What Is the State Of This Union?
I’ll admit it, I was in the room while the State of the Union address by President Trump was on T.V. I say I was in the room because I was on my computer, trying to not pay attention to the noise. I also left three fourths of the way through when he started talked about building our already enormous armed forces.
I’ll also admit that I cannot stand that man. Everything that comes out of his mouth is either inane or a lie. His tone was very mild in this particular speech and he seemed like he was just reading from his prompter. He didn't sound like the jerk that he really is, but he wasn't effective either.
Honestly, he sounded like he doesn’t care about this country. Because that is the truth, he only cares about himself. I have never for one moment felt like this man is interested in helping the people of this country one bit. Politics is a game to him and hopefully he will lose.
I will also admit that I don’t blame him entirely for the fact that he is our leader. I blame those who voted for him. If you saw something in this criminal, what does that say about you? What does it say about our country that so many people voted for Trump?
What is the actual state of this union?
It is true that unemployment is at a low, mostly because people need more than one job to survive. Wages have not increased for the average worker in ages. We can readily see that the environment is being destroyed by the fact that we have horrific weather on a regular basis. Our national debt is rising and so are healthcare and education costs.
Photo by @Matthew_T_Rader on Unsplash
The only good things I can see happening in politics is the fact that the president might be impeached and that there are a whole new set of women in office. I don’t know if I believe that Trump will actually get impeached, however the case against him will hopefully hurt his chances in 2020.
I know that I am a very leftist liberal and many people think that my ideas are too radical to actually be implemented. However, I’m still a believer in the ideas of Bernie Sanders. I think that when real change happens, it is always revolutionary. We need to seriously make our healthcare system and our college education free. We need to do a lot of things that will take a strong leader.
It is not impossible to do these things, as most of the developed world has already done them with great success. We need to spend less money on the military and put more resources in the cyber wars that are happening with Russia trying to influence our elections. We are not this weak.
We are a very arrogant country, always claiming that we are the most free and democratic nation in the world. I’m not sure if we are that free and I don’t know if capitalism is the answer to democracy. I don't feel free when there is rampant voter suppression and I don't think the idea of every man for himself and survival of the fittest is freedom.
What is the answer then? I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t think any one individual does either. However, I am very aware that change needs to happen and it needs to happen now. Donald Trump is a mirror image what this country is becoming and I am very ashamed of that.
Also, we don’t just live in a country, we live in a world.
It is important that we remember that distinction when we make our policies as a nation. There is a fallacy in this country that caring about people in other countries is not as justified as caring for our own. Patriotism should mean that you love your country, but that love should extend to the entire world.
The world is watching us and taking cues from our lack of leadership and responsibility. We have become a joke abroad. I have a cousin who was born in America and now lives in Australia who identifies as Indian because she is embarrassed to say she is American.
But this is not just about image, is it? It’s about corruption, about the rich buying the government. Pharmaceutical companies who want to rob us and oil companies who want to pollute the air are winning right now. It is time for the people to take back this country that is supposed to be by the people and for the people.
People, are you listening?
nina
