Melania Trump stiletto controversy: Episode shows America's growing obsession with hollow symbolism

The America of Trump's time is different and disappointing as well. The country, which is revered for its democracy and liberty, has lost its self-esteem somewhat after Donald Trump emerged on its political scene and went on to become the president, leaving everybody stunned. The anti-Trump quarters, especially the media of the US, has been shattered by the development and time and again, lock horns with the president over every second issue – big and sundry.

Take for example, the stiletto controversy involving Melania Trump. The First Lady's choice for shoes while she had started for Texas with her husband to Texas, which has been ravaged by Hurricane Harvey recently, was mocked by the media and the Twitterati. Some called it "flood fashion" while others called the FLOTUS "Flood Watch Barbie".

The Washington Post said in an article covering the incident that though there was no pretension in Melania's action but sought that sometimes, a little pretension helps.

This very observation bares the core of the episode. The American media and every other quarter that think Trump is the worst thing to have happened to their country have also gradually understood that they have no other option but to co-exist with the man for a minimum of four years unless something drastic happens in the political circles leading to his impeachment. And the frustration is making itself evident through a helplessness which in turn, is taking on things that are symbolic, shallow and of no real meaning.

Melania Trump's choice of footwear is of no significance for it is her personal matter. But the common Americans and the media that hate Trump are eager to make an issue out of it to prove that the Trumps are morally poor and they have little connection with the reality. It is an overzealous attempt to defeat the Trumps in the moral game but is pointless in realpolitik.

The stiletto episode (Melania had replaced them with a pair of snickers by the time she deplaned) makes one wonder whether the standard of American politics has been reduced to things that are commonly seen in India. Here, people make a mockery of a Mamata Banerjee for travelling anywhere on this planet wearing hawai chappals or a Lalu Prasad for his funny gestures. The deeply rooted reason behind the act of making a caricature out of our political leaders is a kind of disillusionment with their breed. It's the end result of the disappointment that has accumulated over the failure of the political class over the years. The dejection gives way to cartoons and then to outbursts.

Something similar is happening in the US today. Since the common approval for Trump is deeply polarised, those who are desperate to see his back are now jumping on to anything that seems morally incorrect. This diminishing trust in the leadership and prescription of exercising political correctness (which Trump will not do) to rectify things hint at a looming danger over the American democracy. The overbearing backlash and counter backlash over a politics of symbolism first turn a democracy populist and then fragile. For the world's oldest democracy, the apparently innocuous stiletto controversy involving the FLOTUS is a bad news.