Speak Out Against Trump

Rochester, NY -Denouncing the President-elect is not an act of disunity. Where would the United States be without ordinary citizens speaking up and questioning the policies and decisions of their elected leaders? After-all, we are a nation born out of dissent rather than conformity.

I am not willing to extend Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt. He is not my President. He is not my representative. He is not my fellow American. Trump lost my confidence when he mocked the disabled and then lied about his intentions. He lost my allegiance when he threatened to put a political opponent in jail. He lost my trust when he bragged about sexual molestation of women. He lost my faith when he attacked President Obama as being a Muslim foreigner. He lost my belief when he denied the science of climate change and vowed to dismantle the EPA. He lost my respect when he praised Putin and emboldened countries to develop nuclear weapons. He lost any chance of earning my vote when he said that torture should be legalized.

When I hear people say that it is appropriate to move on because Trump won and that’s how democracy works, I would reply that they are not just advocating to move on from the results of the election; it sounds to me like they are telling people to move on from their sovereign duty to think and act as free citizens. Personally speaking, I am not willing to do that.

As I see it, the main reason that Trump won a narrow victory in battleground states such as Michigan, Ohio, Florida and Wisconsin is because he was willing to pit Americans against each other by exploiting their most superficial differences. From the beginning he engineered a political and social media campaign which was based on the manipulation of human biases through a toxic blend of entertainment, distortion of facts, and fear mongering. He played residents on the border against immigrants looking for work, and Black Lives Matter protesters against law enforcement. He played corporations against China, and cities against rural towns. He played the mainstream media against politicians, and Christians against Muslims. He played men’s hatred of women against the symbolism of a female president, and soldiers against their officers.

Sadly, this vitriol has led to real violence. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there have been at least 700 cases of hateful harassment or intimidation since the election. The Anti Defamation League has issued a report about a rise in anti-Semitic attacks (especially against journalists), and school administrators are seeing a dramatic spike in bullying across the country. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

I plead with anyone who opposes Trump to speak out. This is not the time to remain naive, polite, hopeful, and silent. In the words of M.K. Gandhi, “All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take.”