The 2016 Presidential Election: Thoughts From An Outsider · 6:10pm Nov 9th, 2016
Now, I want to be clear, this will be a biased opinion. I will not condone any sort of hateful rhetoric and such on this post, PMs, forums or wherever else. As much as it's nice to get into a squabble on the internet once in a while, this is not the right time nor place for any of that.
Today was one of the rare days where I woke up really early in the morning.
The moment my eyes opened, I quickly changed, rushed down to the living room and flipped the TV on. I wouldn't lie, what I saw today stunned me and horrified me beyond any manner of belief, so much so that I immediately wanted to rush over to the desktop and type this whole post out.
Of course, I hesitated, if only because I know that with such a state of mind, there can only be bad, uncouth things to come from me, which is why I chose to do it twelve hours later, when my head managed to process all the information that came to me and clear itself free of the insanely foul language that I would've spewed here.
I'm not bringing myself down to standards lower than I've already seen a couple hundred times already.
So, before getting in there, I'll be giving a little context about myself and what I've seen and done.
First off, I'm from Malaysia. For those unsure of what it is, It's the country that lost three planes two years ago.
Secondly, I've been closely following this election cycle ever since I learned that Bernie Sanders was running for office, which I'll get into a bit. I've seen all the major scandals that hit the news every passing month and, by the end of last month, was pretty clear on which end of the issues they stood for. So I'm not a complete outsider, to say the least, but an outsider nonetheless.
Alright, now to dive in.
I think it's common knowledge that both candidates this year were equally disliked. However, I really think that's the problem of this whole race, in that we're holding both candidates at equal standards with each other when really, one of them had the qualifications and the experience to lead this country and the other is Donald Trump. It's really a prime example of false equivalency.
The problem is that we've brought Hillary down to the same standards of Trump; a move galvanized by the media in an effort to make the elections tighter for ratings, I believe. There can be no doubt that the media was partially to blame for this whole mess in the first place. Seriously, they've let Trump run loose around the USA, spouting lie after lie without ever being called out for it. If American journalism isn't dead before, I'm sure it's pretty much burning in hell right now.
The FBI as well were to blame. James Comey's vague letter about Hillary's e-mails just had to come when early votes were about to start. Even the ten days it took to 'search the e-mails' were suspicious enough. In those ten days, Trump and his team lunged at the opportunity, which was really, to me, the dagger that ended her nomination. What's infuriating is how the FBI walked their statements back thereafter, saying she didn't need to be indicted after all.
Saying that after the damage has been done?
The FBI really need a new director if they want to earn any sort of respect again.
Third was Clinton and the Democratic Party themselves for snubbing Bernie Sanders. I don't care whether this whole thing is rigged or not. What I do want to comprehend is how they missed out the fact that Bernie Sanders has a movement large enough to repel Trump's. He was the one person that could potentially stop him, yet the Dems wouldn't even bat an eyelid. Sometimes, I have to wonder how naive and out of touch the Democrats actually are if they can't see how much he had lit the beacon for young voters in the country.
The fourth was — and I hate to say it — the American people.
The thing about America's people is that they get hurt when they're called out, perhaps thanks to their overt patriotism. Honestly, though, I can't believe that in a country considered the bastion of freedom, there can be so many narrow-minded, unhinged people that would actually live there. This was a country that prided itself as a role model, yet in the end, such pride became their undoing.
When you have so much people like that, democracy is bound to fail.
I want to make it clear that I respect you people, though I will not respect some of the choices you make throughout the election, particularly when Bernie dropped out of the Democratic race. There were many who decided not vote or decided to vote Trump or a third party candidate instead, just because their candidate wasn't in the race anymore. The idea that there are those people would just throw their vote, much less put it on the epitome of an antithesis of what Sanders stood for, was immature. This is an adult process, so do get expected to be treated like an adult. Life hasn't pulled to a stop on you for everything else, so what makes you think that life would do that then? This isn't about what you want. This isn't about you.
Whether you like it or not, America has voted and he now represents America. You may be thinking that it's not fair to say that to someone personally without really knowing them or their views first, but you have to understand the gravity of this decision that the people of your country has made and the torturous months you all toiled through. If you're going to ignore it, live and let live, push it all under the bridge, it's going to come and bite you back.
One last note: America and the rest of the world needs to learn about moderation.
The last thing the world needs from you is an argument regarding ad hominem fallacies, calling each other dumb names and spewing out random articles from around the web because the moment you participate in the context of a heated argument would be the moment I think you're just utterly stupid.
Do not think for a second that you're intelligent just by spewing out facts, reason and logic.
If you're not going to state them out in a coherent, sound manner, as well as listen to your opponent's facts calmly without any form of logical thinking yourself, you can be damn sure that I'll think you're just a waste of oxygen.
Now you may notice that I didn't criticize Trump himself.
That's because however much I say or do, he's still going to be America's next president.
All I could do was wait and see what he has in store for his country and the world. If it doesn't work out, he could be reelected by someone else. I could only state the qualms I have regarding certain aspects and trust me, if Hillary was president, I'd do the same thing as well. All in all, it could be summed up in one statement.
I do not fear Trump, but I fear the people he surrounds himself with.
These people are now part of the Oval Office, part of the so-called 'establishment' that he wants to take down. These people are going to be the ones working for him. Their views are irrevocably radical and disgustingly frightening, which will be my point of concern for the next four years. However, those that support him as well are of concern, because like with Brexit, he had just set a dangerous precedent for the entire world.
If the USA could elect Trump, why not we do the same as well?
Why not Marine Le Pen? Why not Nikolaos Michaloliakos? Why not Csanád Szegedi? Why not Jim Saleam? Why not Adam Walker?
It's from that which I'm afraid. That we shall regress back to the narrow minds that past leaders had worked so hard to pull us from.
Of course, all I can do right now is stand for the policies I'm for, the ideals that I know can make the world a whole lot better. At least if I die, I would die knowing that I stood far what I believed was right. That's what makes me happy.
Till then, all I and the rest of the world can do now is wait with bated breath.
For four years.
We shall see.
An interesting and well thoughtout opinion. Living in Texas over here! I, like many in my community, were shocked when trump won. Though as you stated for yourself, we do not fear him. Mainly because the two other branches of gov. Will not allow him to break the status quo. It's one thing to boast and scheme, but another altogether to try and get such a radical agenda through. All those who did not agree with him are still here.
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I'm really sure his more radical proposals (building a wall, exiting NATO, etc.) would not pass through both Senate and House.
It's the smaller, glossed over issues that he shares with like-minded Republicans that now control both branches that would be more concerning and bring some unwanted long term effects to the country.
I voted for Trump to watch the Left and Right lose their shit and burn to the ground. Constitutionalist Party 2020. PEPE 2020.
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Well, congrats, I guess. Five months late and didn't exactly read the entirety of the post, but hey, sure.
4513318 I drop in old post like its hot.... *What am I doing with my life?*