On November 8th the American public will vote for their next leader. Recent American elections have been glorious competitions to see who can add more holes to the sinking American ship. Perhaps it’s time to elect a candidate who would set the boat on fire. Someone so incredibly bad that Americans would be forced to acknowledge that they need to take a second look at how their very democracy works. And I can think of no political candidate more qualified in the realms of abject stupidity than Donald Trump.
I previously did an essay on all the candidates for president and said that I expected Donald Trump to be absorbed into Ted Cruz’s camp but eventually the opposite happened. Trump’s ability to entice non-voters combined with Hillary’s ability to put off regular voters has created a close race which could swing either way. The gap has completely closed thanks to the dropping of Trump’s paedophilia case and Hillary’s undroppable e-mail scandal. The American public have been left with the awkward decision to choose between a corrupt politician and a corrupt business man.
Can anyone remember the last good US president? Eisenhower and Truman seem great with JFK being not too bad. Three solid choices in a row followed by mostly garbage ever since. Although I have to consider that post World War 2 America had everything going for it economically. They could have elected an inflated condom with a smiley face on it and there would still have been economic prosperity in the 50’s.
For how many years now has America been moving in the same direction?
The leaders have a reliance on the buzzword issues of the day and actively avoid bringing up long term problems. American politics is seeping with financial corruption and no candidate is willing to promise changes as that would kill their own funding.
Let’s forget right or left because these ruinous issues have come through under both. For how long have politicians been stamping down a road leading to ruin, a road whereby they burn the public’s faith in democracy as the fuel for their ascent to power.
When election day comes near, irrelevant of the country, the politicians come scuttling with their manifestos, each filled to the brim with promises and dreams. It would be forgivable if these manifestos were filled with naïve optimism ready to be quashed but the truth is that they say one thing but do the other. Hillary Clinton herself said:
you need both a public and a private position
This quote will be proven should Hillary be elected. She is currently in opposition to the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership). If she wins this election she will attempt to put it through.
That’s the sort of politician she is.
In the UK there was a rise from right wing populism with UKIP taking seats and pushing a successful Brexit campaign. When politics works well, populism is wasteful. It’s no surprise in the current climate that Americans have their own right wing populist in Trump.
Lest we forget, Americans also have the option of voting for Jill Stein (The Green Party) or Gary Johnson (The Libertarian Party). Sadly as America is effectively a two party system, increased voting for either of these candidates will damage their own core demographics.
I’m sure many of you are close to despair at the election but once again I must say that the previous presidents have been incredibly poor.
Look no further than Obama.
Obama
Obama is a very popular president in most western countries where any president who avoids dragging the world to war is seen favourably. His fine oration helped build up an imagine of professionalism. If most of us took a look at how he actually performed, I’m sure that we would less than impressed.
Obama made lots of lip service to the civil liberties crowd during his initial campaign. Criticising the constant encroachment on said liberties to fight a terror war with no possible ending. I would love to tell you that he kept his word or at least tried to keep it, but the opposite was true. Obama was another cog in the Washington secrecy machine.
Statements like this:
This administration puts forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we provide.
And this:
This administration acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our security, it is not. There are no shortcuts to protecting America.
Became this once he took over:
I think it’s important to recognise that you can’t have 100% security and also have 100% privacy and zero inconvenience.
Promises like, ‘displaying bills for five days before signing’ were broken immediately.
Obama promised to protect whistleblowers and force government agencies to work within the law. After Edward Snowden exposed illegal spy programs taking place in Obama’s America guess who had to flee?
He promised to recognise the Armenian Genocide but refused to do so as he would offend Turkey (a strategic ally). He promised to stop Habeas Corpus (permanent unchallenged detainment) but instead he signed an act extending it in 2013.
And if you don’t find any of that compelling then why not look at his record on drone usage. Seriously, take the smallest peak at his civilian kill count.
Bush
Watching Bush trying to control America was like watching a chihuahua take the reigns of a racing horse. The man who promised personal responsibility allowed Americas hunger for 9/11 vengeance to roll over him. They ended up in a war with a random country burning through the nation’s wealth to get there. All the time his Vice-President Dick Cheney got wealthy off the very same war that Bush started. His failings are common knowledge.
The less said about Bill “lets deregulate the banking sector, I’m sure that won’t come back to bite us in the ass” Clinton the better.
And back to the current candidates
It’s difficult to tell what effect the new president will have. The election has destroyed the credibility of both candidates. Whoever wins will come into office with extraordinarily low favourability.
Hillary promises to make Americans “Stronger together” but her campaign has led to the country being split along partisan lines. The only hope she has of uniting the public is if she unites everyone against her. Whilst Trump promises to “make America great again”, the phrase begs the question, “when was America great?” Was it great when they killed off the Native Americans? Great when Olympic champion Jesse Owens was treated worse by his own president than by Hitler? Great when they put Japanese Americans into internment camps? I honestly believe that such an idealised state never existed and is a figment of their imagination.
Changes need to happen to break the cycle of slow decline and maybe we need a disastrous president like Donald Trump, to wake America up and save the rest of the world from dealing with this nightmare.
Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this article are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Please don’t sue me.
