The world is different now due to President Trump. I miss the certainty and comfort of the way things were previously. Now I wake up and am anxious to see what the news will say. At the moment the US is upsetting its allies and as for the enemies, I’m sure we’ll soon be at war.
I’m anxious for immigrants. They’ve first banned Muslims under the guise of “extreme vetting.” Next will come a database, deportation of Latinos and then next in line would be the Asians. All of this has given the extreme right a lot of encouragement and I’ve started to look into those corners of the internet where they reside. I’d like to understand them further and try to get a pulse on where things might lead.
I’m hoping that America really is exceptional and will show it in a fight against Trump and Bannon but at the moment I also think that hate against various groups could go further.
First the Muslims are scapegoated, then it will Latinos and I’m sure then the Asians. The first step has already been taken and approved by Trump supporters. They will then support Latino deportation. This is all under the guise of “keeping America safe.” The US has to get rid of/monitor this person and that person because after all, we must be safe right!
All of this will / is contributing to a hostile atmosphere for people of any shade living in the USA. What is most hurtful is should this progression continue in the way I’ve described above, which is entirely possible, is that I have friends and family who support this madness. Trump has just revoked green cards – a promise that one can live and work in America – for a certain group of people; he could easily do it to many other groups. Some of my friends and even family believe this is to make America safe. Well, should the progression continue this affects my family directly. I wish I could say that they would renounce their support of Trump/Bannon should even my own family get caught up in trouble but to be completely honest, I’m really not sure if they would and this makes me incredibly sad; I think the madness could run that deep. I wonder if they would demand to see some proof of legality even from us!
What has happened this past week was inconceivable just two weeks ago. Is it really unjustified that even more inconceivable events are on the horizon given the way things have gone so far? There is no safety valve and this sort of thing flares up across the world and throughout history. Is the US so naive to think that it is immune, that it is ‘exceptional?’ I really hope it turns out to be exceptional but so far it really doesn’t seem to be so.
Anyway, I decided to make my feelings about Trump/Bannon known on the FB. Here is what I wrote so it may be preserved and I can look back on this in the future; hopefully in much better times.
These are very dark and sad times. Only a short while ago America was calling itself ‘exceptional,’ and it is breathtaking to see how quickly and deeply it is falling. We’ve always told ourselves we’re the ‘good guys,’ but with a number of executive orders mandated through a free and fair election, that ‘exceptional’ takes on a different meaning entirely. America is forced to look in the mirror and is seeing a side which it has tried to ignore for a long time. These orders will, and already are, having very bad consequences that Trump supporters and the White House itself do not seem able to grasp. This isn’t a game; our reputation as a country is being highly damaged and in only a few short months we could very well find ourselves at war, with very few friends.
The silver lining is that storms pass and perhaps this will serve as a wake up call which shakes a lethargic electorate and citizenry into action. It has shaken me and I will be doing all I can to fight against this very wrong turn the country has taken. The question now is how long and how severe this storm is going to be. A wry smile appears on my face when I think the most controversial item of the past 8 years was an attempt to give everyone healthcare; just one week later it is possible war, realignment of the world order and a change in the core principles of what it means to be American.
It is amazing to see how spineless the Grand Old Party has become. It used to be grand indeed but now is showing that its representatives in the federal government are cowards with absolutely no moral compass, no bravery, not much of anything really.
For the record I’ve been both Republican and Democrat; now I’m officially neither. The point of this post is to show my friends that I’m highly against Trump, his agenda, and will be fighting back. Hopefully, this is the only political post I’ll make here; I’ve long used a different venue outside of social media for my political opinions which I find to be preferable and more effective.
Attached is a picture of the sunrise I took at Pillar Point Harbor on October 23rd, 2015. The light from the sunrise is pushing up against the dark fog. At this point, either can overtake the other: the fog could advance and blot out the light, or the sunlight will push the fog back to the ocean. I for one, always root for the sunrise.
