Donald J. Trump...is president of the United States of America…Oh @#$%&!...
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| David Rowe |
Let’s get this out of the way, Trump is a misogynistic, racist, derogatory, narcissistic, sociopath; there’s no doubt about it. My wake up call the day after the election was my sister exclaiming, “No! You gotta be kidding me! ARE YOU STUPID AMERICA?!?”. So at least one 14-year-old girl thinks America’s off its rocker. The question is, is she right? I’d argue not necessarily. Trump has achieved his power because the political and societal systems in America are broken. He’s tapped into rich wells of hate and frustration, and yes to some degree, he has exploited the less informed elements of America. So let’s take a look at what’s to come, and how on Earth this happened in the first place.
First off we’re not in danger of Trump launching nuclear weapons at the rest of the world if they point out his infant's hands. Much of what he has promised, and is feared to do, is highly unlikely as it comes under the jurisdiction of Congress; that means no 25 billion dollar border wall (unless he uses an executive order, in which case he would be leading them towards a Sisyphean project). In fact, much of what Trump has proposed isn’t up to him, the majority of power lies with Congress; trade, taxes, war, all are controlled by the, now Republican, Congress. Even if Trump decided to ‘solve’ ISIS via a nuclear strike, he would have to go through a chain of command that would consist of numerous people able to put an end to such endeavors. The fact remains that nuclear weapons are more useful as a threat than they are when deployed.
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| by Steve Sack, The Star Tribune |
Self-serving tax plans and impossibly costly/impractical border walls aside, Trump’s clear and present danger is the violence and hate he rallies, his vice president Mike Pence, and the executive orders he plans to overturn. With respect to the latter, Obama throughout his time as president had to face a Republican Congress that tried their very best to stop any law he brought forward. To get around his Congress, Obama used 235 executive orders to sign into law, everything from The Paris Agreement, the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), any order that supports Obamacare, the ensuring of lawful interrogations, LGBTQ anti-discrimination policies, and many, many more. Obama needed a democrat such as Hillary in office because, by nature, Executive Orders can be overturned by the next president; Trump plans to overturn the majority of executive orders made by Obama. Such an action would be incredibly damaging, undoing 8 years of positive progress, and making life abroad and within America far more difficult than it already is; particularly in regards to health care, national security, equal rights, and a plethora of other needs.
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| by Dave Brown, The Independent |
Because Trump has a habit of making headlines with his overtly racist and sexist remarks, his running mate Mike Pence has been overlooked, I think that it would be illuminating to have an overview of some of the stances that the future vice president holds, to name a few:
- He advocated for public spending on conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth in Indiana.
- He is against abortions for women.
- He sponsored multiple bills to defund Planned Parenthood.
- His policies inadvertently caused an HIV outbreak in Indiana.
- He has opposed marriage equality.
- He voted against fair pay for women and minorities
- He voted against raising the minimum wage.
- He tried to block aid to Syrian refugees living in Indiana.
- He has claimed that condoms are not effective in preventing STDs and pregnancies.
- He has said the LGBTQ community shouldn't be protected from discrimination, he then backed this up with policy moves.
- He opposed the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
- He has said evolution is a flat out lie.
- He opposed President Obama's transgender bathroom directive.
- He defied a bill aimed at combatting rape in prison.
- He refused to call the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan "deplorable."
- In 2009, Pence sponsored a bill that would have prevented the children of illegal immigrants from becoming U.S. citizens.
- He has said smoking doesn't kill.
As you can see, Trump is a xenophobic, sexist, homophobic, racist, and his V.P. is no better.
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| by Rob Rogers, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |
Perhaps this is all wrong, maybe this has all been rhetoric to take advantage of hate to achieve power; while this would be far better than the alternative, this still leaves the question of his supporters, those voters consisting of the illiterate, the hate mongers, but also the forgotten. Ordinary men and women who have been neglected by the system of governance, whose jobs have fled and hope disappeared. On election day they expressed their concerns and fears; they were desperate for change, and so ran towards the outsider. Change for the sake of change is never beneficial. Many others neglected to vote or simply mistook Trump’s campaign for a joke. This election has shown just how divided America is, and how necessary it is to bridge the gap lest another angry electorate return in four years.
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| Paul North, The New Yorker |
Now, while many of Trump’s supporters were simply frustrated individuals who had long had their problems ignored, many were merely bigots flocking towards his cruel rhetoric. Trump, by becoming president has validated the hate and fear mongering; whether it be campaign rhetoric or not, America's worst elements have come alive to elect Trump. America has elected lies, they've elected hatred, they've elected four years of intolerance and violence. This is a failure of democracy. Already there have been hundreds of reports of people justifying their racist/sexist/homophobic/xenophobic behavior and actions because of the president elect’s policies, actions so horrible I cannot bring myself to type them out here.
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| Dave Granlund |
A Trump presidency is a nightmare looming ever closer; already an increase in violence and bullying has occurred, and he hasn’t even taken office yet. He’s starting out his presidency with decisions such as appointing a CLIMATE CHANGE DENIER to head the ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY and possibly may appoint BEN CARSON as the SECRETARY OF EDUCATION. Both are moves as wise as hiring a dingo to be a babysitter. People didn’t like Bush, people didn’t like Obama, but now millions are fearing for their lives and freedoms; nations are looking to the US with shock and the world is undoubtedly heading towards a darker place. In this time of discord, I am reminded of a speech by Sir Charlie Chaplin, it is with his words that I shall leave you:
"Let us all unite.
Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill their promise. They never will!
Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people!
Now let us fight to fulfill that promise! Let us fight to free the world! To do away with national barriers! To do away with greed, with hate and intolerance!
Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness.
Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite!"
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