Donald Trump is a human being.
Donald Trump is a bigot, a narcissist, a misogynist, a nincompoop, a Neanderthal (only in the colloquial sense), a demagogue, a sexist, a homophobe, a robber baron, a faithless charlatan, a snake oil salesmen, a racist, and a bad businessman.
Donald Trump is a human being.
Donald Trump is not a candidate I agree with. His platform consists of playing upon common misconceptions, and even if I were to say that they were based in fact, they are ultimately anti-immigration, incorrectly identified as religious, and seemingly uninformed. He does not fulfill any of the qualities I look for in a President. But he does fulfill the qualities for something else.
Donald Trump is a human being.
I feel the urge to stress that he is a human being, not despite his poor qualities, but rather because of them. Because, news flash, he is not a monster, he is not a nightmare, and he is not some villain from your comic books that will be conquered by some hero.
He is not going to go away anytime soon.
But even more than that, unlike a monster he does not have supernatural qualities. Unlike a nightmare, he is not unavoidable, and unlike in the comic books, Donald Trump is not a force which requires a tights-clad man to solve.
Donald Trump is a human being.
To the liberals: He is not the problem which heralds the end of days. However dramatic he seems, however, malicious and cruel, he is nothing more than a person. You can quibble about who is a superior democratic candidate all you like, but realize that defeating Donald Trump doesn’t require a superhero. It just requires a human being.
While is not the darkness incarnate, he is also not the business guru and charismatic leader that some seem to dress him up as. But just like every politician and every champion, Donald Trump is a person. He may have resounding successes, but they are accompanied by comprehensive defeats. It's impossible to define a human being in 1,000 words or fewer, so I won't even bother trying, and neither should his supporters, or his opponents.
Because let’s face it: Donald Trump is a human being. However great he seems, however, rich he is, he is still capable of failing. And more than that, Donald Trump is capable of falling into greed, into corruption, and into the same problems that flaw every other politician you criticize. This man does not possess any greater wisdom, for one simple reason:
Donald Trump is a human being.
To the conservatives: He is not the answer you are looking for. Yes, he has flaws, but he has flaws in places where we fail to suspect. Please, vote as you believe, but please be real with yourselves when you vote. Don’t justify your vote by saying that he is the candidate you have been waiting for, that you truly buy his slogan and that you believe he can make the United States great again (unless you truly believe that, in which case it is your right and we can have a very different discussion later). Admit that you adhere to party lines because you’re afraid of going against the grain, of standing against a very powerful political entity, or simply because you didn’t speak out against the man previously, and have no desire to have someone else tell you that you are a part of the problem.
And, perhaps to the chagrin of my readers, I understand that position. I understand that you live a busy life and that it is hard to read up on empirical data condoning or condemning the man. You voted how you felt, based off of your experiences and based off of your hopes for the country.
Here is where I stop speaking to the ardent Trump supporters, and even some of the Trump apologists. Here is where I refer to my liberal readers.
As human beings, we need to stop condemning people for speaking out in support of Trump. We need to condemn the problems, the obvious sores that people are overlooking. But we can’t allow ad hominem’s like “they looked like a Trump supporter” or “all Trump supporters are blind sheep,” not even because they are inherently wrong, but rather because that isn’t even touching the crux of the matter.
We will vote. And we will see what happens. Maybe Truman will win again, and the newspapers will print “Dewey wins by a landslide,” and everything will be as we thought it should.
Or maybe Trump wins. Maybe we face the beginning of the end.
And that’s OK.
Because living as citizens in a democracy, we either defend it, attempt to reform it, or condemn it. And if Trump wins the election, through legitimate means, then the United States citizens have chosen him to lead our country.
And then we start figuring out how to stop him from ruining it.
Because if the democratic system in the United States is so broken that you would rather have no system than one led by Donald Trump, then we ignore two centuries of painstakingly crafted tradition, a thousand lifetimes of sacrifices and we ignore the question of what comes next.
So if you’re so convinced that voting is bad either way, fine. Start forming political clubs. Start drafting petitions. Start researching possible solutions, and start pushing for them despite the obstacles. But as one human being to another, don’t just stop.
Because Donald Trump is just one person, involved with one government, comprised of millions of people, governing over hundreds of millions of people. Don’t say he’s the problem. Don’t personify evil as Donald Trump and then blame everyone around you for things that seem like the veritable apocalypse.
Take action. And if you fail in your endeavors, seek new ways to achieve what you want.
After all, Donald Trump did. And after two failed attempts at running a successful campaign, after pouring his money, time, and effort into figuring out a winning strategy, he has made it this far.
Imagine what millions of human beings can do, after seeing what he has done.
