The presidential elections this year seem to be strikingly different from any in recent memory. The bounds of normal logic and reason seem to not apply, and both sides are manifesting hugely polarized candidates who leave many people wondering how Americans could agree with and vote for the views that some of them are proposing. All of us Americans, whether we are confused or infatuated with the candidates, need to take a step back to realize how we have arrived here. In a country like America, characterized by freedom and democratic elections, the people don't necessarily get the political leaders they need, but the ones they deserve. That is what makes the prospect of a Trump presidency a distinct possibility and a scary one.
Before we can ask ourselves how Trump has been able to go so far in this election, we have to take a step back and look at ourselves first. Plastic, fake, blinded by money (and the pursuit of it), arrogant, ignorant, resistant to outsiders even though this country was built by them, power hungry and the believing that an important name is worth more than important ideals. These may seem like the characteristics some people want to see in Trump, but I would argue these are the characteristics of modern America.
Before we try to analyze Trump for the words he chooses and the actions he supports, we should look at what actions we allow our country to conduct and how America must look to an outside observer. It may seem like a rash statement to make, comparing the U.S., as a whole, to one of the most controversial figures in modern politics, but if you look at the they ways the U.S. influences the world, it is easy to see how a person, such as Trump, can gain so much power here.
America gains a lot of influence through its giant military, near monopolization of the entertainment industry and economic prowess. We project values that are centered in money and fame, but this leads to us idolizing people not for what they believe in but for how entertaining they are to us. The U.S. has the power to intervene militarily in any country in the world within hours and uses this power to take the lives of suspected terrorists and their associates using a drone controlled by a person half a world away.
Most Americans see these actions and dismiss them as America always working to make the world a better place, but how often do we engage in something truly for the good of the world and not only our own country's advancement? There is a tendency for Americans to believe an action taken by our country is just, only because it was was America who took it. We need to start analyzing our country as an outsider would and critiquing it when it needs to be critiqued. It is only then we will be able to have the country and leaders we deserve.
