I Just "Unfriended" Donald Trump

Full disclosure: I never was friends with Donald Trump. Shocking, I know.

Not long ago I wrote about how I was going to start deleting Facebook friends if they showed disrespect by saying or implying I was stupid,or disloyal, or immoral, or whatever because I did not share their POV on aparticular candidate or cause. Because I’m not as quick as I used to be*, it took a while before I realized that is EXACTLY the MO of Mr. Trump. If you disagree with him you’re a loser, disloyal, stupid, or whatever insult pops into that incredibly coiffed head. If you run a privately held company I guess you can get away with that. But I don’t see that playing well with other countries or leaders both within and outside of our country. 

And while I have a multitude of objections to Mr. Trump and his vision of what the USA is supposed to look like, it is what I see as the potential disaster to American relations with other countries that frightens me the most. I understand that because he appears to be strong he has a certain appeal, especially among those who feel like we get played by the rest of the world or feel like they’re losing ground. It is frustrating to feel like you don’t have the control you once had. 

But like the parent of an adolescent, that control was an illusion anyway. We may be the biggest, toughest kid on the block, but there are lots of kids and they’re all saying, “You’re not the boss of me!” Trying to bully them into doing what we want, when we want, ignores that we are not, have not been for some time, self-sufficient. It also manifests an attitude of superiority that fosters resentment instead of respect and makes cooperation in solving shared problems even more difficult. Other countries have their own agendas and self-interest; those won’t change just because we want them to.

We can rail against globalism, international trade agreements, a shrinking world, but, the fact of the matter is, all of those are the new reality. Actually, they’ve been the reality for a long time; this election is not a time machine and that train left the station years ago and it’s not turning around. Our economy, your portfolio and savings if you have them, probably even your job, will suffer if we try to economically punish either our enemies OR, heaven forbid, our friends. And exactly how many friends will we have left shortly into a Trump presidency? As a candidate, Mr. Trump frightens even our long time allies and trading partners!

We are interdependent, and will continue to be. We cannot build walls, either physical or metaphorical, protecting us from the world any more than Prince Prospero could seal out the Red Death (Edgar Allan Poe reference, if you’re interested, and an apt Donald Trump analogy, IMO). It remains to be seen if we’re alone in the universe, but we sure are not alone in the world (see previous post about foreign reaction to Mr. Trump that we personally experienced, even before he secured the nomination), and no one likes a bully. We cannot, our economy cannot, afford to alienate every country that doesn’t do what we tell them, not without hurting our own interests at least as much as theirs. Probably more, because we have so much more to lose. 

Poor countries that lose 10% of their economy will remain, well, poor. But what happens if we our economy takes even a 5% hit? Think that won’t affect you? Think again, bucko. That number, to put it in Trumpeter terms? HUGE! Be careful what you wish for. I’d suggest you better make sure you have another cup from which you can drink before you throw the one you think is ugly against the wall. I just know that you and I have a much better chance of being collateral damage in an international economic collapse than Mr. Trump, because, for him personally, losing 10-20% of his wealth just makes him, well, less rich; he’ll recover if he is half the businessman he claims to be. You know who else will be okay? The other rich people. They have the resources to ride out the storm, but unless you’re among ‘em, your odds are not good, because we regular folks are the 9^th Ward in Hurricane Donald.
*Second disclosure: I’m not really THAT slow. I have been sitting on this for a while now.

Unfriended

I was recently “unfriended” by a former student, probably because I called her out on the use of what I consider to be an offensive, even hateful, divisive term, “libtard,” even though it was NOT personally directed at me. I wonder if she refers to mentally challenged people as “retards”? 

She was not the first to take this action (but please note, it was SHE who severed the relationship, such as it was, although I certainly implied an invitation for her to do so), perhaps won’t be the last. However, I have had numerous conversations with my right-tilting friends, and pride myself (and compliment them) on keeping the civil lines of communication open, making whatever points we want considered in a respectful manner. That is democratic thought and communication, a foundation of our country.

I’m not losing any sleep over this loss, but I have obviously given it some thought on my almost daily walks through the ‘hood. As a casual student of human nature, I now think about her and the decision she made with a combination of curiosity and sadness. My memory of this woman as a student is nothing but fond (and I knew her better than many, because she was a former softball player); I remember her with a perpetual smile on her face, friendly, kind, giggly, just a “nice kid” from a solid family.

Everyone’s life path is different and everyone faces different challenges and obstacles. But I wonder what happened to turn this seemingly cheerful optimist into such a (again, seemingly, judging solely on the torrent of FB posts and shares) bitter, angry person, almost filled with hate? It seems unlikely I will ever get an answer to this question (although I am still friends with her sister), but I hope she finds her own answers that will bring her peace. I doubt the outcome of this election or the political arena will do it for her, though.