I think I’ve sort of reached the part of Maslow’s Hierarchy where I know who I am and what I want — self-actualization. I know that, intrinsically, I’m the type of person who needs to continuously consume knowledge and current events; it’s my nature to be a fucking know-it-all and (idealistically) have a pseudo-intellectual conversation about politics, ethics, creativity, and philosophy with other pseudo-intellectuals. Needless to say, I’m just awkward in social situations, but I know how to write and express my thoughts through words. I also know that I worry too much — not just about myself (though that’s debatable) but about those I care about and society as a whole.
Now that I’ve explained a tiny bit of my human nature, I can confidently declare this: Trump needs to fucking go.
I watch and read the news everyday (occasionally going on Twitter and comment sections to get a small dose of hate-reads to not feel like a robot), and though I would declare myself a progressive liberal, I get this pang of existential dread each time Trump pisses off a country or ally, revokes an economical or environmental or humanitarian policy, or just plain goddamn lies for the benefit of himself.
What scares me more are those rallies of supporters who think it’s okay for a leader to act immorally in the face of the moral status quo. I’ve always lived by the golden rule and the standard to respect and to help and be a generally good person (despite the differences, and despite how shitty some may treat you). I’m not one to ever seek retribution or that I deserve this or that. To me it was never “America First,” and quite frankly I don’t see the need to “Make America Great Again” when I thought it was sufficient enough to just be “America Is And Still Is Okay” (we should tone down the unabashed patriotism after the shittiness of slavery, prejudices, American imperialism, or unrelenting capitalism). Yet after consuming the news as much as much as I do — everything from the left to the right to the moderate to the unbiased — all I see are MAGA hats: a unilaterally uninformed cult of personality feeding a narcissistic opportunist. Kid cages, “shithole” countries and cities, insulting a 16-year-old activist, the Kurds, Charlottesville, almost starting WWIII with Iran… the list never fucking ends. Knowing everything he did and does, how can people look into their hearts and still believe in Trump? We are seriously heading towards the plot line of “Idiocracy” where only the loudest and ignorant will rule the planet (as someone who works in academia, there’s a national poll that, each year, the number of Americans who think higher education is unnecessary becomes larger and larger). I feel I removed myself from that echo chamber of 2016, and standing outside that bubble, I am fearful.
I am fearful for our democracy. Watching the impeachment trials, I know that the Republican-controlled senate will acquit Trump. I’ve known it from the beginning (hey, maybe I’ll be proven wrong after this is posted). As I said, I’m too much of a worrier, but I’m also a realist. What’s sad is that despite all the facts, we have leaders who put their own interests and politics first before our laws, our democracy, our moral high ground. I have no faith in our elected officials.
Sure, there is an election coming in November. However, I feel that the average American is apathetic to our country’s current state and doesn’t really pay attention to the news. Hell — of everybody in my life, and as left-leaning as they are — I can only truly talk about the news to two or three of them. Everyone else trashes Trump in passing, free of genuine anxiety over what I see is the downfall of law, culture, and civility. Right or left, America is too polarized, and each side is beginning to become so far extreme, compromise and healthy debates seem to be off the table; it’s all black and white with no shades of gray. Even within the liberal spectrum, there are all-or-nothing people who – if their candidate doesn’t win the Democratic primary – are willing to sit out and protest the election as they did in 2016. One friend, in particular, consumes as much news as me, and is experiencing the same existential dread that Trump may very well get re-elected. (Side note: I remember in 2016 telling my some of my friends that I was worried Trump would get elected, and they tried to assure me he won’t. Well, fuck you guys.)
I have one particular Democratic candidate that I’m rooting for, but if they don’t win the primary, I’ll vote for whoever can oppose that jackass in the Oval Office (or Mar-a-Lago). I will volunteer. If I had a car, I’d drive down to swing states and drive voters to their polling place to ensure a fair election. I don’t think this country (hell, even the world) can withstand another Trump term. A lot of damage to our Constitution, our global relationships, and our globe itself has already been done… and for once, I’d like the news cycle to revolve around puppies and pizza than politics.