Apr 12, 2019

President Trump and Democracy

Written By: Mykala Jordan

by Mykala Jordan

            From the beginning, Donald Trump has been ruthless. Now that he has been serving as our President for over two years now, it is clear to see that our President has a very selfish agenda. Personally, I would want the leader of our nation to be drastically different than the way that Trump presents himself. One current issue that has been very controversial for some time is the United States/Mexico border. President Trump is convinced that most of the drugs that are trafficked into the United States are from Mexico. With that being said, many drugs do get trafficked into this country from Mexico. Although this is true, a wall is not going to stop the drugs from coming into this country. President Trump’s selfish agenda has been the highlight of his presidency and will continue to be because of the fact that he really does not prioritize the American people as he should. One of the great issues with the President’s views on Mexico is that he continues to threaten to close down the border completely so no one can go back and forth at all. 

            A recent BBC article was published that spoke eloquently about the detrimental effects of President Trump’s potential border closing. When interviewed on this topic, the president of Migration Policy Institute claimed that the closing would be “a bit like a murder-suicide.” He also stated that the move would be highly non-partisan and also that it would have a negative effect on the American economy. Not only would it hurt the economy, but there many people that work and live both in the United States and Mexico. President Trump is only thinking of himself in this entire process, and he does not have any sympathy for any of the people in Mexico at all even though those people directly benefit the American economy. Either those people are working in Mexico to produce commodities that Americans will buy, or those people are actively working in the United States and supporting local cities and towns with their employment. Another major issue is that Mexico is the lead provider of avocados to the United States and that would heavily affect mostly every part of the United States. Avocado is not only essential to many restaurants, but also essential to many people’s daily food intake. 

This political threat by President Trump is not only manipulative, but very sinister in its roots. Many of the people who support President Trump do not believe in immigration policy, and also express disdain of “outsiders” in America.  The repercussions of this decision are very drastic, and the majority of Trump supporters do not seem to understand what this would do to America as a whole. The idea of polarization can be applied to this situation because of the fact that the country is seemingly very divided over this border decision. Most of the opinions that exist either are completely against it or completely supportive of it. Most of the people that I have spoken to about this subject matter feel one way or the other, and it is reasonable to feel as if one must pick sides in this. Polarization can heavily affect a democratic state and can affect the unity of a nation because of the lack of democratic intentions by the nation’s most powerful. 

This issue of polarization is not only a pressing issue with President Trump, but with America as a whole. Polarization by our nation’s leader is problematic because it is the opposite of what we need right now as a country. This polarization process did not start with the border decision, but from the beginning of Donald Trump’s political career that started a short time ago. President Trump’s views are very clear, and he is not shy about expressing his uncertainty about the Democratic party in the United States. He has expressed many disagreements of the views of the Democratic party, and he continues to do that when he speaks publicly about any event. Polarization can weaken a democratic society, because if people are divided then there is no common goal to be achieved. In a functioning and stable democracy, there is the need for social justice, as well as some sort of equality consensus within the communities here. Not only can the polarization process affect a democracy, but the effects of polarization can also hurt a democratic state. 

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2 Comments

  1. Cynthia Mejia

    Mykala,

    I agree with your statement that President Trump’s wall proposal will strain America’s economy. Often, field workers in America are Mexicans. With President Trumps wall proposal, the flow of immigrants will slow down and that will result in field production slowing down because farmers will not have enough workers. We never see Americans in the field working. Do you think there can be an effect on NAFTA if the wall does go up?

    In your article you state, “President Trump’s selfish agenda has been the highlight of his presidency and will continue to be because of the fact that he really does not prioritize the American people as he should.” Don’t you think that in his eyes, he believes he is prioritizing the American people by building the wall? How do you think he should prioritize the American people?

    I also agree that polarization can affect a democratic state, but if we look back in time, during the Clinton administration, immigration policy was just as severe as the current administration. In fact, it was his administration that created the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement. Despite the idea that democratic policies are more lenient to immigrants, President Obama had the highest numbers of deportations. It is clear that polarization divides a nation instead of unifying it, but lets not forget what George Washington warned us about, the dangers of divisive party politics.

    Best,
    Cynthia Mejia

  2. Ashlie Oliver

    Mykala,
    I can understand your frustrations with the current state of the presidents decision making. Your accusations that he is a narrow minded and self serving individual are spot on. His intentions with closing the borders are as narrow minded as most any decision he makes. The polarization of the party system is something that is not new however. Throughout the United States history there have always been major differences between the parties. The only major difference between then and now is the freedom at which information spreads. We live in a time where very little can be kept from the public for very long.

    The key that you are missing in all of this is that it is those differences that make this country great. Our countries ability to have differing views and voice them is what the founders wanted. This is also the one thing that will ensure the demise of Trump. The best takeaway from the polarization that has run so rampant throughout Trump’s presidency is that he has inspired millions to act in order to prevent someone like him from gaining office again. This action is what will usher in a new era of politics in this country. What we are witnessing now is the darkness before the dawn. The last gasp of the dying age of political avarice.

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