The countdown is slowly, or not so slowly, depending on who you ask, coming to an end. On January 20th, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th United States President. Some of us will weep like babies, others will feel vindicated, some will protest, others might get violent. either way, this will happen, and I think we should do the only thing we can at this point, which is talk about it. Trump has this way of inciting heightened emotions: fear, hope, and everything in between.
FEARS
Lack of Diplomacy
I don't know about you, but Trump has proven to just spew whatever he's thinking. Does he have a filter? I'm not sure. Can you imagine him in an important meeting, you know, one that keeps us from yet another war, with say, North Korea? I can't say for sure, but my fears are dictating my opinions here, and I'm thinking it won't end in flowers and rainbows.
Immigration
Donald Trump's immigration plan is said to be firm, but with "a lot of heart." I'm not too sure what that means, since I've also heard him say, through interviews, several things that are not so nice about many minorities and immigrants. However, his plan is to make it more cost effective for American citizens, so that only the people that love our country can enter the United States.
Going backwards, instead of forwards with race relations, and women issues
Let's be honest, Donald Trump is not responsible for racism. However, Trump should be held accountable for the prejudice he perpetuates. Life would be boring if we reached a certain age and simply stopped learning. It's my fear that we have a closed-minded man in the Oval Office, yet it is my hope that while he's there he learns something: like how to treat and respect women, minorities, and lower and middle-class citizens.
HOPE
Economic Recession Bounce Back
Somehow Trump is still rich despite filing for bankruptcy multiple times. Maybe he can somehow work that same mystical economic magic on the United States for the citizens that have elected him the highest office. It was said that the reason why Donald Trump is still rich despite his company's failing is because he does not have a personal investment in his company. If that's the case, maybe we should ask him to make a personal investment in the country, that way we know he won't fail. Right? Or, perhaps the funds from his fake university will suddenly come back to save the day for..., I don't know, the homeless, education, small business, etc.
EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
Let's discuss Time Magazine's selection of Person of the Year.
Many are doing an unfair comparison to Time Magazine's 1939 Person of the Year, Adolf Hitler. Now, this might be the only time you ever hear me defend Donald Trump, but come on! To compare him to a mass murderer seems a little excessive. While Trump is seeping misogyny, trying to deport all the people he classifies as "others" even though his own mother was an "other" herself, and everyone here except Native Americans are essentially "others," he most definitely is not waging a war for genocide. I think this says more about Time Magazine's skewed ideology on what constitutes a "person of the year," and not who Donald Trump is most similar to.
Here's the honest truth, Donald Trump is our next president, and you should be afraid. Being afraid means you care, means it's important. Trump has a lot of work to do, as the president before him, and the president before that. There has not been one era within the United States that has been free of turmoil, or completely safe. I can't tell you what you should do, or how you should feel about this next president, but I for one, am going to hope that my fears are just that, fears. I'm going to hope that the things that have made Trump so successful in business, even his refusal to give up when facing failure, bleed over into his presidency, and he can at least turn the economical situation around for the better. I'm also going to hope that the things that make him so inappropriate, the things that made him a reality star, fall to the wayside, and he learns something: how to be a genuine human being, and not a caricature of himself. And, I'm going to hope that four years go by quickly. Good luck, America!
