Books Introvert Eastern Finland Outi Papamarcos moved to the United States and lived Decades of American life until Trump became

Is uncomfortable to engage in social debate when politics is a sheer quarrel. It is even more uncomfortable to wear a shirt with text printed on it Make Lies Wrong Again claims some of his own neighbors are also in the snares of a man spitting toxic lies.

It is particularly uncomfortable to become an election campaign activist if you see yourself as a withdrawing apolitical introvert.

Outi Papamarcos decided to plunge into its area of ​​discomfort in 2020 as the United States prepares for the presidential election Republican Donald Trumpin and a Democrat Joe Biden between. Papamarcos had only one goal in the election: to stop Trump, whom he saw as a threat to his country’s democracy.

He handed out election advertisements to the doors, donated thousands of dollars to Democrats, called and wrote letters to voters, and served as an election observer at the dawn.

The motive for participation is, “It is enough for the good to do that the good do nothing.”

Pennsylvania Papamarcos, 60, a Finnish-American living in the small town of West Grove, has written a frantic book And then came Trumpwhere he breaks his 40-year life in the United States. It is divided into two eras: life before and after the politician Trump.

Papamarcos earned an engineering degree in his youth and pursued a career as an IT giant at IBM before retiring. He married Republicans voting Andynraised three children and paid little attention to politics.

Somewhere in the background Reagan changed BushBush To Clinton and so on. In the election, Papamarcos was a non-attached voter and chose his candidate on the basis of qualifications, for example in 1992 he voted Republican George H. W. Bushia.

Until Trump came.

Like millions of Americans, Papamarcos had previously been curious about Trump, known as a businessman. In the media, Trump was an eccentric courtier who stood beside the voluptuous wives and whose horror story was enough.

“Donald I thought was handsome and sympathetic. If a hairdresser had a magazine written about Trump on a gossip column, I read it, ”writes Papamarcos.

But when the same man entered politics, he proved to be a mafia-like usurper and instigator, to whom truth, democracy, and the building of society were sidelines.

“Trump promises to make everything better and make America great again. But what constructive solutions does he offer to those Americans whose lives are so uncertain and invisible that they seek an escape from reality? (Spoiler alert: none.) ”

For a Finn, Papamarcos’ book is easy to approach, because he mixes up his own life story and makes parables between American and Finnish society. Quotes that lighten gloomy text Tove Jansson From Moomin books and Papamarcos ’underscored humor.

“Trump has become a bastard whose mere name or image makes me shy away. Mörkö, who cries out in the dark for a long time and whose grunts terrified Moomin Valley Dumpling so much that he left his home to hear it. ”

I interviewed Papamarcos ahead of the 2020 election To the HS thingwhere I told him what he liked Reports from Trumppila blog. In his book, he says the visibility brought by the story increased the blog’s readership by thousands of people.

By chance As a child, Papamarcos experienced a similar atmosphere in North Karelia as in the Trump-era United States: the dichotomy of a cutting-edge society.

He lived his childhood in the village of Honkavaara, Uimaharju, where the forest company Enso-Gutzeit built a pulp mill. The father was the manager of the factory and the only staff in the village. The family was seen as a gentleman by the duners who agreed. The Outi girl was a victim of bullying for years.

“I concluded that politics is a vicious game and a poison that challenges neighbors and guys and puts people against each other as‘ us ’and‘ others ’.”

Built for optimism, America was a fresh alternative to the contentious Finland of the 1970s. But what he left behind was found in front of him.

Papamarcos could have made the book based on his own experiences, however And then came Trump is a valid attempt to analyze what Trump really is and how he might have come to power. In addition to being an engineer, Papamarcos has a master’s degree in social sciences who has devoured books and news to support his understanding.

The best part is Papamarcos ’experiences and encounters with marinated views of American life and the hardships of the disadvantaged that Trump was able to harness as a raw material for his simplistic slogan policy.

Papamarcos explains how Republicans ’“ civil war on values ​​and rage politics ”and the desire for comfort of many voters led a mixed congregation – revivalist evangelicals both disadvantaged and well-off whites – to support Trump.

He was worshiped but also voted by holding his nose. Enchanted by Trump’s speeches, the self-proclaimed disadvantaged voted their idol against their own financial interests, while the rich supported Trump to get lower taxes. The Christian right coveted conservative judges.

Papamarcos is on slightly weaker ice as he explains the time perspective of the U.S. dichotomy. There are some children left in the book, such as year errors. The publisher has sadly removed the citations in the original manuscript, even though a rich list of sources has been left in the book.

The analysis is carried out at appropriate intervals by thinkers About Aristotle contemplating totalitarianism To Hannah Arendt. The look is often at the kind of destruction Trump did to the notion of truth, and Papamarcos sees frightening similarities between Trump and Stalin and Hitler between.

Papamarcos believes one of the risk factors for Americans is the desire to always try something new. The peanut farmer is eligible for president Jimmy Cartermovie star Ronald Reagan and reality TV star Trump.

“There is a danger of naivety in Americans’ optimism and enthusiasm to try everything new: they cannot dictate dictatorship either, but are willing to try it.”

In a country previously known for its pragmatic politicians, there are no longer even common facts, but the truths of “us and others” as in Honkavaara in the 1970s. The truth Trump cultivated during the election was that he could only be defeated by fraud.

When Trump lost, his supporters saw the prophecy come true, even though the election went smoothly. Twinkle Ordinary Americans swallowed Trump’s lies and even set out on the violent takeover of the House of Congress to overturn the election result.

Liberals the fear is that Trump has gone nowhere, even though Biden is now president and Trump lives in his mansion in Florida. Republicans as they still tie their destiny to Trump.

“Trump left, Trumppila stayed. The King in Exile will continue to rule his people from Florida. ”

Of great concern is the fact that Republicans are pushing for changes in the law and exchanges of people that will make voting more difficult and make it easier to challenge future election results.

“Where the first attempt [voittaa vaalit vilpillä] based mainly on Trump’s mixed soloing, the Republican Party is now purposefully equipping for a new venture in 2024, ”Papamarcos believes.

Papamarcos quotes a historian Timothy Snyderin a grim statement: “History shows that a failed coup attempt is a practice run for a successful coup attempt.”

Papamarcosin had the intention to survive “Moomin Valley Porch Life,” but he became one of millions of American democracy activists after retirement. That role may not get rid of it very soon.

“Something big should happen so that Trump doesn’t run for president again,” Papamarcos estimates at the end of his book.

When I ask in the message whether Papamarcos is ready to fight again in 2024, he replies:

“If Trump is Trump Jr. or some other Republican who proclaims Trump’s lies – is running for president, I have to go up to the barricades again. ”

Outi Papamarcos: And then came Trump. Aviador. 240 s.