I've waited a few days before writing about Trump. I, unlike many other people, accepted the fact that Trump was going to be president. Had I been a Muslim, Mexican, Black, or any other minority group in the United States, I probably would have reacted differently. But as a legal Canadian citizen, what could Trump do to me? Deport me back to Canada? How terrible!
However, that's not the reason why I abstained about writing anything about Trump just yet. Trump might seem like a xenophobic, sexist, racist bigot who's committed sexual assault, but only the latter is completely true in my opinion. Trump might not have been smart enough to continue Trump Steaks or Trump University, but he was smart enough to get millions of dollars from the United States government. Now I don't know about you, but FAFSA didn't even give me a single cent. Here's what I think about Trump: He's a highly intelligent liberal. In interviews that he's been a part of less than 8 years ago he was praising the liberals and even complimented the Clintons on all the wonderful work they've been doing. At 70 years old, I highly doubt Trump changed any of his viewpoints whatsoever. Which begs the question: Why did he run his campaign on a platform of hate, ignorance, and racism?
Therein lies the truth about America. Trump is clearly not a COMPLETE idiot, but you know who are? The American people. In Unexpected Economics by Timothy Taylor, he describes the majority of voters as "ignorant" and thus stupid. Now I'm not saying YOU, fellow reader, are stupid, but there are plenty of people who are. According to the NY Times, only 30.4% of people over the age of 25 had a Bachelor's degree or higher and considering way over half of America has only a high school education which I can tell you will not be able to get you any job other than McDonald's worker, it's very clear that the majority of people have done very little research or even know HOW to do research about their candidates. According to Islam in Liberal Europe: Freedom, Equality, and Intolerance by Kai Hafez, people with "formal education are more like to reject racism than those with a lower level". What does that mean? In short, ignorant people are usually more racist.
Since we've already established that the majority of America has lack of formal education and is ignorant, it is very simple as to why Donald Trump has based his campaign the way he has. The way to win the election is to tap into his voters' emotions and appeal to those emotions. With most of America afraid of terrorists and everything because every news station force feeds us with terrible news of killings, terrorist attacks, and negative information with the sole intention of garnering higher ratings,Donald Trump naturally taps into that natural fear. By spewing everything most of America is thinking but is too afraid to say themselves, Donald Trump empowers his voters, tapping into that bigotry and ignorance and creating a platform of hate that attracts many people. By opposing everything that Obama and the liberals stand for, he attracts the people who have been screwed over by Obamacare and are tired of the same type of liberal policies, including my own father.
However, my father is smarter than most people - he knows that most of Trump's policies will not pass, he knows that Congress will oppose anything too outrageous, and he predicted that Donald Trump will change his platform if he ever makes it into his office. I waited for a couple days to write this article to see if what my dad predicted was true. And would you look at that, it is!
According to NY Daily News, there will be no wall. Oh, and remember when Donald Trump said that he will tear Obamacare apart and flush it down the drain? According to BBC, he'll only AMEND Obamacare, not repeal it. Remember when Trump said that he doesn't support transgenders? According to the NY Times, he does. Oh, and super right-wing supporters who voted for Trump because he's against gays and all Muslims? Sorry. In short, I don't think a Trump presidency will be as bad as people think it will be.
However, the social impact of Trump's election is yet to be determined. There's hate graffiti everywhere, including in high schools and on the streets. Middle schoolers are chanting "Build a wall" and bullies are threatening students with deportation. There's peaceful protests by liberals, and hateful ones. I think it's extremely hypocritical to shout "Fuck Donald Trump" while wearing a "Love Trumps Hate" shirt.
Donald Trump, despite how vile and nasty he is, is still a person, and claiming you spread love while ridiculing trump and fighting Republicans on the streets and on campuses are not representative of the very thing you are trying to preach. Mahatma Gandhi once said "Be the change you want to see in the world". Claiming that you are spreading love when you are hurting conservatives is not being the change you want to see. At least some radical Trump supporters are trying to be the change they want to see by spreading the racism and hate they think should be a part of American society.
President Trump will not be as bad as many think. The impact he leaves on our society and exposing the racists is something that I think is the bigger problem with his election.
