OVER the last 20 years, I‘ve written well over a thousand articles, maybe sent tens of thousands of emails, and delivered maybe a few hundred talks. Many were well-received and most are results of analysis, rational logic and careful study.
Mostly, I get polite applause or praise. For many, I’m rational, logical and credible. I seldom get comments or arguments over my writings here, but then, its hard to argue with facts. After all, computers are about logic and facts. If you develop a software that does not compute, your program won’t run or won’t even compile. If this is TV, I’m a documentary, not a teleserye. No emotional strings, no frenzy, no going gaga.
A few months ago, Donald Trump came into the scene and became the butt of jokes. Nobody really took him seriously and the matter that he would be a serious candidate was an impossibility. He was branded a clown for his presidential attempt and many Americans said he was really an embarrassment.
While he is a billionaire, even most businessmen did not really look up to him, considering his companies have at different times declared bankruptcy. He was made a joke of most sitcoms and news programs.
Consider some of the really ridiculous things he said:
“Mexicans are bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”
“Sen. John McCain is not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured.”
“I will build the greatest wall on Mexico, and I will make them pay for it.”
“How stupid are the people of Iowa?”
“The concept of global warming was created by the Chinese to make US manufacturing non-competitive.”
“If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America?”
“Barack Obama’s birth certificate is a fraud.”
“It doesn’t matter what media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful piece of ass.”
But the joke is now on the Americans, as it looks like Trump will win the nomination.
He was crazy. But according to one analyst, by being like that, he basically got over $2 billion worth of free advertising publicity.
Famous author Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, has this to say why Trump won: “First, Trump knows people are basically irrational.
That being so, he knows he can completely ignore reality in favor of emotional appeal. He understands humans are 90 percent irrational and act accordingly. People vote based on emotion, period. And by running on emotions, facts don’t matter.
There are plenty of important facts Trump does not know. But he knows it don’t matter. So he ignores them. And if facts don’t matter, you can’t be ‘wrong’. From a rational point of view, Trump looks stupid, evil and crazy. But he understands persuasion. And when facts don’t matter, he can bend reality.”
We now have a leading candidate who is called the Philippines’ Trump. Used the same tactics, uttered even more outrageous comments. Will he make it? If he does, then it will surely be said that we are really no smarter than the Americans.
(wilson@ngkhai.com)