Donald Trump’s unexpected victory in the US presidential election came as a stunning blow to the world. People are worried not because Trump looked incompetent, but because what he represents unnerved them. Indeed, the international community’s fear that racial bias will prevail in American society has manifested itself already in the United States.

Some white Americans flashed pickets saying, “White, again!” and in the Deep South, white supremacists wearing KKK robes and hoods insolently marched in the streets. In a college bulletin, someone posted a message saying, “Are you sick of anti-white propaganda? You’re not alone.” Another poster said, “The humanities professors are to be blamed for brainwashing their students with ideas like diversity.” Alas! American liberal education seems to have failed largely, if not completely.

Indeed, racism seems to be rapidly spreading everywhere in the States. A white American assaulted a Muslim woman right after Trump won the election. Another white man reportedly shouted at an Asian-American, “Get out of my country! Go back to where you came from!” The Asian-American presumably wanted to yell back, “Your country? Aren’t you a descendant of an immigrant yourself?” A white worker said in a TV interview, “Immigrants took my job away.” But is it not true that white Americans, who are the majority, have taken most of the jobs available while most minority immigrants do menial jobs? Is it also not true that employers prefer immigrant workers because white workers’ wages are too high?

As they helplessly watch the recent developments in America, intellectuals worldwide are devastated because they are reminded of the fall of the Roman Empire. They exclaim, “My God, what’s happening to America! This is not the America we used to know.” They are appalled that all the virtues and values that America has embodied and represented are now hopelessly going down the drain. The strength of America comes from her colorful diversity, both ethnic and cultural. Without it, what is America anyway? The slogan, “White, again!” will betray and deny the ideals and dreams of the Founding Fathers on which America was founded.

After the US presidential election results came out, one of my American friends wrote to me, lamenting, “It is so sad. This marks the end of American decency, or what was left of it. We are doomed.” A famous American writer, who was scheduled to come to Korea, abruptly canceled his trip because of the outcome of the presidential election. Many American intellectuals are ashamed and grieved at the grim situation and the bleak future of America.

Watching the clashes between the pro-Trump and the anti-Trump demonstrations, one cannot help but feel that America is currently engaged in a civil war, divided by the Republican red states and the Democratic blue states. The hostility in contemporary American society is now seriously undermining the great nation, once the land of hopes, dreams and opportunities. Now the United States seems to be divided and deteriorating. Californians are even considering a Calexit, along the lines of Brexit. The irony is that those who voted for Trump were mostly working class people from the Rust Belt who wanted an Amexit of their own.

On the bright side, not all white Americans would join such vulgarities. Many Republican Party members and supporters are decent enough to oppose racism, sexism and xenophobia. Likewise, even Trump, who seems exceptionally shrewd, would not want to see America implode because of racial or other prejudices. Besides, America has a solid social and political system that cannot be demolished easily. What America has represented as a world leader and what she has demonstrated as an admirable, respectful nation for the past century will not go down easily either. Besides, half of Americans proved that they still believe in and support the most cherished ideals of America such as diversity and generosity.

The people who voted for Trump were those who were disillusioned with the soft foreign policy of the Obama administration, the corrupt executives in Wall Street, and the militant PC movement that has been exceedingly hostile to white people for the past few decades. They were also angry at the negative side effects of liberalism, such as the effects of drugs, sexual dissipation and broken-up homes. They blame liberals and liberal education for the corruption of America because they think the latter has turned America into Sodom and Gomorrah.

As the winner, Trump now holds all the cards. Depending on his choice, he can hit the jackpot or lose the game and go bust. Professor Lee O-young once pointed out that when Westerners play cards, they are playing with symbols of human relationships based on love, money, war and agriculture such as a heart, diamond, spade and clover. We can only hope that Trump turns outs to be a skillful card player. We hope he considers all the complex aspects of human relationships and chooses wisely. Depending on his decision, Trump can make America great and colorful once again, or simply make America white and shameful. It is his call now. 

By Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. He can be reached at sukim@snu.ac.kr. -- Ed.