The ONE Positive Thing About Donald Trump’s Presidency That No One Is Talking About
November 9th, 2016. A day I will never forget. At the meek hours of 2:00 A.M., hearing Lawrence O’Donnell tell the world, “America is crying tonight”, as he announced that Donald Trump has been elected president. I looked around the room to make eye contact with my friends. Silence. Disappointment. Shock. Tense. Fear. We were in denial, as just hours before, we knew history was going to happen that night, imagining nonetheless Hillary Clinton becoming the first woman president. We had so much hope for a brighter future. We sipped on our wine as we laughed at the thought of our beloved country ever electing a monster like Donald Trump. We even made snap stories making sarcastic remarks about the Donald, like, “I’m looking up the women’s movement in Worcester in case Trump wins” or flashing our birth control to the camera with the caption, “I’ll call you when I get my period Mike Pence.” Instead, our worst nightmare had come true.
That feeling didn’t go away that night either. The next day on campus was dismal. Some professors decided to cancel class, while others tried to move past the uncomfortable emotions that filled the air, and even some confronting the class with defeat in their voices, “the world is about to change.”
And they were not wrong, the world has changed, and has changed noticeably since Trump has stepped foot into office. Although with Trump’s preaching of hatred and exclusiveness, it has not necessarily changed in a bad way. In fact, Trump’s presidency has brought some positivity to America.
It’s getting people involved. Before the 2016 election, I never cared about politics. I never imagined that one day, I would have daily conversations with friends about the CNN alerts that appeared on my phone or which executive order the president decided to sign. My parents never really discussed politics within the household, and if they did, the topic was always brief. Maybe this is because I am older now and I care about our future and how much of an impact Donald Trump really has. People of all ages, colors, genders, regions, etc., want to be informed about what America is getting itself into and are aware of everything the White House is doing now more than ever before. Ask me who former President Obama’s cabinet members were; I couldn’t tell you. Ask me who President Trump’s cabinet members are; I’ll go into detail about how unqualified and damaging they can be. Americans are doing their research and learning new things every day about the new presidency. They care and they are doing anything to get involved.
Uniting diverse groups. Starting off small, like seeing Facebook posts from my friends in the LGBTQ community writing worrisome statuses or women voicing, “the clock is going to turn back a century”, with numerous minority groups comforting one another, assuring them that they will be okay. From the Women’s March in January to the fight against the Immigration Ban, communities all around the world are gathering together and sending a message to targeted groups: you are not alone. There have been rallies in the past, such as the Black Lives Matter group, or protests against the Keystone Pipeline at Little Rock, but never before in the 21st century, or in U.S. history for that matter, have we seen such a powerful and uplifting togetherness of protesters as the Women’s March, with crowds as large as 500,000 and a total of four million people around the world. Diverse groups from all seven continents stood together to fight against hate and discrimination; uniting various populations as one.
Discussing topics that need attention. Let’s be real, no one enjoys talking about issues like racism, abortion, discrimination, religion, etc., but they are all topics that have been popularized and addressed since Donald Trump has voiced his very conservative views on these concerns. By discussing these topics, new information is being revealed every day. When the majority of the Republican Party made it clear that they were in favor of defunding Planned Parenthood because of their abortion services, studies came out providing statistics that only 3% of Planned Parenthood’s services goes towards abortions. Or how we can clearly see how racism still heavily exists and how we need to do something about it. Or in general, we are learning about religions, especially Islam and how they are actually a tranquil religion and not one full of violence.
Realizing our voices are being heard. We voted our senators and representatives into office because we believed they would work their very hardest to provide their constituents the best life possible based off of what their constituents have been telling them. The replacement for new health care didn’t even get voted on because so many constituents called their representatives expressing their concerns about the new bill. “Fake news” outlets publish polls every day based off of people’s opinions on the new presidency and how more than half of the American population disproves Donald Trump’s policies. *shocking*. Judges are halting the Immigration Ban, calling it “unconstitutional,” recognizing that it puts many families’ lives in jeopardy. Our job as constituents is to keep voicing our worries and making sure we are being heard loud and clear.
History is in the making. Donald Trump has created a revolution. A revolution against him. A revolution against everything he stands for. A political revolution. Because of Trump, we are in the process of having thousands become more and more involved, and maybe even witnessing progressive leaders for the future in hopes of never having someone as atrocious as Mr. Donald J. Trump ever again. We are not going to allow history to repeat itself, we are not going to make this wonderful country “great again.” We are going to keep on advancing and we are going to keep on doing it as one. Seeing as many citizens as there are coming together against one person who should not be in power is something that will go down in history and something that our children and grandchildren will learn about in their history textbooks.
So don’t stop fighting for what you believe in. Call your senators. Call your representatives. Heck, even attend the Tax Day March on Saturday, April 15th or People’s Climate Movement Saturday, April 29th. If you want to be part of the positivity under a Donald Trump presidency, then do something about it! Do not wait. Do it now. People are paying attention. People are taking note. And people are listening.