Civil Sphere and Hot Chocolate Stands

By Anonymous

 

    By Kate Beck


    Trump’s campaign was built on the idea of a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. In a campaign speech, he said “They’re bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people” (Ye Hee Lee 2015). These ideas around exclusion and the “wall” play on the implications of a civil sphere. While Trump spoke about Mexico as a threat to the economy, most of his claims were directly in relation to how Mexican Immigrants would threaten the individual rights and collective obligations that the civil sphere possesses, posing Mexican immigrants as a threat to individuals. This turned immigration into a person-based or civil sphere issue, not a government one. The wall was often spoken about in a symbolic sense, demonstrating Alexander’s understanding that “Civil society can become unique and meaningful only as a particular place” (Alexander 2006: 196). Trump's wall would quite literally “protect” the land that the civil sphere rests upon. 


    Furthermore, “Those who are excluded are often seen, in other words, not only as uncivil but as threatening national security” (Alexander 2006: 198). By placing Mexican immigration not only as something that wouldn't coincide with the civil sphere but as a threat to individuals, Trump supporters not only supported his idea of the wall but wanted to contribute. His fearmongering tactics gathered support and a shared belief that the wall was the only way to protect the U.S. civil society. This image of a child raising money to support the wall, despite Trump’s claims that the money would come from Mexico, represents this irrational fear, outside the realm of real immigration policies, instead placed on the idea that this is an issue to protect our individual rights through collective obligation. 




Frisk, A., 2022. 7-year-old faces intense backlash after raising $2K for Donald Trump border wall by selling hot chocolate - National | Globalnews.ca. [online] Global News. Available at: <https://globalnews.ca/news/4975896/donald-trump-border-hot-chocolate/> 


Ye Hee Lee, M., 2015. Donald Trump’s false comments connecting Mexican immigrants and crime. Washington Post. Available at: <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/08/donald-trumps-false-comments-connecting-mexican-immigrants-and-crime/> 


Alexander, Jeffery C. 2006. The Civil Sphere. Oxford University Press.

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