Although he might appear as an antidote to my values and political views, I believe that Donald Trump is not the worst president that we have to deal with. In fact, he might be something like a new hope.
According to many newspapers, Donald Trump’s victory is a surprise, a shock – even a dark day. Is that true? While some observed that a possible win was troubling worldwide stock exchanges in the hours leading to his election, the opposite was true shortly after. And all those celebrities who threatened to leave the US when Trump would become president are now more silent than their empty promises. Rather than being shocked, media should ask themselves what they have failed to foresee.
First and foremost, the people have voted – emphasis on people and voted. Whereas in Europe, we love to talk principles, the US is still a place made of people. People voted, not their principles. And yes, they voted, they didn’t simply talk. In Europe, we talk. We protest. We suffer. Yet, we repeat the same mistakes over and over again, without eventually understanding that something needs to change if we want to improve a worsening situation. All those US citizens that gave their vote to Donald Trump did not vote for the principles or values of Trump. They are not more racists than we Europeans are. They are not more ignorant than the average Spanish is. Maybe they are not that different from us at all. Only, they decided to say ‘No’. No, finish, over. US citizens have not voted for Trump, they have voted against Hillary. They have voted against status quo. The US people are tired of the system. They had enough of all the big-mouth elites controlling their country.
In contrast to all the celebrities and multi-millionaires controlling media, average US citizens have to swallow all the big-mouth shit that the system and its supporters produce. Do you think that Samuel L. Jackson will now move to South Africa or that Cher will fly to Jupiter? Do you think that Hillary Clinton will still share her income with poor males as she promised during the campaign? For them, a vote is just a vote, like all the empty words they create out of badly-put-together letters. That’s why they love to talk big shit. In Europe, we keep talking about principles and values such as sustainable development and equity without realising that all we stand for are just empty shells. We create dogmas such as gender equity, fight for higher salaries for women but watch away when women among us are beaten to death. We manage eucalyptus mono-culture forests in very fragile Mediterranean ecosystems with the principle to create renewable energy while deforesting Asia thanks to international development programs supported by our tax-evading financial magnates. We talk shit and swallow it on a daily basis, yet we try not to suffocate rather than stop talking.
It’s true enough that Trump may likely disappoint a big majority of his voters in the near future. Yet, they gave him the benefit of the doubt. This latter point might be what has made America different from Europe ever since: Americans are more risky than we Europeans are. ‘Who risks, wins’ as the saying goes. Trump is a risk, but at least he is a hope. Even as a nihilist I believe that hope is still better than lingering in vain and holding on to empty principles while observing how a rotten system drags us all deeper and deeper into abyss. Hope is part of what makes us human and that’s why humans have made Trump their president.
Ideas for a greener environment, a fairer society and a future driven by sustainability 