The Know-Nothing Tide; New York Times, 5/16/16

Roger Cohen, New York Times; The Know-Nothing Tide:

"A know-nothing tide is upon us. Tribal politics, anchored in tribal media, has made knowing nothing a badge of honor. Ignorance, loudly declaimed, is an attribute, especially if allied to celebrity. Facts are dispensable baggage. To display knowledge, the acquisition of which takes time, is tantamount to showing too much respect for the opposition tribe, who know nothing anyway."

How Trump Made Bigotry Fashionable; Huffington Post, 5/10/16

Evelyn Leopold, Huffington Post; How Trump Made Bigotry Fashionable:

"Many Trump followers are looking for jobs and perhaps a strong authoritarian leader. They have a, fear of change and a fear of jihadist threats since September 11, 2001 and the bombings in France and Belgium. The easy answer is to find scapegoats and Trump has given them a list to justify nativism.

More disturbing than propagating propaganda (phony figures, for example, showing most whites are killed by blacks) is his denial that words have consequences. He insists he is not responsible for chaos and physical violence at his rallies.

As author Jodi Picoult wrote in Salem Falls:

“Words are like eggs dropped from great heights; you can no more call them back than ignore the mess they leave when they fall.”"