By: Zoe Melnyk
One week ago, Americans woke up in complete shock that the “strong” and “bold” United States of America actually elected former reality T.V. celebrity and former beauty pageant owner Donald Trump as its leader.
To be fair, Trump is more commonly referred to as just a businessman, but the other job descriptors should not go unnoticed.
OK, so exactly how did this happen?
After a Clinton victory was so inevitable in almost every major news source, people are questioning how legitimate the polls were and whether or not the infamous “media” should be blamed for dismissing Trump all the way up and until the election.
Well, there are theories tossed around that people actually lied to pollsters and that it’s difficult to judge enthusiasm, but what the polls did not and could not predict is that roughly 58.1 per cent of eligible voters would actually participate in the election.
This isn’t dramatically different from the 2012 election, which had a voter turnout of 58.6 per cent. However, with the intensity and the controversy of this election, it was assumed that there would be a greater voter turnout.
That is neither here nor there because what’s done is done and now everyone needs to look to the future and make the vital decision to either support Trump or condemn him. The most essential tool in making that decision, as with most decisions, is education.
It’s not enough to just be a university student or an adult, you actually have to put in the effort to watch Trump and to read the policies and bills he hopes to build, as well as the ones he wants to kill, and decide if that is something you can support.
For starters, Trump released an “action plan” for his first 100-days in office.
Some of it, brace yourself, is not that bad if it actually comes to fruition. Trump is actually hoping to place restrictions on lobbyists wanting to work in the government and although the DOW took a dip on election night, it surged in the past week. So, there is some hope to reduce corruption in the government and for the economy to grow in the next four years.
That may be wishful thinking considering Trump is considering hiring some of those same lobbyists to work for him. We will see.
However, true to form, Trump also included some controversial steps in his plan including: building the wall on the Mexican border, ending Obamacare, and ending all funds to U.N. climate change programs to boost American infrastructure.
Something else for Americans to consider is that Trump has not backed off his twitter game with tweets that aren’t exactly flattering towards protestors and news organizations, including the New York Times.
What does this mean for the future?
Hopefully, Trump controls his temper on social media. As he stated in an interview on 60 Minutes, he views social media as an important and underrated form of communication; however, he also hinted that he would keep his temper in check during his presidency.
During the interview, Trump also confirmed his plans to build the wall, which could be a fence in certain areas.
Debatably the most important piece of information, particularly for women, is when Trump said he would pick Supreme Court Officials who were pro-life and support the second amendment.
What this means is that the ruling of Roe vs Wade could potentially be overturned and the right for women to choose their reproductive rights will be left up to each state. For some, this means abortion will not be an option and crossing state lines may not be logistically possible.
Whether that is OK or that is not OK is up to each and every American citizen. In fact, whether any of this is OK is in the hands of the American people now; although, options are somewhat limited now that Donald Trump has already been elected.
