Whelp, I’ve avoided posting anything regarding the recent US elections for fear of offending or spreading negativity or potentially sparking heated debate about Trump becoming America’s next president. But I can’t hold out any longer, so here goes…
Let me start by saying that I am a Democrat. I am a liberal. There are countless things that define why a person is a Republican or a Democrat, but in short, being a Democrat means I believe in government intervention and social equality. And I, like many Americans, am appalled at the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
I’ve been living out of the country for over two years now, and I can tell you that when I heard Trump was nominated to be the Republican candidate for the 2016 election, I thought “Haha, this is a joke. There is absolutely no way a buffoon like Donald Trump will be elected as America’s next president.” I’ve had discussions with South Africans, Germans, French, British, Australians, and people of countless other nationalities about the upcoming election, and we all collectively mocked the idea of Trump becoming president. We all knew there was just “no way” it would happen.
But then I realized I’ve been living in an international “bubble” for the past 18 months. After visiting the US just last month, I noticed an alarming amount of “Trump/Pence” signs in peoples’ yards. I asked my friends and family “Do Trump supporters actually exist?” and even they informed me that “Well, most Republicans don’t actually ‘support’ Trump, they just really oppose Hillary and are, by default, supporting Trump to prevent her from becoming President. But most people know that he’s a tard and would be a terrible thing for this country, so I wouldn’t worry too much.” The former part of this response is likely true, but the latter apparently was not.
Now yes, by popular vote, Hillary Clinton won. But due to our archaic and undemocratic Electoral College system, Trump took home the prize. This is unfair; we know.
I am also not happy. I am also concerned. And I am also fearful of what will happen to America over the course of the next four years (let’s hope it’s only four). But ultimately, we cannot change the outcome of the election. We can protest and complain and reiterate how shocked we are that such a “progressive” country just elected one of the most anti-progressive candidates in history, but it’s not going to help.
Look, I’m not an expert in politics. In fact, I know very little about politics. I’m an uninformed citizen who is simply using what little she knows to make a moderately educated statement here. In fact, I’m the exact opposite of a politician. I’m a scientist. I chose to pursue science so that I didn’t have to deal with politics or history or anything related to having opinions whatsoever. I chose to pursue facts. Seemingly indisputable facts which no one could ever really deny or debate unless there was an alternative scientific theory that may debunk whatever it was that I was considering fact.
But then I realized that even as a scientist, I’d have to deal with politics. If I had chosen to pursue space research, I’d have to rely primarily on government funding to fuel my research. Had I chosen to pursue a career in medicine, I’d have to deal with health insurance and government policies relating to such. Had I chosen to pursue pharmaceutical chemistry, I’d have to deal with what is and is not regulated by the Federal Drug Administration. Ultimately, I’ve realized politics are inescapable. In some ways, you might think I’d choose to be a Republican and would appreciate less governmental intervention. But you’re wrong.
I am a scientist, and I work for a company who deals with environmental issues, from educating clients on the potential environmental impacts of developing or expanding their businesses, to informing clients on the irrevocable outcomes of their operations and assisting with developing clean-up strategies to fix what cannot be undone. I cannot do my job without a governmental, regulatory framework urging, and in some cases mandating, my clients to clean-up the messes they make. Without the USEPA, or state-governed agencies like the PADEP, VADEQ, NJDEP, etc., my clients would have no drive or incentive to do anything about their environmental fuck-ups. So in one sense, I wouldn’t have a job. And in another sense, your Earth would be polluted beyond repair. Your drinking water would be contaminated, and you’d be inhaling toxic chemicals on a daily basis. Long story short, government intervention, ESPECIALLY with respect to the environment, is crucial.
Now, shall we talk about climate change? Let’s talk about climate change. As a scientist who believes that scientific facts supported by mounds of evidence gathered by experiments and studies conducted by experts ALL OVER THE FUCKING WORLD are indisputable, I find it hard to believe that one can actually “deny” climate change. But apparently I’m wrong. And most of the leaders of our country, including your soon-to-be president Mr. Trump, believe that climate change is a hoax and actually seek to disengage from the Paris Agreement (which, for those who don’t know, is an agreement amongst 200 or so nations to implement strategies to reverse the effects of global warming).
To his credit, Trump has admitted to making clean water and the use of alternative energy sources a priority in his administration. I don’t buy this for a second, but who knows what of what he says is true and untrue… We’ll have to wait and see. But anyway, he’s appointed a climate change denier to lead the “EPA Transition”. He’s made it clear that he has no love for the EPA, and on top of wanting to quit the Paris Agreement, he’s apparently stated his intention of repealing the Clean Power Plan set forth by Obama, as well as other rules and regulations set upon the oil, gas, and coal sectors. Prioritizing alternative energy sources? Unlikely…
And clean water? Where the fuck is clean water going to come from if we keep spewing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, causing global warming and heat waves which by default evaporate our clean freshwater sources? And with the erratic weather conditions caused by climate change, we can’t expect to see consistent or healthy rain patterns, which in turn would cause our groundwater table to drop lower and lower and minimize the amount of groundwater available for use, whether it be used for drinking water, production, irrigation, etc. And, well, this would in turn obviously affect our ability to irrigate crops and would reduce our food supply. And with continual drop in groundwater levels our trees and other plants, which so gracefully do us the favor of sucking CO2 out of our already devastated atmosphere, would starve and die and the problem would just become exacerbated. We’re in a downward spiral, people. And it’s about to get worse.
Additionally, by endorsing oil, gas, and coal (because these are profitable businesses and clearly money is more important than the future of the human race and our planet, right?) you are essentially contributing further to the demise of clean water. Natural gas extraction wells will continue to pollute groundwater with methane and other chemicals used in the fracking process. Oil extraction, along with conveyance pipelines and storage tanks, will continue to leak and spill hydrocarbons into our precious water resources. And coal mining will continue to blow off the tops of mountains and contribute to acid mine drainage. And ALL THREE of these will continue to deforest the world so that new plants and refineries and pipelines can be built. And this is all aside from what the use of these fossil fuels will do our atmosphere…
So yeah, I’m also scared. I’m personally offended by what we chose to prioritize (namely capitalism, guns, and tax breaks) over what are, to me, indisputably the most important issues we should be facing. I haven’t even touched on social issues, but I’ll stop my rant here…
Look people, this sucks. This really really really fucking sucks. Not just for you, not just for your family or your friends, but for the world as a whole and our future as a species. But we can’t change what’s happened. So let’s just accept, adapt, and keep fighting for what we believe in. I know it seems hopeless, but we have to stay positive and do whatever we can to instil change in the world. Let’s not become divided as a nation, but rather unite on what little common ground we may find. Unity is the most important virtue of our livelihood, within our nation and across our planet. Please, stop fighting, start uniting.
avontuurjoburg 