The first day of the Republican National Convention began with a band merrily playing a classic 1960s song by The Turtles: “Happy Together.”
Apparently Quicken Loans Arena, along with other security restrictions, has been declared an irony-free zone.
Happy together? Really?
Not only does that not accurately describe the Republican Party, gathered here to crown a candidate so divisive many of the country’s most notable Republicans aren’t showing up, it doesn’t even come close to describing Donald Trump’s view of America.
The theme of this week’s GOP convention, and undoubtedly the theme of Trump’s campaign thus far, has been more like: “So not at all happy together, everybody hates each other, the world is burning, run for your lives!!” It’s as if The Turtles grew up and became a sullen, death-metal band.
Consider the official themes of the convention’s four days: Make America Safe Again; Make America Work Again; Make America First Again; and Make America One Again.
Those, along with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan, assert that America is not safe, not working, no longer No. 1, not united and not great.
So happy together!
The truth is this: Donald Trump is a fear sprinkler, and America is his lawn.
His approach has been to spray the country with divisive rhetoric — Deport! Ban Muslims! Something bad is going on! — watch the fear grow and then promise that he and only he can mow that fear down. How? By being strong! By being tough! With law and order!
There are no specifics. Trump doesn’t believe in specifics. He figures that when your lawn is knee-high, you don’t ask for an explanation of how the lawn mower works.
Fortunately for the country, even with horrific tragedies like the murder of law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge, La., and Dallas and racial tensions stoked by videos of police shooting unarmed black men, not everyone’s falling for Trump’s “the end is near” pitch.
Many protesters gathered in Cleveland’s Public Square on Monday to chant and wave signs in opposition to Trump refuse to see the country as the divided mess he claims it to be.
“We’re not in the best state, but we’re not in the worst either,” said Hala Sanyurah, communications coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Columbus. “The way Trump describes things, we’re in the purge. It’s not every man against himself or groups against minorities. The media can make it seem like the world is a negative place and in a negative state, but in reality, if you look outside the media, we’re really not.”
Daniel Gutierrez, a 17-year-old from Wisconsin protesting with the immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, sees Trump stirring up racial animosity and then pointing at it and saying, “See, I told you so!”
“We’ve been receiving such hatred,” Gutierrez said. “And for him to say, ‘Our country’s on fire.’ I say, ‘Hey, we’re the ones who’ve been receiving all this hatred — from you. That’s what we’re protesting.'”
President Barack Obama made a reasoned plea to Americans on Sunday, in the wake of the Baton Rouge murders, to “temper our words and open our hearts.”
Trump ignored that, said Obama has no idea what he’s doing and called America a “divided crime scene.”
Then he lined up speakers for Monday night — like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and fiercely anti-immigrant Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions — who have a history of divisiveness.
I assume Trump watched — or was at least told about — the chaos that broke out Monday afternoon on the convention floor as Republicans opposed to his nomination chanted disapproval and, in some cases, walked out.
It was a fitting demonstration of what Trump, the fear sprinkler, brings. Division. Outrage, even among members of his own party.
He spent much of his campaign preaching the evils of the Republican establishment, and that won him supporters who feared only he had their best interests at heart.
We’ll see how that works out.
But for now, let’s go back to The Turtles: “Imagine how the world could be, so very fine, so happy together.”
If you want to believe that’s what’s happening in Cleveland — of what Trump would bring to America — you have to imagine awfully hard.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com
