Jobs were lost decades ago

Some have proposed the mantra of foregone manufacturing jobs as an impetus for change. The truth is: These jobs were traded away decades ago. By the time Bill Clinton got into office with NAFTA, which was passed with Republican votes and opposed by Democrats such as Dick Gephardt, the cast had already been set.

Of course, this is not the real reason for this sudden outpouring for change. For this, one would have to delve deeper. Nobody really expects a man known to hire illegals and fight the unions of Las Vegas to come to the rescue of the working man in the guise of offering livable incomes.

Perhaps it was Susan Faludi in her 1999 book titled “Stiffed” that comes nearest in describing the demise of the modern working man and this fascination for a return to the mores of the 1950s. Maybe the real culprit is a feeling of insignificance and the desire for recognition. This is the true catalyst why demagogues are chosen with their super-inflated egos, to compensate for the rest whose self-image has become chest-fallen and seemingly irretrievable.

In the quest to fulfill this void, scapegoats are needed as well as blinders. The real causalities in this backward devolution are other segments of society who have struggled to find a respectable place. A culture that encourages belittlement is not only anachronistic, but a downright lie. A real man silently goes his way toward the cross while lesser men sleep, complain and rationalize. Unfortunately, the old cliche is true: Real men don’t cry, and quite frankly that is mostly what is heard concerning those who resort to fifth-grade tactics in the attempt to mask their own inadequacies. A good job can help, but not from old crumbling brickyards accompanied by specters of the past.

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Jobs were lost decades ago."