A brief opinion-editorial piece I wrote about the upcoming November 2020 election in the United States.

1. Star Power
Stephen Cheng
“Do you know what can beat Trump? Star power.”
That’s what somebody told me almost a year ago.
As he explained by analogy: That's how you thwart the schoolyard bully. You get the
popular kid to tell him/her/they to stop. I'm tempted to write "or else" here. Hence, star
power.
He dismissed my reply that running politicians with progressive policy stances will work
despite polls showing that the US general public backs the most basic social-democratic
policies, programs, & institutions like single-payer healthcare, tuition-free higher
education, etc. That explains Bernie Sanders’s popularity. Sanders even intimidates
Trump, come to think of it.
But my discussant merely said those stances were popular anyway. Talk about an
implicit acknowledgment!
But let's get back to the notion of "star power" as a tool, or tactic, against Trump.
Basically, the idea that a celebrity-turned-politician, almost overnight, can lead to Trump
being kicked out of the White House. I don't think there's any question this indicates
how status-driven and commercially minded our culture, as well as society, has
become. And has been for a long time--I think advertising became a major phenomenon
in the late 19th century/early 20th century. Not to mention the "Roaring Twenties",
either.
If you're analyzing this sociologically, historically, and anthropologically, that's probably
the first thing you'll notice--any undergraduate social-sciences student will tell you as
much. Humanities students, too.
I can come off as annoyed, cynical, and resigned about this--that's tempting. I'd also be
justified in feeling frustrated with people who seriously think celebrity status and
popularity, which is to say "star power", can actually work against Trump and the GOP.
But I'd rather think this suggestion, just by being around in the first place, is
instructive.... just as Trump's electoral "victory" in 2016 (we all know Hillary Clinton lost
to Trump--Trump didn't truly win) was salutary in its own right. And even the 2007-2008
financial crisis, for that matter. We can see how much our political and economic
systems have degenerated--with stark clarity. In this sense, the "Left", broadly speaking,
has its work cut out.
Because, if one reflects, why would somebody suggest "star power"? You'd have to be
somebody who thinks there's nothing wrong at the fundamental level. Merely a matter of
removing a "bad apple". Namely, Trump. Incidentally, that's probably why so many rank-

2. and-file New Democrats deluded themselves into thinking that Joe Biden, Michael
Bloomberg, Hillary Clinton, et al., can defeat Trump.
And why Barack Obama called in so many favors for Biden up to and during Super
Tuesday.
If you think Trump himself, alone, is the problem, then you're not going to see any need
to "rock the boat". Indeed, you'll probably go out of your way to oppose anybody who
does.... while complaining about how "uncouth" Trump is.
And if that means opposing a fairly moderate social democrat like Bernie Sanders, then
"so be it", as the "cliché" goes.
That's also telling because, time and again, we've seen and heard Sanders get at the
core issues and suggesting "common sense" solutions. "Common sense" in the rest of
the developed world, of course. Here, the "free market" reigns above all else.
This goes to show how profoundly true this quotation, misattributed to Eric Arthur Blair
a/k/a George Orwell and perhaps apocrypha, is: “In a time of universal deceit, telling the
truth is a revolutionary act”.