How many times have you heard someone say, it doesn’t matter who I vote for, because they’re all the same anyway? For too long, Americans have allowed their apathy and/or, naivety, control elections, and the United States has often suffered because the level of leadership, especially in the areas of ethics and/or integrity, has all but disappeared. Although he lost the popular vote, in 2016, Donald Trump was elected to the Presidency, winning the Electoral College. There were probably several reasons why this happened, then, including: 1) Many did not like his opponent, Hillary Clinton; 2) They believed her version of her personal reality and thought he was a talented businessman who could make the government work better; 3) They wanted a change; 4) They were inspired by his slogans, among them, drain the swampY Make America Great Again; 5) They believed that the nation had become too liberal; and for a variety of other reasons. One thing we should have learned from the last four years is that who we pick makes a difference, especially in terms of lasting ramifications and so on. With that in mind, this article will briefly attempt to consider, examine, review, and discuss 5 of these, and why this should be of concern.
1. Pandemic Management: If we go beyond the rhetoric and claims of this President and simply look at the data and the performance, we realize that the United States, with approximately 4.5% of the world’s population, experienced close to 20% of the infected cases and deaths. Statistically, this indicates that our performance and response was, well, below average, and this is largely due to Trump’s response and/or lack of one. An examination of what we know about the timeline indicates a combination of denial, diversion, misunderstanding, false messaging, and setting a bad example (holding rallies, etc., without social distancing and downplaying the importance of wearing a mask). Furthermore, the failure to follow the science, and effectively use and understand the relevant data, has hurt many people! We should hopefully learn from this, public health and planning must be in place, and the American people deserve and benefit when the best experts are consulted and listened to.
two. Lack of public trust in government and public officials: Many believe that the public’s lack of trust in the government and its leaders was largely responsible for the election of President Trump. This president’s tendency to tell lies, as indicated by political fact-checkers, has been a major component, in present day, witnessing, the most polarized nation in recent memory!
3. Climate change: Although almost every expert and nation in the world informs us that climate change is not only real and an imminent threat to the future of the earth, Trump, at least publicly, has minimized the risks and, even, the danger. However, neither denials nor procrastination make this go away. By this behavior, the United States has wasted opportunities, etc., to produce sustainable improvement!
Four. Ambient: Several presidents, especially in the last half-century or so, have attempted to address environmental risks and hazards by encouraging actions that promote clean air and water! Trump, instead of continuing this, reversed and/or downplayed several of these protections!
5. Enabling Hate Crimes: Statistics indicate that the number of hate crimes has increased, until before, unwitnessed, levels. When, we witness, white supremacists and neo-Nazis, empowered and conspiracy theorists, encouraged, doesn’t that potentially create a clear and present danger?
Wake up, America, it matters who you vote for. With multiple states determined by such narrow margins, isn’t it past time to avoid and/or minimize the potential dangers/ramifications of choosing the wrong people?