Deplorable or unjustly deplored?

We all remember Hillary Clinton's famous insult to Trump-supporters at a black-tie fundraiser in New York City during the 2016 presidential campaign: "You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? [Laughter/applause.] They're racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic – you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that." Trump's supporters in middle America were seizing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to elect a real outsider to the presidency. After being promised again and again by bought and paid for establishment politicians to address their economic needs and cultural concerns, only to be ignored after the election, they were desperate to end the cycle of betrayal.

Fearful that voters might actually break the establishment stranglehold on our presidency just as her turn had finally arrived, Hillary lashed out. In her over-the-top slander, she confirmed the contempt in which the ruling elite held middle America. Apparently realizing she had revealed her true feelings, she spent the next weeks trying to walk back her comments. Then an odd thing happened: middle America embraced Hillary's and the coastal, big-city elite's hatred as a badge of honor and declared themselves "Deplorables." Trump-supporters changed their Twitter and Facebook handles, donned T-shirts, and proudly waved campaign signs embracing their new moniker. A more accurate, if less sardonic, title than "Deplorables" to adopt would have been "Deplored." With few exceptions, these people weren't deplorable at all, and the smear said much more about their resentful accusers than themselves. The accusation has its roots in the Democrats' cultural Marxist ideology – a victimhood philosophy that requires an oppressor. The targets of Hillary's ire are, by and large, the salt of the earth, whose only real sin was opposing her corrupt candidacy. They are the mothers and fathers raising America's next generation. They're the working class who rise before dawn and put in long days at grueling jobs. They're law-abiding citizens who believe in faith, family, and country. They fight our wars, pay their taxes, and give generously to charity. They don't run the nation, but they make the nation run. You won't find the "Deplorables" in the streets, violently attacking political opponents or dressed as genitals protesting election results. They're not out censoring political opinions with which they disagree. They're not in our kids' classrooms, undermining and vilifying our common history and culture. They don't seek victim status, nor are they making claims on the fruits of others' labor. And they didn't use our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to subvert a presidential election. All these "Deplorables" want is a government that puts the nation's interests first. One that creates a safe, wholesome environment in which to raise their kids. One that protects their economic interests and our national borders. A government that doesn't send their sons and daughters off to fight and die in useless wars of no compelling national interest. It shouldn't be too much to ask, and asking shouldn't get you labeled deplorable by an out-of-touch ruling class that still seeks to reverse their vote in 2016.