Donald Trump is Inadvertently Making Me an Activist

Tuesday, November 8th 2016. A day which will live in infamy. Donald J Trump was elected President of the United States. I haven’t slept well since.

I consider myself an independent. I live in a semi-rural suburb in Ohio — A swing State that went to Trump. For months I watched the debates and primary elections. I was a Bernie Sanders supporter. To me, Bernie was the honest choice. He cared about humanity. He was selfless. He was passionate in his belief of equality and of his desire to make the American dream more accessible to all. In a nutshell, Bernie Sanders was the polar opposite of Donald Trump.

But you can’t always get what you want. I wasn’t happy that Bernie didn’t get the nomination but I voted for Hillary anyway. After all, it was an important election and I wasn’t going to let my vote go silent in a crucial swing State. So I cast my vote for Clinton and took my family home where I enjoyed a hot pizza and waited for the votes to come in. At last, this silly little fear of mine — that someone so childish and and unqualified could actually be elected President… would be over.

But you can’t always get what you want. It happened. The guy that makes fun of handicap people and calls his political opponents such creative names like “lyin Ted” and “little Marco” was elected President. The guy who wouldn’t release his taxes. The guy that attacked judges. The guy that opposed certain religious groups rights. The guy that bragged about grabbing pussy… the “conservative” half of US voters thought this is the guy who should be handed the nuke codes. The self described “very stable genius” was President.

I tried to rationalize it and tell myself it would all be okay. I thought maybe we should give him a chance. The American people aren’t stupid. Trump is probably going to tone it down and get serious now that he’s President. I mean, it’s not like he would ever try to run the country as unprofessionaly and chaotic as he ran his campaign. Right? It’s not like he’s going to come out on day one and lie about basic, simple, insignificant things like crowd size. Right? Please?

I guess you can’t always get what you want. He lies at a record pace. He’s at war with the free media. He’s attacked the judicial system. He’s attacking the FBI and CIA. He attacks former Presidents. The only man he seemingly won’t attack is Vladimir Putin. He makes excuses for torch carrying neo-nazis. He has started an international trade war. He has hurt America’s standing in the world. The message he sends to our foreign allies is America is angry. We will still participate globally but we will no longer lead. Trump acts as if America is owed something by these lesser “shithole” countries and we aren’t willing to help anymore. Sorry world.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Through adversity greatness is born. Indeed, there is something positive happening in America for which Donald Trump is largely responsible. It’s called Activism. Look around you. It’s the 60’s all over again. I keep seeing example after example of ordinary people making a difference and it inspires me to do the same. Where the politicians have failed, the American people will always answer the call.

Charlottesville, Virginia 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live during the civil rights era? Did you ever wonder if you would have stood up for equality or if you just would have gone along with the status quo? If you strongly oppose the removal of confederate flags and confederate statues — symbols. that honor the literal traitors who decided to go to literal war with the United States because they believed that blacks were meant to live and die as property… then you have your answer. Just because something has been wrong for 150 years is not a reason to never correct it.

Former Klansman David Duke heralded the election of Trump as a decree that America was ready for groups like the Klan to thrive again. He was wrong, but the sight of hundreds of torch wielding nazis protesting the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee should be a scary reminder that hatred and racism are alive and well in America. It should not be a bipartisan issue. It needs to be called out and dealt with in the harshest terms possible; Not rationalized and excused by a sitting President.

Women are rising up.

Donald Trump has refered to various women as “pig” “dog” “bimbo” and “disgusting animal”. He once tweeted “If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?” He’s insulted women because of their menstrual cycles and because of plastic surgery. Basically there’s no level Trump isn’t willing to stoop to, to mock a woman’s appearance if she disagrees with him. Enter the #metoo movement, which has empowered many women across the country to tell their stories of being abused by powerful men in hopes of bringing about change. Coincidence?

Gun Comtrol.

High school students are marching and bringing about the most substantial gun control conversations we’ve ever had as a nation. It is worth noting that this gun control movement didn’t take place under Obama or while the Democrats control the House or Senate. It’s all happening as the Republicans have all the power in Washington. It’s amazing what these young people have accomplished so far and it’s inspiring to see the youth of America stand up and speak out in the face of the NRA and the alt-right who seek to discredit them with name calling and conspiracy theories.

He would like to silence people who think the way I do. You’re fooling yourself if you believe he respects your right or any platform you might have to oppose him. If I had a large enough voice, I can assure you he would slander me and drag me through the mud. The “conservatives” eat it up and they love him for it. That’s why the GOP politicians have largely just fallen in line with Trump. They fear him and they fear the GOP voters who continue to support Trump. They know what’s right but speaking out means political suicide. And so the party of Lincoln has sold its soul to a wanna be dictator who acts like a 3rd grader.

Trump believes that walls will make us great again. They will not. Doing what’s right. Telling the truth. Being kind. Acceptance. Loving your neighbor unconditionally (all things that evangelicals should remember when they vote). Those are the ideas that made us great. Those are the ideas that can make us great again. Trump is going to change the world… just not the way he intended.

The Rolling Stones said it best: You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need.