President Trump!
I'm sure there have been and there will be plenty of material, post, blogs, etc. about our new president, some people need an outlet to express how they feel. I guess I'm no different but while other have outrage, despair, distress, and all those other feelings, I have hope. I don't have hope in Trump, that's going to be a garbage can fire if ever there was one. I have hope that American citizens learn their lesson, a lesson I'd thought they learned from 8 years of G.W. Bush. Here are a few areas where my hope lies:
1. Americans began to realize they share their country with racist, bigots, elitist, and the like When a man references almost all the characteristics that we say are un-american and he still gets 49 million votes, you have to start looking at the people who voted for him. We hear about racial strife, treatment of women, social inequality, etc. but we treat it like it exist in other parts of the world. These people have a complete altered belief system than my own and I probably wouldn't see it until I was attacked by it. "Surely those around me are above that...my friends aren't racist....we would help one another in tough times." But all that is believe in an ideal which when tested, doesn't seem to exist. This ideal of the American Dream is very different from person to person, it's not a universal understanding. Then something happens, like an election, to put things in perspective.
2. People realize the power of their vote
Between PA, MI, WI, and FL, Donald Trump won those 4 states with a combined 220,000 votes and roughly 10 million registered voters between those states did not vote. Some people might have thought it was a given that Clinton was going to win, so they didn't bother. Some people didn't like either candidate, so they didn't bother. Some people simply didn't bother. The laziness and hubris of many Americans are directly culpable to the outcome. I hope these individuals recognize that their votes matter and take more responsibility going forward.
3. Politics
Trump is going to "Make America Great Again" and many voters bought into that but I doubt most of them even know that means. Don't get me wrong, some know and I believe they loved the the 1950's when the country was heavily segregated and a woman's place was in the kitchen. But others don't have any idea what Trump is talking about or what a "Great America" even looks like. I hope this outcome makes people pay better attention to politics, laws, bills, spending, finance, foreign policy, voting, etc., so that they can make informed choice. I also hope this causes voters to hold elected officials accountable for their choices. Politicians work for the people. We also need to understand the Democratic and Republican divide and make some attempts to try and understand the differences.
4. How the U.S. looks to the rest of the World
Some people will say they don't care but we look like a bunch of fools. We just elected a reality TV show star to the highest office in the land. The world use to look at the U.S. as the wealthiest, smartest, most industrious country in the world. And we may be some of those things, but how does this look...we look like a game show. Other countries are saying, " Wait a minute, we would never do something that stupid, so maybe they aren't that great and maybe we overestimated their competence." You might not know why that matters but it feels like it should.
5. Our Children
There was a time when the President of the United States was the most prestigious position in the world. Parents would tell their kids to aspire to be like that man (or woman but that didn't happen). He was the embodiment of all the characteristic that made America great. Well that's over...Son, you don't have to pay taxes, you can cheat on your wife and marry as many times as you want, demean women and the physically impaired and those different from you, you can objectify women, son, you don't have to pay your bills...son, all you have to is be prosperous and tell people what they want to hear and you can be President of the United States. Maybe capitalism has made us into people who actually believe that. It seems that way...look what we just did. I hope there are many of us that will impart values in our kids that are unlike those of Donald Trump.
6. We recognize the part we played
You are as guilty as I am. You laughed him off and didn't promote the seriousness of the situation. You didn't vote. You voted for him just because you didn't like her and you wanted to make a point assuming she was going to win, You voted for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein just to make a point, You were indifferent, You voted based on the opinion of someone else. I hope we see our hand in the outcome.
I could really get to like 20 points but I appreciate that you read this far. I guess we are going on a 4 year ride and who know what it's going to look like on the other side. I just want you to know that I am going to do better and I will try to make others better. This is a wake up call and sometimes that can be a good thing. I'm not going to proofread it so I apologize for the bad grammar.
1. Americans began to realize they share their country with racist, bigots, elitist, and the like When a man references almost all the characteristics that we say are un-american and he still gets 49 million votes, you have to start looking at the people who voted for him. We hear about racial strife, treatment of women, social inequality, etc. but we treat it like it exist in other parts of the world. These people have a complete altered belief system than my own and I probably wouldn't see it until I was attacked by it. "Surely those around me are above that...my friends aren't racist....we would help one another in tough times." But all that is believe in an ideal which when tested, doesn't seem to exist. This ideal of the American Dream is very different from person to person, it's not a universal understanding. Then something happens, like an election, to put things in perspective.
2. People realize the power of their vote
Between PA, MI, WI, and FL, Donald Trump won those 4 states with a combined 220,000 votes and roughly 10 million registered voters between those states did not vote. Some people might have thought it was a given that Clinton was going to win, so they didn't bother. Some people didn't like either candidate, so they didn't bother. Some people simply didn't bother. The laziness and hubris of many Americans are directly culpable to the outcome. I hope these individuals recognize that their votes matter and take more responsibility going forward.
3. Politics
Trump is going to "Make America Great Again" and many voters bought into that but I doubt most of them even know that means. Don't get me wrong, some know and I believe they loved the the 1950's when the country was heavily segregated and a woman's place was in the kitchen. But others don't have any idea what Trump is talking about or what a "Great America" even looks like. I hope this outcome makes people pay better attention to politics, laws, bills, spending, finance, foreign policy, voting, etc., so that they can make informed choice. I also hope this causes voters to hold elected officials accountable for their choices. Politicians work for the people. We also need to understand the Democratic and Republican divide and make some attempts to try and understand the differences.
4. How the U.S. looks to the rest of the World
Some people will say they don't care but we look like a bunch of fools. We just elected a reality TV show star to the highest office in the land. The world use to look at the U.S. as the wealthiest, smartest, most industrious country in the world. And we may be some of those things, but how does this look...we look like a game show. Other countries are saying, " Wait a minute, we would never do something that stupid, so maybe they aren't that great and maybe we overestimated their competence." You might not know why that matters but it feels like it should.
5. Our Children
There was a time when the President of the United States was the most prestigious position in the world. Parents would tell their kids to aspire to be like that man (or woman but that didn't happen). He was the embodiment of all the characteristic that made America great. Well that's over...Son, you don't have to pay taxes, you can cheat on your wife and marry as many times as you want, demean women and the physically impaired and those different from you, you can objectify women, son, you don't have to pay your bills...son, all you have to is be prosperous and tell people what they want to hear and you can be President of the United States. Maybe capitalism has made us into people who actually believe that. It seems that way...look what we just did. I hope there are many of us that will impart values in our kids that are unlike those of Donald Trump.
6. We recognize the part we played
You are as guilty as I am. You laughed him off and didn't promote the seriousness of the situation. You didn't vote. You voted for him just because you didn't like her and you wanted to make a point assuming she was going to win, You voted for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein just to make a point, You were indifferent, You voted based on the opinion of someone else. I hope we see our hand in the outcome.
I could really get to like 20 points but I appreciate that you read this far. I guess we are going on a 4 year ride and who know what it's going to look like on the other side. I just want you to know that I am going to do better and I will try to make others better. This is a wake up call and sometimes that can be a good thing. I'm not going to proofread it so I apologize for the bad grammar.
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