I have contemplated writing this post for months knowing not only the climate in which I live as well as the strength with which I vehemently oppose the man who currently holds the highest elected office in the country. I have never before made a specific appeal against a candidate and sincerely hope that I never have to again.
Please do not vote for Donald Trump.
In brief, I will summarize my argument in this paragraph before elaborating further throughout this post. One, he lacks the qualifications necessary to lead a country and to lead well. Two, he does not value human life. Three, he flouts laws and regulations for personal behavior while using those same laws as a bully pulpit against those he does not like or agree with. Four, he misuses his public platform and the respect inherent in the office to spread misleading and false information as well as to undermine public confidence in those reporting on his actions. Lastly, a side note, several of these points include subpoints which I will also elaborate upon.
First, while Trump does meet the two basic, and only Constitutionally mandated, requirements of US citizenship and age older than 35. he lacks the integrity and training that the position demands. He has experience in two primary fields: real estate and television as either a reality star or a talking head. He, both before he entered office and once elected, has shown a blatant lack of understanding of the function of government. For example, he promised things that cannot constitutionally or legally happen like forcing another country to pay for infrastructure within the United States. Just recently, he floated the idea of an income tax holiday through executive order. Setting aside the fact that people would just receive a different time frame in which to pay the exact same amount of tax, a president as head of the executive branch, has no power of the purse. That power lies, by order of the Constitution, in the hands of Congress, the legislative branch.
Additionally, the words that Trump uses, either spoken or tweeted, denigrate the respect usually given to the holder of that office and reflect cavalier disregard of the trust put in him as a leader. I will give a personal example of what I mean. I once joked with a student, telling him that chocolate milk came from brown cows. I fully expected him to roll his eyes at my lame joke. When he expressed belief in my joke, I laughed but then quickly explained that that was my lousy attempt at a joke; he then laughed and rolled his eyes. How does this apply to this situation? Well, in the relationship of teacher to student, I, as the teacher, have the responsibility inherent as an authority figure to guide those I lead well. My students take my words seriously, placing a lot of weight in them, setting them up for significant misleading if I abused that power. The president has significantly more power and he has abused it to a degree I have never seen before in American history.
Early on, I noticed that Trump had a dramatic propensity towards the sue of hyperbole or exaggeration to make a point. Every tweet or public comment comes loaded with words such as “best,” “worst,” “never,” always,” and many more. These words always put me on high alert as to the veracity of the statement. These statements, if taken as fact, can quickly be fact checked as false or at the least, misleading. Really, all those who consume these messages should categorize them as opinion since hyperbole usually plays a role in its formation.
A third and final aspect of word misuse that Trump exhibits has to do with names. A couple years ago, I started the school year with a lesson on how words have power, using my last name as an example. Names have incredible importance and wield significant power. I make a point about learning my students’ names and how to pronounce them as soon as possible. By doing so, I communicate two ways that they have value. One, I took time to learn their name. Two, I learned it correctly. When someone continuously mispronounces names or calls someone a nickname that the speaker chooses, at best, the speaker expresses memory difficulty or, at worst, specific targeted attempts to malign the other person. The most recent and egregious example of this from Trump comes from his continual use of terms like “China plague” or “kung flu” which not only malign an entire people group but also spreads inaccuracies because COVID is neither a plague or influenza.
Now I will move to my second point. Trump is not pro-life. Many conservatives justify a vote for him on that single issue putting the campaign to end abortion above everything else. As I discussed a couple weeks ago, life does not end at birth. Being truly pro-life means you value life at all points of its existence. Not only that but you value all life, not just the lives of those who look like you. Although I could list an extensive number of examples supporting my point, I will limit myself to the following paragraph.
From the moment Trump started on the campaign trail, he said and did things that communicated a lack of value to a lot of different lives. He labeled all immigrants from Mexico as rapists. He mocked a reporter with a disability. In a tape of actions from a decade prior, he justified sexual assault because of his fame. In a debate, he denigrated a female moderator by referring to the menstrual cycle. He insulted the intelligence of his supporters by claiming they would support him even if he murdered someone in broad daylight on a public street. He banned travelers to the US on valid visas if they came from certain Muslim countries, separating families. His administration delayed years in sending aid to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. He denigrated some people by comparing their countries to excrement. His administration instituted a policy of separating children from their parents including breastfeeding infants, giving no time for weaning and thus endangering the health of mother and infant. Trump’s first attorney general supported the use of the death penalty in drug related crimes. On COVID, the administration has refused to follow scientific protocols and even flouted them which not only has led to an outbreak in the White House itself that reached the president but also and more importantly has allowed the continued spread of the virus which as of a week ago has claimed the lives of over 216,000 American lives.
Thirdly, Trump repeatedly flouts laws and regulations for personal gain while wielding those same laws against others or advocating for their use. A recent example comes from the Hatch Act, designed to separate official functions and finances of the executive branch rom finances and functions of political campaigns such as a presidential reelection campaign. For example, in 2012, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, incurred public censure for violating this act by uttering two phrases at an official function of the department. The Trump administration, including Trump himself, has crossed this line with apparent impunity this whole campaign. The White House hosted several sessions of the Republican National Convention including a citizenship swearing in ceremony. Other violations include interviews by officials such as Jared Kushner, Mark Meadows, and Peter Navarro in which they spoke in their official capacity as well as making campaign speech, an oped written by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson which he sent to employees using a government email, and several others. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has a comprehensive list.
At the end of the day, I could continue longer, if I had more time. Additionally, I know that this post itself has little chance of changing anyone’s mind. While I hope it does, ultimately, I see this entry. as a way to speak up and speak out on my beliefs in this pivotal and monumental election year.