If I can be completely honest, I am scared for the direction this country is taking. How are we expected to teach younger generations about respect for others’ differences when our nation’s leader consistently double-downs on supporting his inflammatory rhetoric. We all face adversity, and we are all different because of the challenges we had to overcome. Frankly, that’s what makes America great, not Donald Trump’s bold vision for what he thinks America should be.
Most of my friends, me included, publicly and privately face significant challenges every day. While every new day starts as a good day there’s always work to be done, fun to be had, and challenges to overcome. Whether a person’s challenges are big or small, they are significant to them and that matters.
After Trump’s first eight days in office, I’m becoming frustrated with his administrations position that certain groups matter more than others. It feels as if he is re-establishing a hierarchy in this country that took decades to dismantle. Movements such as the Civil War, Women’s suffrage, the Civil Rights Movement, the implementation of the ADA, Welfare reform, the Affordable Care Act, and LGBT+ policy reform collectively made significant strides to chip away at this institutional totem pole.
Frequently I find myself thinking, “where am I on Trump’s totem pole” and I’m sure many of my friends have given this thought as well. Trump has said something to offend everyone, and now that he’s speaking from a position of power his words have a higher significance. His words no longer float into the Twittersphere, they’re actually being implemented (like we saw on Saturday).
I'm not an immigrant so I can only imagine what families around the country are feeling after Trump signed the executive action to ban refugees and other potential immigrants. His decision to sign that action was short-sighted, premature, and irresponsible given that hundreds of people with green cards (some even worked for the US government in dangerous positions overseas) could not enter the country. He also wrote a line about deportations that was thankfully repealed by the Federal court system. However, Trump will be appointing new members of the Supreme Court, who will have the power to overturn any ruling by a Federal court.
If it has only been eight days, what will happen in the next four (or possibly eight) years.
Corey Gary
IU '17
