The Brexit and Trump

The Brexit and Trump
Dane La Born

Dane La Born

The biggest news of the last week has been Britain’s choice to leave the European Union. This decision has led to a lot of stupidity, as people in England frantically google “What is the European Union,” and conservative party leader Nigel Farage immediately began backing out on his campaign promises. David Cameron has stepped down as Prime Minister, and there is talk of another vote on Scottish independence, as well as talk of uniting Ireland. The pound is also at an all-time low, and the UK just seems to generally be in turmoil.

Of course, none of that actually matters to Americans, whose concerns lie closer to home and rarely venture outside our borders. But it’s impossible to look at what is currently going on in the U.K. and not imagine a very similar future for our own country.

There’s an inherent irony in Britain’s xenophobia, the leading conservative parties sounding strikingly similar to a certain Cheeto-colored republican: fear-mongering and appealing to just the shittiest level of people. Once upon a time, England had invaded the majority of the world and taken “unoccupied” land by force many times over. John Oliver pointed out that most countries celebrate their independence days specifically from Britain, and they are now electing to leave the European Union out of fear and xenophobia. In short, the Leavers wanted to “make Britain great again.”

It’s impossible to look at what has happened over there and not see the danger that Donald Trump actually represents. His campaign is built on fear-mongering and empty promises, and his supporters refuse to do any research, rejecting facts like the number of businesses he has that have gone bankrupt, his terrifying foreign policy, his outright racism and misogyny. For those, it’s usually because they share those views.

That’s terrifying to me. I’ve touched before on how scary Trump’s sudden rise in political power is, and the turmoil in the U.K. is not what I want for the United States. Have no doubt, a Trump presidency means turmoil.

Former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency Michael Hayden has already projected wide civil and military revolt. It’s not that surprising, really. We’re already seeing violence across the country outside his rallies, as protesters clash with supporters over and over again. The way Trump talks about using nukes is outright terrifying. This is a guy that North Korea has praised. There is a laundry list of things that should have knocked him out of this race due to some kind of scandal, but nothing has. At this point, there’s been so many things that would knock any actual politician out of the game completely, that I doubt Trump is capable of doing anything that will stop his supporters from giving him their vote.

I honestly can’t figure it out. There’s such a parallel between Trump’s rise and Hitler’s rise that’s it’s baffling to me this can be happening. How can a fascist run as a Republican? How can so many members of his own party fall in line? Are there really that many racist, homophobic, xenophobic, and outright hateful people in this country? And sorry, if you support a candidate who refuses to denounce the endorsement of the Ku Klux Klan, who has already chosen an American Nationalist as a delegate in California, then it’s safe to say there is at least one racist bone in your body.

I know talking to the folks that support Trump is sort of like getting in an argument with an actual rock, it’s just that useless, so my plea is to the people like me, the people who desperately don’t want this man in the White House.

Please, inform yourself. Don’t just go off internet memes shared by your friends. Actually investigate your candidate and make your decision, but most of all, vote.

Britain had a 79 percent voter turnout, which is why the Leave win is so baffling to so many, and our numbers on election day aren’t even close to that. So please, go and vote on Nov. 2, and make sure you know who, and what, you’re voting for. Don’t make Idiocracy anymore a reality than it already is.

Categories: Commentary