We all know him; the front runner among the Republican candidates competing in the 2016 presidential election in the United States. Over the past few months, Donald Trump has created quite a reputation for himself, his popularity rising due in part to his to his highly controversial comments. Some of these remarks have been anecdotal, while others are what constitute the foundation of his political campaign. I’m sure everyone remembers when he referred to Mexicans as rapists in the first speech of his campaign or when he scrutinized the appearance of his fellow Republican candidate Carly Fiorina on national TV, among a number of other incidents. These offensive and controversial comments have sparked much debate over his adequacy as a conservative Republican presidential candidate, as well as shocked and outraged many different representative groups of citizens in the United States. While most of Trump’s recent comments have passed over, his most recent comment is one that has really pushed America too far.
In a written campaign statement published this past Monday, Trump said he wanted a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on” (The Atlantic). Just when we thought Trump had crossed the line, he drew a new one and crossed it again. A wave of outrage and disapproval from American citizens, the White House, the Pentagon, and fellow Republican and Democratic candidates has been sweeping the country for the past couple of days, clearly demonstrating that out of all of Trump’s stunts, this one is the last straw. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan made a statement saying, “This is not conservatism,” making it clear that the views that Trump, who has been the face of the Republican party for the past four months, is expressing are not views that are upheld by the Republican Party or by the United States (The Washington Post). In addition, the data Trump used to support this statement was from the right-wing Center for Security Policy, an organization with a history of producing dubious claims (The Atlantic). Not only is what Trump said an irrational, racist, and stereotyped depiction of Muslims, but it is also very unconstitutional. An immigration policy involving religious discrimination violates “both the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses and the equality dimension of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment,” Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe said in a recent interview (NBC).
Although most of America is disgusted by Trump’s comments, there are still people who are actively backing everything that he says, which is something that should not be taken lightly.
The fact that Trump, someone who has a lot of power and money, is saying these blatantly ignorant things is also something we should pay attention to. With this type of power, many people view him as having the authority to make decisions on things, even if there is no substantial evidence to support his claims. In this way, he is encouraging the mindset that Muslims all fit into one category. He is perpetuating the marginalization and fueling the stigma associated with being a part of the Muslim community.
The idea to take away here is that we should be spending time on the real issues we are dealing with, not creating new ones. It’s important to move in a direction in which we have a country that is accepting of all races, cultures, religions, and genders. Part of ensuring this transformation is to stay informed on the current issues, making our voices heard, and, above all, asking questions. Hopefully, this is the last stunt Donald Trump pulls, but even if it isn’t, together we can use our votes in the hopes of creating a better tomorrow.
All opinions presented are the writer’s own.
Sources:
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/law-experts-weigh-donald-t…
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/donald-trumps-call-t…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/08/paul-ryans-suc…
Images obtained from:
http://zone1.peacockpanache.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Do…
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/16/21/29ADAD1900000578-0-image-a-…