“Fear, danger and stupidity,” as stated by The New Yorker, is the amalgamation of Donald Trump’s rhetorical presidency. Trump, who has overtaken the nation with his notable lingo (despite it being monosyllabic and lacking intellectual integrity) and incendiary rhetoric, has awakened herds of silenced voices across America, all demanding for the glorious return of the “American Golden-Age.”
Although his broad – and entirely xenophobic – claims of growing American exceptionalism have yet to become a political reality, his inflammatory language, deeply-rooted in nationalist ideology, has ignited an authentic, and alarming movement to rid America, a country with only a prospective future, of it’s “deplorable.”
“We are frightened by this language. We are puzzled by it,” says teacher Hassan Shibly to The Washington Post, describing the fear he and his students – who are primarily Muslim – share regarding the election of Donald Trump. Shibly extends that Trump’s “hateful and ignorant” language seems entirely unpresidential.
“He wants to send Muslims away, and I don’t want to leave, I like it here,” says frightened 6-year old, Noor, to her mother.
Her mother, Khadija, clarified to the Huffington Post, “Our family is Black, Puerto Rican, and Muslim. Noor was born in New Haven hospital and has lived her whole life in Connecticut – she knows no other home. She’s now concerned she’ll be exiled from her own country.”
From the anecdotal experiences of students and adults to the words uttered on mainstream media, it is apparent that Donald Trump’s rhetoric, entirely characterized by its insensitivity towards every minority, has shifted the political process forever. His focus on excluding minorities from politics, and openly accepting support from domestic terrorist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, is reflective of his blatant disregard for the lives of those who fail to meet his alt-right, racist voter archetype.
Never has a United States President, liberal or conservative, single-handedly, isolated people of color, immigrants, Muslims, women, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, the young, and the old. Trump’s rhetoric, fueled by the notion of increasing American exceptionalism, has done the opposite. His quest to revitalizing America, making it “great again,” has rid it of its uniqueness: diversity.
As explained by James Madison’s theories of pluralism, diversity in race, gender, religion, thought, (and virtually an infinite number of unique characteristics) is fundamental to preserving the American system. Making America great again isn’t a question of who we ought to exclude, rather it is contingent on the incorporation of a multicultural experience.
The American military, although impressive in its breadth, is not what makes America great. Our ability to tactically infiltrate, although notable, does not make us exceptional. It is not our oil exports or agricultural yield; it is diversity, of every kind, that lights the fire of our political system. Diversity paves the way to a system that is genuinely for the people and by the people. However, President Donald Trump, in his efforts to revitalize America, has destroyed our faith and trust in the system. By excluding the people whose backs are broken, daily, in the name of this country, Donald Trump and his incendiary rhetoric have failed me, failed you, and failed America.
