach our children to see the face of Hashem in everyone if such hatred is being spewed across this country right now?
I truly hope for a Shabbat Shalom and Shavua Tov. We need to look toward repair and working together.
ENJOYED AND PRINTED YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE RESULTS OF A “WONDERFUL ELECTION.”
Dear Rabbi Jacobsen,
I hope you and your family are keeping well.
Thank you for your wise words as always
Yes times are a changing as there is clearly a whole parallel world (I’m sure many worlds) where so many have felt marginalized and ignored for a long time. So many have not shared in the wealth and life that have bee created over the past 50 years, many have known much hardship and disappearing opportunity while those who have succeeded live without enough though for those who missed out but are still trying their hardest. They perhaps are rightly aggrieved and their voice has now been heard and its not a happy one. And the messenger has come wrapped in elements of malice.
There is so much good in advancing human rights and tolerance that has been achieved in the past 50 years but like everything in life we havent got everything right.
Your email inspired me to subscribe to fox news on facebook and talk in forums to hardline trump supporters and really listen and hopefully start to build some sort of real bridge. The discussions have been interesting so far, some more extreme than others, but the one thing that comes through is how upset and fed up these people are with what they perceive has been the wrong way to live especially around rules they see have been broken that they have lived by and how relieved they are that Trump is in. They see the good in Trump and the bad in the ‘establishment’ and many disregard his flaws as many on the liberal side do for their own beliefs and candidates.
In the end, at our own peril, we ignore, dismiss and disregard and ultimately disrespect each other and idealize our own beliefs in such a rigid fashion that we lose touch with our ability to listen with open minds.
Perhaps the message in all this is that we are all responsible for this outcome as we are all connected – always have been and always will be.
Wish you my very best.
I do not know anyone who is surprised. But I live in Israel… In fact, the only private people I know, on both continents, who expected a Clinton victory were either strongly partisan Democrats or on the farthest left of the poitical spectrum. I truly hope the times they are a’changin’, but not with a return to the 60s misdirection. That would not be change, that would be a continuation of the 60 years of closemindedness that that decade initiated. The narrowmindedness that s causing the childish anxiety and violent acting out by young people who are not used to dealing with intellectual or cultural diversity as opposed to meaningless symbolics.
Yes, the times they are a changing’ Rabbi. However, not for the better.
As stated in a prior comment, I too am still trying to see the face of Hashem in Mr. Trump (despite his own lying, cheating, abusive behaviors and hurtfulness to other human beings whom he has come into contact with and employed over the years). He, too, is currently being investigated and has had scandals that have occurred. His refusal to allow all his assets (including those in which his closest family members have interests) to be placed in a third party blind trust, to exclude his children from running his empire while he is President, and his refusal to discloses income taxes belie his calls for “draining the swamp” and integrity in government. He does not care for integrity and his Trump University scandal is just another example of it, as is his lack of loyalty to Chris (Lap Dog) Christie who sacrificed so much for Mr. Trump and then was stabbed in the back by the son in law, Palace Token Jew, Jared Kushner, who, by the way, will not be protected successfully when the stormers come marching in again. Her come the empowered Daily Stormers, right into our government, and hate crime has been legitimized by this election result. President Obama’s words of advice to his counterparts abroad today should be taken seriously.
From what I can see, there is a very thin bench to choose cabinet members and other high level appointees from because most of them are put off by this president elect’s words and actions. Many are scary individuals (Bannon, Flynn, for example) and do not have a particularly distinguished record nor have they set an example for our youth.
Others are as establishment as they come (i.e., Sessions, despite the “drain the swamp” philosophy that inhibits the selection of some very qualified individuals). Nepotism was legislated out of existence after Bobby Kennedy’s terms as JFK’s Attorney General and a 35 year old billionaire son-in-law who happens to be Jewish, is not more qualified than some of the more senior and experienced establishment republicans and democrats. Why is Colin Powell not offered a position? How about Condi Rice?
Does “draining the swamp” mean not putting all Trump family assets into a third party blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest?
Also, where is the diversity in selections made for high positions? Where are the highly qualified women, minorities, Democrats, etc? Why does Jared get to purge Chris Christie whose sins are far less than those committed by Jared’s father, for which Christie rightfully and lawfully prosecuted Senior Kushner as NJ Attorney General? Ben Carson refuses any post in Trump’s government because he does not feel qualified yet he ran hard and long for the Presidency? is this a joke? Or is Uncle Ben telling us something in code? He does not appear to be pleased with the early part of this transition. At least Uncle Ben, like President Obama, has lots of class.
Giving high level positions to firebombers like Flynn and Bannon who will take us down the path to a new brand of McCarthyism, if not WW III, is a recipe for disaster for the PWTs and deplorables who were Trump’s biggest supporters.
Again, be careful what you wish for, Rabbi Jacobson.
And remember, other fascist leaders had a house Jew like Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. In the words of the late German Pastor Reinhard Niemoller:
“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Again, choose your words carefully, Rabbi, and do not be offended by these. However, I am so sad that a strong minority of Orthodox Jews failed to put love of country above hatred for Hillary.
Mike’s comment best reviews the rabbi’s words. “WHO ARE YOU TO SAY WHAT THE INViSIBLE IS OR WHAT IS DOING. ARE YOU G-D? Rabbi, are you that egotistical and arrogant to think you know the mind of Hashem? Who knows what the outcome of all this is. Doesnt look good from my human perspective. Israel came out of the Holocaust if we use the Rabbi’s reasoning. The invisible hand at work. It may be. The more I comment the more I see the Rabbi has a point. (Confused)
Donald Trump is a huge promoter and exemplar of the disunity, egoism, selfishness, antagonism, and materialism that Rabbi Simon Jacobson teaches us to leave behind in favor of spirituality, generosity, selflessness, and unity. If Donald Trump’s election in 2016 is the herald of a new world order, how can anyone happily accept and conform to such a new order?
I now regret making such a strident comment. If possible, could the Moderator of this website please delete the comment that I wrote above. Thank you.