The Reality of the Midwest, Not Glee

Lima, Ohio is the town where the show Glee takes place. If you watch the show it has a lot of middle class happy people and they are all doing well. That is not the reality. In 1999 a documentary was made about the town. The show was called, "Lost in Middle America (and what happened next).

Lima is like a lot of the Midwest, deindustrialized with less and less hope. While it is relatively easy for people who are doing well and living on the coast to disparage Trump voters as racist, xenophobic and sexist, the reality is a little more complicated. For people in Detroit, Pittsburg and hundreds of cities in the Midwest, there are no jobs. These people want jobs and they are laughed at by people in Washington D.C. and New York as stupid.

The Democratic party used to be for the workers; but, no longer. It is focused on social issues and ignores economic ones. The new Democrats are people who make their money in the tech industries and minorities. That is the reality. The Republican party in the meantime is now filled with people in the financial industry and what is left of the manufacturing workers. This election was about traditional workers in both parties revolting against their parties establishment.

In regards to the Democratic party, the establishment won and the workers lost. Hillary said nothing about bringing jobs back or even slowing their leaving. In regards to the Republican party, the workers won and the establishment lost. Trump mainly spoke about bringing jobs back.

Both parties are now reshaping themselves and it will be interesting to see if either party reaches out to the working class in the future. The media, for it's part, has made it clear, they do not like, respect or want to hear from the workers who have lost their jobs. They could at least show some sympathy and try and offer something to them; but, they just don't care about them.