The presidential election is right around the corner, and according to Donald Trump, he’s in the lead. Whether or not those polls are accurate, we are facing a real problem. The possibility of a xenophobic president is catastrophic to Americans and to the global community — we all know how he feels toward Mexicans and Muslims. Trump believes all undocumented immigrants are “destroying the fabric of the country,” and he’s strongly opposed to any efforts to grant them legal status.
Referring to the population of illegal immigrants in the United States, Trump has asserted that “every one of those 11 million people will be voting Democratic.” Anyone who has taken a middle school civics class knows you have to be a documented, adult U.S. citizen in order to vote.
But my real issue with Trump is not his lack of common sense or even his fundamental ignorance in regards to the voting process. My real issue is his lack of respect for the U.S. Constitution. The 14th Amendment reads: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” Essentially, once you’ve been awarded American citizenship, it cannot be taken from you by Congress or even the President unless you’re caught lying to the government during the application process. The 14th Amendment was introduced to protect the rights of former slaves but was later extended to protect the children of immigrant parents and Native Americans. Under the 14th Amendment, there may not be any discrimination towards race, religion and country of origin — which is why Donald Trump has vowed to repeal the pesky 14th Amendment if he is elected president.
As if that wasn’t radically racist enough, Trump has also advocated for a “total and complete” ban on Muslims entering the U.S. He also wants to close down all mosques in America because he believes the Islamic faith is rooted in “hatred and violence.” All this in spite of the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion and the right to peaceably assemble, but hey, I guess President Trump could just repeal that one, too. Because he’s really smart, if you haven’t heard.
To put the cherry on his xenophobic policy sundae, Trump wants all Muslims to wear an identification number. Remind you of something? Adolf Hitler thought the root of all Germany’s problems was the Jews. As it turned out, Hitler was sort of wrong on that one, and history never forgave him for it. In fact, I don’t think history has ever fully forgiven Germany for it. Do we really want America to become the next Nazi Germany? Do we really want that kind of black mark on our nation’s historical résumé? If Trump is willing to openly go after Muslims and Mexicans in his policies, what’s stopping him from going after other minority groups? The next freedom-smothering policy idea to pop into Trump’s orangutan-colored skull cap could be aimed at you. Think about that before you place your vote for the megalomaniacal mogul. Trump, by virtue of his racist, unpatriotic proclamations and his blatant disregard for the constitutionally established rule of law, is unfit to represent and lead the U.S. To elect Donald Trump as president would be to jeopardize everything the Founding Fathers fought so hard to establish. So can we not, please?