"Man, if Trump gets elected, I'm getting out of here asap!"
Ever since the primaries for the Presidential Elections have started, this is probably the most popular politically charged statement I've heard being uttered by Americans around me.In fact, the search term "Move to Canada", with a special emphasis on "move to Canada if Trump wins" spiked on Google on Super Tuesday.
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While it is quite amusing (at face value) to imagine such a ridiculous reality as the citizens of one of the world's most powerful countries fleeing from their new president, as an outsider looking in on the situation, I'd like to say something.
America, you've made your bed and now you must lie on it.
If Trump's insane popularity in the primaries has come as a shock to you, I'd like to say that you've been in a perpetual state of "eyes wide closed." Yes, Trump give it you straight; he says it like it is; many of his young followers will tell you as much.
But can you really be so tired of political facades that you ignore all the bigoted, inherently unconstitutional and plain WRONG things that Donald Trump says? Is it possible to be so frustrated with the system that you can overlook the eerie similarities between him and another racist, fascist leader who planned to take over the world not so long ago (read: asking his supporters to raise their hands and pledge to him).
Donald Trump's popularity is not a fluke that is the only representative of the views of a handful Americans. His divisive comments have resonated with a large group of people; people who're not just an abstract idea who live in lands unknown to liberals. As much as America would like to put its race and class issues behind it, Trump's popularity has shown that these problems are as pressing today as they were any time in the past.
Discrediting him and his supporters as uninformed fools may exclude them from the rosy picture of unity liberal enclaves like to paint of this country, but it doesn't diminish the way they feel, and the way they think, and how it affects their own lives as well as the lives of the people around them.
So America, take it from an outsider: don't run. Firstly because it's not really all that easy to move to another country as you might presume. Countries don't just let you in, as you might know from your own stance in the recent refugee crises. But all saltiness aside, face your problems. Trump's campaign has pointed out how deep prejudice runs in this country- take heed. Don't just lie on the bed that's being made for you, change the sheets! For the sake of all of the wonderful friends I've made in this country, I really hope you guys turn this around.
Good luck!
