Is your president like you? Mine isn't. If you live in the United States and you are reading this in February of 2017, then we have the same President. And he's not like me. He doesn't understand me. He has no idea what I deal with every day and he never will, yet he decides my fate and governs my every action. I don't like this arrangement one bit.
When we elect a President we are taking a leap of faith. We expect our President to look out for us and act in our best interests. We trust him. Even if we didn't vote for him, we expect him to look out for us on some level and do what's right for the country. We understand that sometimes a President has to make tough decisions that may not benefit us individually, but are good for the country as a whole.
This time around we didn't get that. I'll tell you up front that I didn't vote for Donald Trump. I'm not a Hillary Clinton supporter, but I voted for her because I thought she was the better of two bad choices. Donald Trump won the election whether you like it or not. I don't like it. And if Hillary Clinton had won, it's likely that I would be writing this post about her. Now that we have that out of the way, I'll continue with what I want to say.
Donald Trump is not like me. He can't understand what I deal with every day. That's not his fault and I don't hold that against him. What I do hold against him, however, is that his ego is more important to him than my problems. What's good for him is more important than what's good for me. I just don't buy it this time around.
The problems I deal with every day are different from his, so how can he understand them? He doesn't understand what it's like to have to decide whether to pay the gas bill or buy your kid a birthday present. He doesn't understand what it's like to look at your bank balance and try to figure out if you're going to make it to the next payday. He's never had to deal with that, so how can he know? He doesn't worry about global warming and the effect his actions will have on the environment. He doesn't worry about what will happen if wolves in Montana are hunted to extinction. He doesn't worry about what will happen if we allow a Canadian pipeline company to desecrate Native American burial grounds by running pipelines through them. He doesn't worry about the impact to our children of putting someone in charge of our public schools who has never seen the inside of one. He doesn't know any of the things I worry about every day. The fact that he doesn't know these things concerns me, but not as much as the fact that he just doesn't care to know about them because all these things are not as important to him as his ego. To him, facts are not as important as perception.
I'd like to say that I don't fault him for this because that's the way he is and he can't help it, but that's not true. I do fault him for it. It gets in the way of his ability to do his job. We knew he had a big ego when we elected him, but I don't think we realized how big it really was and how much it needs to be fed.
Donald Trump has never had to make the decisions that I have had to make. Good for him. I'm glad for him. But that's not my problem with him. My problem is that he claims to know what is best for me, yet he doesn't understand why I feel the way I do and he doesn't care that he doesn't understand.
If we give tax breaks to big business then things will be better for me. If we ignore what scientists are telling us about global warming then things will be better for me. If we allow oil companies to build pipelines then things will be better for me. If we relax regulations on predatory banks then things will be better for me. If we abolish the EPA and eliminate laws that protect our environment then things will be better for me. If we make it easier for big business to make money then things will be better for me.
I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but I just don't see the upside for me. I think there's too much risk. I'm not convinced that making sacrifices to ensure the success of big business means things will be better for me. Sorry, but that's what I think. I've made several decisions in my life when my gut told me not to and I've found that my gut is always right. Not sometimes. Always.
Look, you've probably read some of the other posts on my blog and you know I'm not a fan of Donald Trump. I think he's a malignant narcissist and a compulsive liar. He can't help it. That's the way he is. The question is whether we trust him to guide our country and represent us to the rest of the world . My answer would be no, but you can form your own opinions. Just do me a favor and try to think this out for yourself rather than listen to the sound bites and political posturing we hear every day. Think for yourself and make your own decision.
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