Trumpism — And Why It Is Important To Hold Trump Accountable
Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably heard or read something about the creature –sorry, individual– portrayed in the above image. Yes, we have been invaded by a racist TV star who has brought with him a ghastly movement: Trumpism.
At the beginning, the whole presidential thing seemed to be heading towards a mockery spectacle. In a way it reminded us of the old, unsuccessful reality TV show of the infamous individual called The apprentice. A pathetic attempt to get more fame. And then the almost unexpected happened: the orange-haired real estate tycoon became the executive-in-chief of a nation with an enormous world influence and with the planet’s most powerful military arsenal (fear). We found ourselves deeply-sucked into a delusional, hardcore nationalistic phenomenon: Trump’s world. So far, the ride has been nothing but an unpleasant vomit-experience.
It’s only been a week since President Donald Trump took office and we are already tired of his threats and his pathological lies. We are terrified by the fast-track out of the ordinary signing of executive orders. His inaugural act was filled with controversy and stupidity as he tried obsessively to convince the world that he had the biggest inaugural crowd ever despite clear evidence to the contrary.
What before were cringe-worthy tweets are now becoming the words of actions. Mr. Trump hit the ground running last week by signing executive orders as if they were mere tweets. Which It’s beyond worrying and scary. These orders are a threat to the basic civil rights of millions of people and will hold horrible consequences for the years to come. Yet, Mr. Trump doesn’t seem to be caring about his people but rather has been sticking up with the hateful agenda he promised before getting elected, which means that he will continue to deprive Americans of their fundamental rights one at time and severely affect economic relationships with partners across the globe.
Mr. Trump is clearly uncomfortable with the reality so what does he do? He tries to bend it to conform to his needs. No wonder the spreading of fake news has been on the rise more than ever before. It shouldn’t come as a surprise either since its supreme authority seems to be perpetuating the movement. Mr. Trump, as well as other leaders in several authoritative regimes, put forward their own definition of truth. And when the media or the public disagrees with him, then Trump gets himself into a spiral of temper tantrums episodes. This pathological behavior can’t and shouldn’t be accepted. EVER.
But this is nothing we haven’t seen before. By now the public is pretty aware of Trump’s bigoted rhetoric. Never before has a country’s leader (not counting Hitler and dictators of course) attacked so many minorities: women, LGBTQ people, immigrants, etc and with such belligerence. Mr. Trump’s rhetoric is a constant insult being thrown at our faces. His blatant and radical rants at the press and celebrities on twitter are being put into practice and legalized . We are currently dealing with an individual who is clearly mentally ill. Recently John D. Gartner from Johns Hopkins University diagnosed him with “malignant narcissism”. There is no doubt that Mr. Trump is a bully and compulsive liar, a braggart.
Trump is used to being in charge and doing whatever he pleases with his companies and to employees. He has always been the boss: no peers, no board of directors, no one to overrule or question what he says or does and if threatened he would simply fire or vilify his victims. He’s treating the United States as his personal company, as a corporation.
As we have seen this past week President Donald Trump and his unqualified cabinet are already dismantling the nation with their draconian policies, their false claims and their war on facts. All of the sudden facts don’t matter anymore, scientific communities and federal agencies are not only being humiliated and forced to remove any substantial facts on climate change, but also deprived and gagged. Concerned scientists everywhere are planning to fight against this by marching on Washington.
For Mr. Orange –Sorry, President Donald Trump– what matters are his alternative facts (also known as: Big fat LIES and BULLSHIT). Alternative facts have contributed to the start of horrid wars, have made people turn against each other and have done terrible damage throughout history. Alternative facts are just another disturbing example of chronic dissemblance.
“There’s No Check on Trump Except Reality” Wayne Barrett
Mr. Trump has gone on record (during his very effective speeches) saying that Americans –the forgotten citizens– come first, but that is actually another lie. Oligarchs’ money is at stake and that is a priority. That is what it really matters right now. That is what comes first. That is the America he is enhancing. The wealthy conservative anti-progress racist America that does not represent the people, but rather those who have been ripping everyone off for the past decades.
He is far from a president for the people. He is not going stand up for the American people. The only thing Trump cares about is satisfying his narcissistic-driven ego and believing his own twisted version of reality. His appointees for cabinet can only be interpreted as Trump’s puppets, only caring about their individualistic agendas filled with conservative elitist measures and demands.
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State” Joseph Goebbels (Nazi propagandist)
Rebellion resistance is seriously needed more than ever before. Citizen initiatives like the Women’s March are effective and provide us with hope and resilience but it is key to move forward with these one-time initiatives and embrace them as movements. The enemy wants us to believe and to accept the new normality. We need to be cautious and strong. No doubt that we are moving backwards every day; it is highly preoccupying to see how these new sadistic government actions are going to affect the lives of already marginalized citizens. A defiance position must to be incorporated
into our daily lives.
It is crucial to be alert and informed on current events and to seek after credible news sources. Become vigilant. But do not overdo it. Follow a couple of media outlets and try not to get into the permanent controversy cloud otherwise you might as well get lost in the negativity. At the end you run the risk of ending up in a situation of normality due to the excess of polemic issues or the acceptance of Mr. Trump’s inappropriate behavior.
The media has to vigorously call him out and hold him accountable for every law broken, for every undelivered promised, for every time he undermines the rights of a human being, for every unconstitutional move. We as journalists need to expose Mr. Trump’s severe allergy to facts and inform those who are blindly following him inside their Fox news infused bubble.
Before going nuts here are a two recommendations you could use to fight back the regime and its orange beast:
- Call your House representatives, or your Senator. Write to them relentlessly, even every week. Remember they work for you. Take action by gathering people in your community or by joining local action groups or organizations. Become an activist or help one. Some organizations that you can contribute to are: Color of Change (racial justice), United We Dream (young immigrants), 350.org (climate movement), Human Rights Campaign (LGBTQ equality) or National Day Laborer Organizing Network (unions) just to name few.
2. Support independent journalism. Never before has journalism and thousands of journalists around the world needed the help of its readers than today. Good inquisitive-investigative journalism costs money. Tons of it. Adward winning site ProPublica is a good example. The site produces amazing independent stories in the public interest. Also by subscribing to any major newspaper such as: The NYtimes, TheGuardian, or The Washington Post you are supporting the release of reports and stories that Trump hates. You can also contribute by helping a local one as well.
Right now we are frustrated, disgusted and angry but we are not hopeless. We have credibility and truth on our backs. We will stand together. We are not going to be silenced. We are here to drain the swamp of inequality and hate. Democracy is not going to be threatened by an authoritarian demagogue. We are the resistance. The fight has just started.
Disclaimer: given the fact that we currently live in an era of alternative facts. I just want to give a shout out to the 1.5 million people who are reading this article out there. Thanks. You reinforce my ego [insert sarcasm here].
