An attempt to understand what happened during the last 24 hours and why the World is afraid of Donald Trump.  

Picture source: https://memecrunch.com/meme/BHM36/barck-trump-2

Populism - The new wave of change  

"Oh wow", was supposedly the most common thought which crossed the World´s mind when Donald Trump got on stage last night. "Oh wow, did he really make it?" It seems like even the ones who voted for him didn´t really believe in his success and were truly surprised.  

Today some Americans might feel like English people the day after Brexit... 

Maybe America didn´t vote for Trump but they voted for the change. What happens when things go completely wrong, disappointment turns into frustration and people don´t know how to get out? Well they start opening their minds for any new and at least considerable solution you might offer them. 

[quote - Source: wikipedia.org] "Populism is a political ideology that holds that virtuous citizens are mistreated by a small circle of elites, who can be overthrown if the people recognize the danger and work together. Populism depicts elites as trampling on the rights, values, and voice of  the legitimate people." [unquote]

Trump is a straw the drowing America is catching at. Trump is the symbol of hope. After decades of lies, conspiracy and a corrupt financial system, after a long time without trust, people got incredibly needy. And Trump was sufficiently smart to to play on that need. He may be America’s oldest first-term President, but for sure he´s not the dumbest. 

Trump had an excellent strategy I have to admit. He, that self-made billionaire, symbol of the American Dream, came close, slapped with his hand on the bar counter, told the drunken regular´s table that he would take care of anything and get their money back from the ones who have stolen it. Who, if not him, could save America´s economy? Who, if not him, would be talking seriously to them? Who, if not him, would make the change?

Picture source: http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/donald-trump-speech-debates-and-campaign-quotes-1.11206532

America first - The fine line between patriotism and racism 

But when Donald Trump says that he will bring all the money back to American people, "make America great again", where is he actually gonna take all that money? From the Mexican people, among other unwanted visitors. 

[quote] 'They're bringing drugs,' crime and are 'rapists' [unquote] 

To be honest, I always envied American people for their easy way of living patriotism. In Germay we have to be very careful due to our country´s history. Even singing the national anthem and raising the German flag at big sports events brings a certain discomfort. And it´s good how it is. The most important thing regarding National Socialism is awareness. We must not forget. But not to forget doesn´t mean feeling guilty. Yes it happend not long time ago, but we were not personally involved. Our chance to contribute and learn from it is to NEVER EVER REPEAT IT. 

I truly hope American people won´t ever come into a similiar situation. I wish that they won´t ever have to regret or feel guilty for anything, and that Trump´s " great movement" is not what it seems to be... 

Trump´s "America first" is a tightrope walk between healthy patriotism and unhealthy racism. 

And this is the simple reason why the World´s heart is skipping a beat after Donald Trump´s election. "I am shocked," the German Secretary of State officially said in her first interview after having seen the results. In the middle of globalized World where one of the main concerns of foreign affairs in every developed nation is 'immigration', this man goes on stage to announce that America will close its doors. 

Is this seriously something you would tell your children? That they are growing in a World where they better close their eyes and don´t look instead of giving a helping hand to others? That they better take care of themselves and close the door? That people who are different and were born in other countries, with different cultures and religions, that all these people are bad? Would you tell your children that people are defined by their race, not by their personality? 

I personally wouldn´t ever support somebody like Donald Trump for that simple reason: I am against any kind of racism. 

In his acceptance speech Donald Trump backpedaled as every formerly nominated President did: 

[quote] "It is a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds, and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people, and serve the people it will. Working together, we will begin the urgent task of  rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream." [unquote] 

"His bark is worse than his bite." So let´s see how much of the Trump we knew during the election campaign will still be there when he opens the door of the White House on the 20th of January 2017. The World has got still two months left to realize what happend during the last 24 hours. 

Yes we can! And we did. Good luck, America! You´ll need it.  

Cheers,
Marly -