Defeating Trump In This Election Is Just The Beginning (VIDEO)

As this election draws to its increasingly anti-climactic conclusion, it is becoming increasingly evident that Donald Trump is going to lose on November 8. More than likely he will lose very badly. Some projections have Hillary Clinton winning with over 300 electoral votes. While I am doubtful that it will actually be that big of a blowout, I am confident that Donald Trump will soon become nothing but a bug on the windshield of the American Political Machine.

Anti-Donald Trump protest is held at Trump Tower in 5th Avenue in New York, as Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has been calling for barring all Muslims from entering the United State. Dec 20, 2015, New York. Photo by Q. Sakamaki
Anti-Donald Trump protest is held at Trump Tower in 5th Avenue in New York Dec 20, 2015. Photo by Q. Sakamaki

With new allegations of inappropriate and illegal sexual advances being reported on almost a daily basis, the splattering of the Trump campaign is already well underway. This, combined with the video of Trump admiring the figure of a 10-year old girl, the numerous reports that he walked in on half-dressed teenage girls during his beauty pageants, and the now expected meltdowns on Twitter all add up to a candidate who will not and cannot win the election. The reality is, he’s done.

But It’s Not Enough To Just Defeat Donald Trump

While Trump will soon fade into irrelevancy, Trump has awakened something within the hearts of a sizable segment of the American population that will still be around on November 9. He has given a voice and a cause to groups such as:

  •  those who long for the “good ol’ days” when white men held all the power and everyone else knew their place.
  • those who believe that America will be made “great” if we all put giant American flags on the backs of our trucks and carry our assault rifles into Walmart.
  • those who are convinced that “consent” is a made up term by the “Liberal Left” (I’m looking at you, Rush Limbaugh) and that the voice and bodies of women actually belong to the men in their life.
  • those who harbor deeply embedded racist tendencies and say things like, “I’m not racist, but…” while believing that walls work and that minorities shouldn’t be able to sit at the lunch counter.
  • those that are willing to look the other way on numerous reports of sexual assaults but will continue to assail Clinton for mishandling e-mails.

Furthermore, the Trump movement has co-opted the Religious Right and led Evangelical Christianity to a dark place from which it might not be able to recover. In the same way, Trumpism has instilled the belief otherwise rational and compassionate people of faith that Jesus would be a card-carrying member of the NRA (spoiler alert: he wouldn’t be).

The blind trust and loyalty that so many have given to Donald Trump is dangerous. Not only for the individual, but for the Republic. The American system of government is based upon the bedrock belief in a peaceful transition of power. We now have people who are threatening a “revolution” if Clinton gets elected and promising to “watch” the polls to ensure that the election isn’t “stolen.” As a recent article in the Boston Globe observes, it is reasonable to expect numerous reports of voter intimidation on Election Day.

While all these things are true, Trump has also awakened something else. He has awakened a deeper realization that Party loyalty can only go so far. He has awakened the commitment by so many to double their efforts to work for peace, reconciliation, and healing. He has given a voice to those who are finding the courage to say, “It’s my body,” not yours. He is giving a rallying cry to those who say, “The way of Trump is not the way of Jesus.” He is instilling passion in those who are working on the front lines in the fields of education, mental health, and the prevention of gun violence. He is inadvertently reminding reasonable people that Love does indeed Trump Hate.

And this is what gives me hope for the future. I believe with every ounce of who I am as a human being that Love will win the day. Let’s just hope Hate doesn’t win the election.

 

Featured image appeared in The Villager, photographed by Q. Sakamaki.