ABSTRACT
One of the largest problems in the United States today is dramatic and growing inequality, between a small elite, often labeled the 1 percent, though it is more accurately the 0.01 percent, and everyone else, and between whites and blacks. This inequality has far-reaching implications that extend beyond the quality of life to influence what people think, how they behave and how they vote. This chapter explores the ways Republicans have been cultivating indignation and white grievance for several decades to great effect, with that resentment manifesting in Trump’s election victory in 2016 and the chaos that has ensued ever since. It explores this inequality and its relationship to the psychology of cynicism before considering youth and solidarity in diversity moving forward.
