Stop Trump. Now.
Let’s be real — Donald Trump will be the Republican Party’s nominee in the upcoming election if current trends continue. Let’s be even more real — his success is easily the biggest failure in American politics in recent history. This is the last column I get to write this term, and I can’t think of anything more critical than asking you to refrain from supporting him. If you’re not a big Hillary or Bernie fan, that’s fine. I get that. To be perfectly frank, none of the candidates in this election are what we truly need. This November, we will be forced to choose the lesser of two evils. Yet, even if this choice is a difficult one, it has the potential to drastically change the course of this country and our way of life. Most of us are lucky enough to be of voting age at a time when our votes are perhaps more powerful than ever. Let’s not waste that.
Honestly, I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed with this election and I’m disappointed with the direction in which the American electorate is heading.
I wish I didn’t have to waste 750 words making an argument that should have been blatantly obvious within the first few months of this election cycle. I wish I could address specific economic policies, prison reform, the war on drugs, the war on terror, climate change and other legitimate issues we should be worried about. I wish that, instead of empty rhetoric, unrealistic slogans and ad hominem attacks (from both sides of the aisle), we had the kind of real, pragmatic and intellectual political discussions we claim to deserve.
On one hand, I have faith in young, educated voters who, for the most part, are able to think through candidates’ messages and discern empty promises from genuine policy options. On the other, I keep seeing polls with Trump in the lead and cringe.
The truth is, the world is watching us. If our behavior as a nation reflects bigotry, racism, xenophobia and a mindless surrender to the manipulative tactics of someone like Trump, we are bound to lose the respect we’ve worked for centuries to gain. Even if Trump doesn’t become president, the simple fact that we have allowed him to get this far is already a major concern.
This isn’t about Trump being a Republican. This isn’t about most reasonable, ordinary Republicans. In truth, this isn’t even about the GOP — although I do hold it responsible, to an extent, for failing to provide a strong alternative to Trump. The most dangerous thing we could do now is fall into the trap of political divisiveness, of accusing all Republicans of being racists or all Democrats of being socialists. In doing so, we prevent meaningful discourse from taking place. We need to be aware, intelligent and rational. We need to discuss concrete issues even if our candidates refuse to. And, most of all, we need to approach the upcoming election with a healthy dose of skepticism. That means judging Trump for who he is.
There are those who say Trump is an opportunist. He is being intentionally inflammatory because he wants to capitalize on the votes of a politically unsophisticated, frustrated sector of the electorate. Proponents of this view might also claim that the “real” Trump is actually a reasonable human being. In reality, this distinction really doesn’t matter. Every vote cast for Trump affirms his offensive rhetoric. A future with him as president is a future of instability, isolation and violence.
If Trump doesn’t mean what he says, he is still dangerous. His supporters are still entrusting him with the future of our country.
It’s time for us to stop thinking about Trump as a successful businessman, a self-funded revolutionary or an honest and simple guy. It’s time to tear down the façade.
Trump has failed in business; he has been up to his eyeballs in debt as a result of multiple bankruptcies. Trump isn’t being honest; he’s simply telling those who are fed-up what they want to hear. It’s time to stop him. For the sake of our country, it’s time to wake up.
