When I was in high school, my dad gave me a desk clock. It wasn’t the clock that was the gift; it was the quote on it. It was from the greatest NFL coach of all time, Vince Lombardi. The quote read, “Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records.” This quote has stayed with me throughout my life and has pushed me through difficult times. So what does this have to do with the title of the article? It’s simple; Donald Trump is the adversity America needs to face right now.
Donald Trump has been president for about a week and has signed numerous executive orders and appointed complete nut-jobs to run certain offices. He has cut funding to essential programs, limited freedom of speech and stopped the flow of refugees from Syria. All of these things are extremely hot topics right now and affect a wide variety of people. Why is this a good thing? It gets people talking, learning and debating. Prior to a Trump presidency there was zero unity between parties. The people were so split and there was so much separation, nobody was willing to meet in the middle to discuss.
Let’s take a look at the incident that happened in Iowa City recently, where a FedEx employee extinguished a flag burning. I don’t want to talk about how heroic or badass this guy is, but I want to address something that was said by another kid that intervened. I don’t recall the exact wording but it was something along the lines of, “I don’t agree with Trump either, but this shit right here, is not how you unite a country.” This is important to look at because someone is calling out a group with similar ideals for creating separation in the country.
We have always had social movements, but right now movements are fusing together with a common enemy. I don’t necessarily agree that to fight for Planned Parenthood, we should make fighting Trump a priority, but the movement is gaining support because they align with other groups in that way. The Women’s March, while I do have my issues with, was a success. Not only because of the enormous support but because it got people talking. Both, republicans and democrats are actively discussing the issues the Women’s March addressed.
What about Hillary? She could have done the country some good… right? No. Hillary represents all that is wrong with modern politics. She is corrupt (not that Donald isn’t) and she offers no change from the past. We know exactly what we will get with Hillary and that is four years of minorities (and a small percentage of other citizens) being the only ones who protest for social justices. She would make people feel comfortable, and those are the worst circumstances for social change. I am going to use myself as an example. When Obama was president, I didn’t care about issues like ACA, PP, or the pipeline. That’s because I didn’t feel like they effected me and I was uneducated on the subjects. Now that Trump is president, I am constantly looking at how his policies effect me and people I care about.
I am a huge believer in being the solution. You don’t like the way you look? Hit the gym and change your diet. You don’t like the way your representatives at the state or federal level are voting? Pick up the phone and dial, schedule a meeting, join a movement. Just do something. These four years can’t be spent just looking at a newspaper and thinking, “Golly that’s unfortunate”. If you like Trump's policies, awesome, go out and speak with the protesters and show them reason. If you hate them, start an organization or join another. America needs leaders and educators. Be one.
