Tomorrow's U.S. midterm elections will truly be watershed vote. These historic midterms will be a test of the character and decency of the American people. Will Americans be governed by fear, anger and hatred, or will they rise above it? I want to believe that Americans are better than that. I want to believe that their exceptional natures will prevail. Donald's Trump's America is closed to the world. It is isolated from the rest of humanity. It is an America where armed guards are placed in schools and places of worship. It is an America of great inequality, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It is an America where billionaires get tax breaks.
I could go on and on about why I abhor Donald Trump's polices. I could go on and on about the spineless Republicans who will not put their country above partisan politics, but the issue in this election is not partisan. It is one of basic decency and civility. Donald Trump's vile policies must be stopped at the ballot box. He is encouraging racism and anti-immigrant sentiments. His attitude toward women is absolutely reprehensible (This is a man who bragged about groping women). He also refuses to take seriously the threat of climate change. However, the main reason Trump should be reigned in tomorrow is that he is encouraging and abetting far-right authoritarianism around the world.
If Abraham Lincoln was the Great Emancipator, then Donald Trump is the Great Divider. He is most at home at his rallies, where he can let loose with his true feelings. That is the real Trump, not the Trump who pays lip service to unity, decency and civility in his scripted speeches. No, the real Trump is not the one who reads nice words from a teleprompter. It is the one who turns around and calls the media the "enemy of the people" and encourages chants such as "lock her up." It is the one who indulges in juvenile name-calling.
It is almost impossible to change the mind of a hard line Trump supporters. The man himself once bragged that he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and "not lose any voters." The Trump fans who attend his rallies, with their red caps, seem to be in a cult-like trance. It's very disconcerting to watch them. That is why the voters who make the difference will have to be moderate Republicans and independents. They will have to be economic conservatives who reject Trumps's hateful immigration policies and what he has done to the party of Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. They will have to be women of all political persuasions who are appalled by Trump's misogyny and racism, not to mention his dubious business dealings and his relationship with the wealthy, powerful Russians who interfered with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
All I can say is that I hope that most American voters will not fall for Trump's lies or his fear mongering. So many people in the United States are without health care. Some many are hampered by pre-existing conditions. Shouldn't Americans be debating that topic? Instead Trump has been trying to instill fear in the American people. He wants them to be afraid of his caravans of "illegal aliens" from Central America. That's Central America, not another planet. The last time I checked, Central America was located on Earth and its people were human beings. They are fleeing the violence in their own countries.
Since I am a Canadian, so I do not have a vote in these misterms. However, the result will affect the people of my country and around the world. That's why I'm so concerned. I hope and pray that tomorrow Americans will reject Trumpism and that this will be the beginning of the end of one of the darkest periods in the history of the United States. Tomorrow's midterms are indeed a referendum on the presidency of Donald Trump. America, the world anxiously awaits your verdict.
- Joanne