I generally like to steer clear of my opinion when writing posts here, but, I thought it might be time for me to start laying out where I stand on certain issues. As such, lets look at Donald Trump.
I am going to start by looking at his policies.
Immigration was his big policy, and this is the issue where I've most changed my views. Stories of farmers begging for temporary workers to be brought in from outside the country when tens, if not hundreds of thousands of recently unemployed workers sit nearby, have done what years of borderline racist conspiracy theories have failed to do - highlighted the problem with our current immigration system. It is not fair to the unemployed in the developed world to keep them out of an available job, and it is even less fair to the people we bring in from other countries, to force them to work jobs that are considered so awful, that nobody in the country will do it. What we really need to do is connect the unemployed with people looking for such labour.
Trade is another issue where there has been a massive change, and frankly, is also one I support. Like the above, it is about outsourcing work to other countries so we can get cheap goods. Trump is not all about closing off trade, but rather, re-balancing things to keep more jobs in the US. My own experience trying to get a job has lead to me agree that there need to be a re-balance of the low-skill and low-wage jobs back towards the developed world. In fact, it tends to be people in the low-skill workforce that support these policies, and the reason is obvious. When you can't get a job, and can't feed your family, something has gone wrong and needs to be fixed.
International affairs, related to both of the above, is another place Trump has made his mark. Again, it is a place I agree with him. He's stood up to China and told them to knock off the nonsense. Ever since Xi came to power in China, he has been acting in a tough and somewhat ruthless manner in foreign affairs. Trump is now showing him what a United States that does the same looks like. It is a country that does not "play nice." Trump is looking out not for the world, but for the USA, and frankly, that's what a good leader should do; look out for their own country. I admit that he takes it too far sometimes, and that a balance is key, a balance that many previous US Presidents have gotten wrong. The US in particular has been seen as the 'leader' of the world for some decades, and that has its own costs. Trump is finally saying that the US is not the 'leader' of the world, and is shedding those costs. Even though I am not american, I can respect that, and understand that, and support that.
Domestically, I find little I can agree with Trump on. One problem is that it tends to be domestic issues where he changes his mind every week. Frankly, I suspect he does not really care much about domestic issues (which is fine, everyone has their own policy focus, including your favourite political leaders) and so lets other power brokers under him (IE the Republican Party) make those decisions, knowing it keeps them happy and in line. One big problem is that a lot of his domestic agenda gets tied up with Trump-the-person. As such...
Lastly, I want to look at his personality.
Trump. Is a motherfucking asshole. And I don't use those words lightly. In fact, this is the first blogpost where I've ever said fuck. With good reason. Trump's personality is so disgusting and deplorable that he has no business in office, whatsoever. I would rather vote for the "Murder Teddy Party" whose entire platform is about murdering me, than someone as big of a dick as Trump. Frankly, I find myself unable to respect people who think that his bullying is not a problem, or, can be tolerated because he is able to provide X, Y, or Z. I think it's a huge part of why I've lost faith in democracy, lost faith in humanity, and now think humanity is not worth saving. When you vote for someone who will lie to your face, and then claim the very next day he did not do so despite being presented with video evidence to the contrary, you weaken society itself. You tell people that it is fine to lie, to cheat, to abuse the system, to abuse power, and to step on those weaker than you. You tell people that power is justification. You tell people that as long as you get what you want, you can do anything, no matter how malicious. You tell people that it is okay to abuse your power for your own personal gain. You enable those who use power for their own personal gain. You encourage people to use power for their own personal gain. Official power. Unofficial power. Societal power. Mental power. Physical power. Physical power like violence. You enable those who use violence to get what they want. You enable those who use violence to bend others to their will. You enable those who use violence to force their views on others. You enable force. You endorse force. You suggest force. You encourage force.
It's not a new idea. Force to get what you want. Tiberius Gracchus, Maximilien Robespierre, and Vladimir Lenin all supported it, and actually convinced their populations that it was a great idea. And it did lead to change. Drastic change. Caesar. Napoleon. Stalin.
So that is what I think of Trump. Like Gracchus, Robespierre, and Lenin; a man who has some good ideas, some ideas I support. And like Gracchus, Robespierre, and Lenin, a man who will lead to a new Caesar, a new Napoleon, or a new Stalin.
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