Dear America and Americans,There are only a few days before Donald J. Trump is inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States. This is a prospect that appals most New Zealanders as it does millions of others all around the world.
We had no say and no vote in the election so can only watch this tragedy unfold as mute bystanders.
Although we are separated from this event by 7000 miles (the distance between Wellington and Washington) we "Kiwis" have a deep sense of dread and foreboding about what is going to happen after the event.
I can’t remember a time when I have felt so uneasy about a presidential inauguration. The early signs do not augur well. Mr Trump’s administration choices have been uniformly disastrous. The incoming president is more concerned with celebrity apprentice ratings and his spat with Meryl Streep than with any policy dilemma. Like a Mafia don he has surrounded himself with cronies and family rather than people who are knowledgeable about any of the big issues that are afflicting the US or the world.
He seems intent on destruction instead of construction, on chaos rather than stability, on hate politics rather than the politics of inclusion. His personal life, thin skin and extreme narcissist personality make him temperamentally incapable for prudent, altruistic decision-making.
His inauguration will confer legitimacy on someone who has forfeited the right to legitimacy. Someone who has not paid taxes in the past 20 years cannot expect others to do so. Someone who has never experienced war or been willing to listen to those who have should not be given the status of commander in chief. Someone who believes in the death penalty for political opponents and torture for the enemies of the United States should not be given any legitimacy. Someone who has to be persuaded of the benefits of intelligence has no intelligence.
So what do we do on the other side of the world? How can we sleep easy when the portents are all negative? What confidence do we have that American checks and balances will be able to check and balance this totally unpredictable maverick? What do we do when decades of nuanced diplomacy are undermined by off-the-cuff tweets or intemperate utterance? How do we protect those Mr Trump wishes to make vulnerable and how do we resist all that which needs to be resisted?We look forward to some answers so that our days are not blighted by the dark shadow of this appalling president in waiting.
- Prof Kevin P. Clements is director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago.
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Comments
When I was at Otago University in the early 90's gaining a double degree in Theology and Management we were taught to research the facts before we expressed an opinion.This article breaks that rule and is a sorry example of bias and judgemental opinion that won't even give President -elect Trump the grace to prove himself in his first 100 days.
Then, are people allowed to express opinion, after 100 Days? Oh, the humanity. Oh, the Christian fundamentalism.
This is so strange a turn of events in America, it is unlikely that great country will put up with it, for long, without seeking grounds for impeachment.
This is an OP Ed which means that these are my opinions. All of the assertions , however, are factually based and are echoed in similar pieces all around the world . We should not normalise or legitimate this President. I am happy to give him the benefit of the doubt but his pre-inauguration statements have generated more instability than stability, shock rather than appreciation, and are proving extremely divisive. His recent comments about John Lewis and Angela Merkel demonstrate exactly what I am talking about. I was equally ambivalent about Goldwater, Reagan and Bush. But none of them were anywhere near as divisive as Trump is proving to be even with his own party.