Why Do Trump Voters Hate America?

I understand all the pain in the Midwest.  I have college educated uncles who have to work a grocery store job because they cannot find solid employment.  I have family members who worked overnight jobs delivering the Wall Street Journal along with their full time day jobs or others who have Master's degrees and cannot find jobs in their fields.  I worked at a night time job as well as my social service job to make ends meet, but I did not blame the poor, the vulnerable or any one person for my troubles.  I know that the system is unfair and rich people do all they can to keep their wealth.  I know that we all are at fault for not voting in our own interest, and not caring about our priorities.  This time they put up a rich guy who would say or do anything to protect his wealth.  How much do the 62 million Trump voters hate the United States?  I understand how frustrated all of you are, but to put a glorified used car salesman in charge of the country is just spiteful.

• Trump regularly lies, but the white guy in Trumbull County who saw his steel job disappear does not care about the truth anymore.  
• Trump and his team regularly attack the fourth estate and they roll over and keep taking it.  Imagine the masochistic nature of the job to be flogged in public then to be cordial with these guys?
• Trump snuggled up to Russia, a sworn enemy of the United States that recently invaded without punishment a neighbor, and voters did not care.
• He was not specific about anything with the exception of his immigration policy.  Do we really think that if 11 million immigrants were deported that the Adams County middle age white guys would take the jobs picking tomatoes?
• Trump was a rich guy who fought against unions and purchased his products from every other country in the world, and yet the union guy in Ottawa County outside of Toledo voted for this joker.
• He made every mistake in the book which would have sunk every other candidate that has ever run for President, but because he spoke his mind and was invited into our living room on reality television, we voted for him. 

How angry are you with a beautiful country that has advanced the knowledge of the world with a space program, the home computer and one of the finest network of national forests, parks and museums?  These are all things that are under threat in a Trump Administration.  The number of immigrants who started companies such as Google, Yahoo, E Bay, and Procter & Gamble.  In fact Forbes reported that 40% of the Fortune 500 were started by immigrants.  How much do you hate access to information or press freedom or the public education system as foundational to our democracy?  How do you not like Worker's compensation for those who get injured at the Carrier Plant in Indiana or the disability program for the victims in San Bernadino terrorist attack or the kids who made a mistake and got in a car with a bunch of friends and ran a stop sign?  These are programs under threat by the Trump Administration.  It is not like these were secrets or that he did not campaign on these issues.  62 million people were so disgusted with the United States that they said some clown, showman, charlatan, tax dodger, greedy guy should be in charge of the country. Despite all the issues, America is a great country and does not need to be drained or burnt to the ground.

A guy who knows how to put on a show, but does not understand self deprecation or humility or any of the other things we were all told were important in Sunday school.   You gave the keys to the military to a guy who dodged the draft and never told us why.  My family risked their lives to serve in Vietnam, and so many of you hated the country so much that you turned your back on the military and chased the dog whistle about treatment of veterans.  You did not care that Trump boasted of support for veterans but had to be dragged to giving money he promised to those charities.  As an executive at a non-profit and having served on many boards, I know how complicated the charitable rules are in the United States.  Trump violated nearly every IRS tax rule for charitable foundations and enough people in 30 states said they don't care about the rule of law, they want everything blown up.  They wanted money out of our elections by hiring a guy who surrounded himself with wealthy people to run the country.  How does that work?

I don't recognize this America.  I don't recognize the lack of compassion for Syrians or for the families of African Americans killed by police.  I don't recognize this new America who put one person and his ability to say raunchy, politically incorrect, and demonstratively false statements in the White House.  How did we get to the point that medical care for all and the Civil Rights Act were foreign concepts to be ridiculed.   I still cannot understand why a godless, megalomaniac from the one percent was elected President of the United States. It is like up is now down; the rich are friends of the poor; blue is yellow, and millions of fraudulent votes were actually cast.  I never saw this coming and it takes your breath away when you think about it.  It undermines confidence in democracy and one man one vote.  I will never understand how we got to this darkest place in American history.

by Max Johnson
Social Justice Advocate in Cleveland Ohio.