Make America hit rock bottom again
By Cazzy Lewchuk, Opinions Editor
Well, the US election is over, but the nightmare that ended it is perhaps the worst one there is, and its invasion into our reality has only just begun.
I have always had the philosophy that everything will be OK, or can at least be fixed. With the results of this election, even as a Canadian, this is the first time I have truly felt that everything will not be OK.
Damage control can be done, and hopefully worst-case scenarios will not occur. But a lot of things are going to get worse, no matter what.
As you know, Donald J. Trump (yes, really) has been elected the President of the United States. The Republican party has also regained control of the House and Senate, controlling both legislative branches of the US government.
President Trump is alarming for many reasons, but an entirely Republican government is possibly more dangerous. Such power threatens to undo most of the progress made from Obama’s legacy, whether social or economical. Say goodbye to Obamacare, LGBTQ+ protections, gun control, pro-choice laws, higher minimum wages, corporate regulation, lower college costs, and government subsidies. In the legislative branches, America can expect zero progress until at least 2018, when Democrats can potentially regain control in by-elections.
Trump’s Cabinet will include lobbyists, climate-change deniers, straight-up homophobes and sexists, and war-mongers. They are dishonest, ignorant people with immoral lobbying sources, including Russian officials. The scandals and betrayals that will result from his staff, and perhaps from Trump himself, will cause political turmoil and screw over the country.
Finally, there’s the man himself. Trump is a racist, sexist, bigoted, incompetent, disrespectful, sociopathic moron. He is so flip-floppy and bizarre in his speech that it’s pretty hard to tell exactly what he supports. Ignoring his personal viewpoints (which are incredibly ignorant and alarming), perhaps the most dangerous part of him is his sheer incompetence. The man has no clue how the federal government works, how a president should behave, or what he’s even supposed to do other than smile for the camera. He just requested to be able to commute to DC from his New York penthouse, and asked how many nights a week he’d have to sleep at the White House. As the most powerful person in the world, such idiocy can cause many terrible things to happen. He is deferring most of the actual governmental work to his VP and other Cabinet members, but he’s still the figurehead and representative, one who has the final power in crucial decisions.
Obama spoke at a former Israeli Prime Minister’s funeral this year, surrounded by other world leaders. Israel and the entire Middle East is in an international crisis which could potentially lead to nuclear war. Imagine Trump speaking at an Israeli event without triggering some sort of diplomatic issue. I have a lot of fears of this man’s characteristics, but one of the greatest is his lack of filter. I’m terrified of Donald saying the wrong thing to an enemy of the US, starting an embargo, setting back decades of good relations, or even triggering a full-on war.
This is a man whose staff had to stop letting him write his own tweets, because he was out of control. However, he’s gaining the codes to launch thousands of nuclear bombs capable of destroying entire cities. He has a friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also controls thousands of nuclear bombs. The potential for a Dr. Strangelove-like scenario to start is incredible, and I worry for the reckless endangerment the US President can put the world into.
It’s going to be an insane four years. I’m sure I’ll have something else alarming to write about the new president-elect very soon.
