Today, Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States of America. I cannot believe it. Now, you are talking to a self-proclaimed macro thinker who admittedly enjoys her naivety to the possibility of people's true nature being hate, ignorance, or self-centeredness. And yes, my main issue with Donald Trump is that he makes me have to second guess what I want to believe as reality; everybody loves everybody, people make only educated decisions, and would never prey or infringe on the rights of others for personal gain. Yes, I know. I'm naïve *takes bow*. The pain, the shock, the fear of this election outcome comes from what Donald Trump has pronounced all along his campaign trail, spewing divisive rhetoric and ignorant commentary as it relates to major demographics that I happen to be a part of; working-class, minorities, and women. But, to ease my fears, I remind myself that saying and doing are two very different things. Like interviewing for a job and working on a job are two very different things and campaigning for a presidency and being a leader of the 21st-century free world are two very different things.
That said, with Republicans running The House and Senate, yes, it is more likely some unfavorable ideologies could be entertained and maybe even passed as policy in the next four years, but what is the likelihood of some truly oppressive, life-changing legislature being passed and enforced on me in the next four years? Something tells me the chances are slim because despite the ability for us to take steps backwards in matters concerning gender, race, and social class, as a nation of checks and balances in the 21st century, I have faith that we will opt not to. From this optimist viewpoint comes my three reasons why Donald Trump as President of the United States of America does not necessarily mean it's the end of the world and could even have some interesting if not positive impact;
A More Informed People
Hillary won the popular vote and lets not ever freaking forget it! Hillary winning the popular vote means every thought, murmur, draft proposal, backdoor deal, etc. will be under the microscope, if not by the people then by the media. If people thought this campaign was a media circus, then baby, we better buckle up because the anticipation of every discriminatory, broad-sweeping move announced by Trump on the campaign trail needs a follow-up story or thirty. Ladies and gentlemen, this single story just turned into a four-year reality TV show series and "We the People" are the executive producers! We are about to see political news converge, political commentary, political projections, political apparel, political everything like we've never seen before. And the good news is that we will likely be more informed than we've ever been, and yes for reasons like viewership and ratings but informed nonetheless.
The Power of Naivety
Donald Trump just bit off more than he can and I'm convinced, ever really wanted to chew. Did Donald Trump want to "be in control"? Yes. So why not be President? Did Donald Trump want to run for President? Obviously. So since he's in the race, make a run for it. Did Donald Trump want to win? Yes. Everyone wants to win everything. BUT, did Donald Trump want to be President considering all that the role of President actually entails and even the personal and business related implications of a win? I don't think he ever even truly considered it. Case and point being his largely exclusive "wealthy, white, male" campaign he ran without consideration for the damage control that would need to be done on the backend of such a campaign. I'm talking about damage done as close as inside of his own party!? Who wants to work in that kind of environment?
I am convinced Donald is just as surprised as we are about the huge responsibility that comes as a result of this win but after such a surprise comes introspection, followed by realization, followed by focus, and hopefully followed by some creativity and dare I believe in such a thing as political innovation. So long as he is not so arrogant to dismiss himself as such, there is a magical power is his naivety. The power of naivety is in short, when you are so ignorant to an industry, a role, a system, an environment, a group, a process, that you are more inclined to ask "dumb questions", assume common sense defaults, inquire for help, more deeply examine possible paths and outcomes, and ultimately make more "out of the box" decisions.
The truth is, every job, be it President of the free world or a professional stamp-licking pencil sharpener, has a humble first day, weeks, months, and sometimes years; a time where you learn the job tasks, the workspace, your coworkers, the company at large, etc. This information has a huge impact on how anyone would ultimately approach, perform, communicate, and make decisions within a new role. I'm simply saying, as big as Donald Trump talked to rally votes from various unlikely states, is he really big, bad, and arrogant enough to pull theses atomic triggers he says he's willing to pull as the highly unfavored new kid on the block? And better, will the political veterans let him do it? HELL NO! Yes, America has a lot of white voters, a lot of male voters, and a number of wealthy voters but it doesn't mean Donald Trump can go out and create policy demoting all things contrary for the simple fact 21st-century American majority is no longer rich, white, and male -- and those that are don't necessarily subscribe to the traditional ideals of the rich, white, male! Let's not lose sight of that fact.
The 21st-Century Republican Party
Standby for scenes from the Republican party in action! No nets, no opposing forces, no one to blame -- just raw, unedited, right-wing, good ol' boy footage from the sidelines watching them run the country. And yes, the idea of that is scary as hell because of the infinite possibilities but what will certainly be front stage and center is who the hell the 21st-century Republican party even is! Here's where we'll all get the opportunity to note the progress (if any) that's really been made in society.
Me personally, this will be my first encounter as a tax-paying adult under Republican leadership, and yes I'm nervous for them to be in complete control of governmental leadership simply because of the ideals I'm told they represent, which does not seem to favor me or my kind but, to be fair, they haven't done anything to me... yet. So as far as I'm concerned, let the 4-year long interview of the Republican party as it relates to how I will engage them in future political affairs commence! In short, no my expectations aren't very high but, they're not biased and low either.
Character flawed, yes, Donald is. Representative of all things anti who I happen to be, yes, the Republican party of the more recent past is. But, am I willing to pin the white supremacy agenda this election outcome supposedly represents on the donkey (or elephant in this case), well... unfortunately, we just have to wait and see and yes, that's unsettling but do not forget one major fact here; the unified Republican government you see standing before you today is not actually the seemingly unified Republican government you see standing before you today. These boys jumped ship on Donald so fast and as recent as twenty-four hours ago, and stood firm against some of the obscene and intolerant statements and ideals he pronounced during the campaign. Let's think of this term as a true explorative experiment of who the Republican party really is now that the extreme insensitivity Donald Trump displayed during his campaign has been denounced by almost every internal or external associate of the Republican party.
To close, we've got two options: hit rock bottom or redefine the Republican party to include some of the progressive and inclusive ideals of the 21st century and ones that an undeniable amount of young, engaged, and educated future generations already subscribe to. The skies are gray, the winds are blustery and inconsistent, but the Republican party is in the cockpit and the runway is clear. It's time for this party to fly the plane. So in the meantime, Democrats and those unaffiliated can only sit back, buckle up, and take copious notes because either this plane takes off to paradise or we're all taking free flights with whoever poses themselves as better or an alternative to the 21st-century Republican in 2020.