Protesters demonstrate on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, across the street from the U.S. Capitol, protesting the Trump administration’s executive order banning Muslim immigration. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
We’re all fed up, no matter what side we’re on.
Trump is president because so many of us have had it with the way things are in Washington. So many of us just didn’t care anymore. We felt helpless. And with good reason.
Everywhere we look, we’re reminded that the overwhelming majority of our leaders are complete hypocrites; totally untrustworthy and interested, not in us, but solely in their own self-preservation and the special interests that line their pockets.
The nation was ripe for a Washington “outsider” to come along and tap into that resentment. What we didn’t bargain for was a sociopath and a demagogue.
Trump didn’t fool all of the people, or even most of the people.
He lost the election by nearly 3 million votes to Hillary Clinton, and more if you count votes that were cast for Jill Stein and Gary Johnson.
But he fooled enough people to win three crucial states by a sum total of 80,000 votes, giving him the Electoral College edge he needed to claim the presidency.
Putting a sociopath like Trump in the highest office in the land definitely wasn’t the way to go. But sometimes, things have to become FUBAR (Fucked Up Beyond All Repair) to see where we went wrong.
And, boy are things FUBAR now.
How many of us didn’t even vote? How many haven’t donated to help support causes vital to maintaining balance in our unbalanced society, such as the ACLU or Planned Parenthood?
Prior to this election, when was the last time you called your congressman? Joined in a march? Or used your Facebook page for something other than posting pics of your kid or your dog?
I include myself in most of the above. We were living on the fault line. And we let it happen.
Granted, for most of us, things would be much easier if Hillary was President right now, but they wouldn’t necessarily be “better.”
Sometimes, to make things better, whether it be for ourselves as individuals, or collectively as a nation, we need a major shake up–a “shock to the system,” as Tony Robbins would say, to get us out of that rut we’ve been so accustomed to living in.
Thus, while easy is certainly preferable, it isn’t always the best thing for us.
Especially, considering the growing tension and division that seems to have permeated our culture to the point videos of strangers kicking the shit out of each other over a box of Twinkies at Walmart seem to surface every five minutes.
Okay, maybe that will always happen at Walmart, but we’re not fighting about the Twinkies, are we?
In Scottish history, William Wallace originally wanted nothing to do with the Scottish resistance to the Britain. It was only after they killed his woman, and FUBAR’d his life, that he chose to take part in the struggle. It would ultimately cost him his life but lead to the eventual freedom of an entire race of people.
Easy is not always right. And now, like William Wallace, our lives are in danger of being FUBAR’d, even more than they are now. But so far, by all accounts, we are responding admirably to the challenge.
We are marching in numbers greater than that of the inauguration (hehe). We are protesting. We are posting and calling and shouting from the rooftops we’re not going to let this administration set fire to almost two hundred and fifty years of progress.
David Fagin is a New York writer, producer and musician. His resume boasts an incredibly diverse range of contributions, from top news sites such as Salon, TheImproper, AOL News, Yahoo and The Huffington Post to a wide-range of humorous entities such as The Onion, The Muppets, Comedy Central, Dennis Miller, and Howard Stern. He is fascinated by technology and social media and the seemingly love/hate relationship we have with the changing world. He is also a food snob.David Fagin
Let’s face it, Donald Trump didn’t invent racism or bigotry. Those who support this type of despicable treatment of their fellow man have been around since the beginning of time.
All that Trump’s win did was shine a light on them, like cockroaches. Except these cockroaches no longer feel the need to scurry when the light’s on. And, that’s okay. At least we now know who and where they are.
The Trump administration has shown us, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that we have some major cleaning up to do. And we can no longer ignore the problem like the pile of old clothes in the closet that we keep on saying we’ll get around to getting rid of.
As the last week has shown us, if we don’t act now, we will be facing a completely different America than the one our forefathers intended; different than the one so many of our ancestors died to defend and different than the one we want for our children.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s response to the recent executive order banning Muslims from entering the United States, is a shining example of standing up for what’s right in the face of blatant discrimination.
In spite of the horrible things being done by Trump and his people, in years to come, when future generations look back at this time in our history, they will no doubt remember it as one of unity, not division.
It will be seen as a time when every free-thinking, tolerant, equality-supporting citizen rose up and joined together to defeat an ideology based on hate and fear.
It’s not going to be easy. We’re only one week in to a crisis that could very well last for the next four years, but we’re already rising to the occasion.
If we remain vigilant, years from now, when we look back on this point in time, the Trump administration will have served its purpose. It will be nothing more than a political enema, helping to purge a great deal of the rottenness from our national “constitution.”
Going forward, odds are we will think long and hard before adopting the laissez faire attitude of years past, when it comes to the governing our country and the appointing of our elected officials.
We will pay much closer attention and give “extreme vetting” to those seeking our approval for public office. And it could very well be, when we look back, that it took a buffoon like Trump and his misguided band of idiots to show us the way.