I’m Still Angry…And I Plan to Stay That Way

So, it turns out that the results from Tuesday’s election weren’t just some super-vivid and super-scary nightmare. Damn it. I was really hoping my overactive imagination had gotten the better of me and that I would wake up to a sane world. So much for hope.

I know today’s should be given over to the continuation of The Vacation, but I just can’t. I’m still too angry. I promise I’ll get back to art, travel, writing, and other topics this blog normally focuses on, but bear with me for another political post. After all, my voting voice isn’t being heard (as well as the voices of more than half of Americans) so this is all I’ve got.

Putting on My Angry Face

Yes, I’m angry. The results of any election are bound to disappoint some people, but, as I mentioned in my last anti-Trump rant, this time is different. For a few days I couldn’t put a finer point on that, but a few sleepless nights have made me understand the reasons why it’s different and why I’m so angry.

First off I’m angry that slightly less than half of this country voted for someone who during his campaign openly insulted, ridiculed, and harassed multiple groups of people including veterans, Muslims, women, and the disabled.

Trump’s got a right to say what he wants, we’ve got a Constitution that says so, but for people to actually vote for someone who says these things? The mind boggles. These voters have basically said it’s okay to denigrate and even ostracize entire groups of people. What a great example for the kids in this country.

Second, I’m angry that Washington expects us to give this guy a fair chance. No! I refuse to give anyone who has no problem spewing insults and slurs at people any sort of chance. I mean, insults are fine if you’re a raunchy comedian; it’s not fine if you want to hold the most elevated position in this country.

I’m doubly angry over 1) the things he wants to and can do and 2) the idiocy of the fools who believed his rhetoric. If you really believed that Trump has the middle or lower class’s best interest at heart or can actually build a wall the entire length of the US-Mexico border you have been duped.

While Trump can’t even begin to keep some of the ridiculous promises he made during his campaign, he can keep two and because he can keep these two, he will most certainly jump at the chance to act on them. For one, he will gut Obamacare. So for all of us out there who breathed a sigh of relief at not being able to be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition, you might want to hold your breath.

Secondly, he will refuse to abide by the Paris Agreement because he believes that climate change is simply a hoax devised by the Chinese to destroy American industry. Yes, he said that. Even if he claims it was just a joke, he (and his EPA choice) does assert that renewables are a waste of money and bad for the economy.

I’m sorry, I’m no economist, but how is using American engineering, investment, and manufacturing for the long-term project of morphing our fossil-fuel addiction into an infrastructure based on renewables (and creating thousands of jobs in the process) bad for our economy? Basically, Trump will do everything he can to ensure that we stay in the carbon-spewing dark ages. (“Donald Trump could put climate change on course for Danger Zone” – NY Times).

And finally, I’m still angry that my voice hasn’t mattered, that my voice has essentially been silenced due to our antiquated election system. Despite losing the popular vote, despite the majority of Americans not wanting him to hold Presidential Office, the Orange One will be handed over the keys to the White House next January. Ugh.

The United States fought a revolution because its people’s voices were not being heard. Now, over two hundred years later, our voices still aren’t being heard.

Use Your Anger as Fuel for Change!

So, what happens when people aren’t happy with how their government works, when they feel the law isn’t on the side of good? You end up with vigilantes. And I’m telling you to go out and be a vigilante. Not the gun-toting, killing type of vigilante, but a vigilante for change.

Don’t let your anger turn to despair. Use your anger as fuel to make things better. Stand up for the causes you think need addressed. Whether it’s a change in our election process, whether it’s redrawing our political border, whether it’s standing up for equal rights, whether it’s fighting for proper health care in this country, or whether (like me) it’s for the environment, do not let your voice be silenced. Be heard!

And now, all this talk of vigilantes is making me want to play New Order’s “Love Vigilantes.” Enjoy!

 

PS – I am also angry at the protestors. Not the peaceful ones who are expressing their anger and trying to be heard (good for you!), but the ones who destroy property, hurt people, and harass the police. These bad apples make it so the message of the good apples gets lost.