I’m growing up in one of the most confusing times to be an American.
I was born in a post-9/11 world that was created in a post-Cold War world. Many of the most influential adults in my life remembered the Soviet Union well. Many of them could tell you where exactly they were when they got news that the second tower had been hit. Many of them could recite stories of the Vietnam War, Korean War, and even World War II they were told by their parents or grandparents.
And of course, these adults throughout my life tried to teach me what it meant to be an American.
Throughout my early childhood, I remember being told how lucky I was to be born in this great nation. I was told how powerful we were. How influential. How important. And I was on my track to being overly prideful to be an American wholeheartedly into my adulthood had it not been for something that would confuse children and adults alike.
Just as I was entering puberty, thus gaining a political conscience, Donald J. Trump happened.
I was about to face my biggest challenge yet as an American; figuring out my political views and opinions on our country. And of course, to throw my perceptions of everything into chaos, Donald J. Trump happened.
I had already lived through an election before. I remember my elementary school hosting a little mock election for us to choose our candidate. That was my introduction to democracy, and it seemed very civil and nice. Nobody really cared who you voted for. I didn’t really care, either. We just went with who we thought was best (or who we were told was best since we were a bunch of little kids) and didn’t hold it against anybody. That’s how I figured adult elections worked.
And when it came to the 2016 election, I couldn’t have been more incorrect.
My parents suddenly became very political. Everyone did. It was all over the television. It was all over the internet. People were arguing about politics constantly in ways I never observed before. Maybe I was noticing the political division for the first time as I was just beginning to understand politics. Or maybe it was just worse than before.
And then you know what happened. Trump is elected and goes on to cause all sorts of political chaos with his devoted minions.
I was finally going to learn what it meant to be an American. I never knew that part of that process was going to require me to choose what kind of American.
Growing up in the Trump and Post-Trump world, I’m terrified of the concept of him or any Republican at this point getting into office. So I have a message for those who support the MAGA beliefs. I doubt this will ever get to any of them, but who knows? The least I can do is try.
To you MAGA individuals, I have to ask the question I’ve been asking myself for the past eight years: Why do you support such a hateful man?
To some of you, I understand you don’t entirely understand what Trump stands for. You vote for him on the basis of religion, or tradition, or just because your friends like him. That is a huge mistake. He lies, he cheats, he inspires hate. Maybe as you were growing up, you saw the Republican Party as the last defense against communism, the last defense against godlessness, and the last defense for the unborn.
The modern Republican Party does not stand for any of those things anymore, let alone Trump himself.
And then there are those who have been deceived by him. They believe his lies. I feel sorry for you. Likely due to some circumstances outside of your control, you have fallen for his and the rest of his party’s deceit. If you are among those, I urge you to reconsider what he’s told you. What they’ve all told you. They’ve isolated you from other belief systems and have taken advantage of you. Please understand that voting red this November is a colossal mistake.
And then there are those of you who vote for that man in your right mind. You don’t really care for religion, or tradition, or unborn children. You fully support this new fascist regime rising up here in the states. You support the hate. You support the lie-spreading. You support the fear-mongering.
To those of you who vote for him out of hate, I have to ask…
…Does it make you happy, forcing other people into fear?
I have many LGBTQ+ friends. They provided me, a straight kid, with belonging. We connected on a deep level. Many of them are almost like a second family for me.
And they are afraid. They are afraid of their rights being snatched away before they can even get them. They are afraid of being forced into the shadows. They already deal with homophobia and transphobia at home, and now society and the State of Iowa have come down on them, too. They’re terrified of oppression. They’re terrified of you.
And yet, sometimes I see some homophobic asshole on Facebook trying to spread hate and play the victim. To someone like him, does it make you feel happy knowing there are good people terrified of you? Does it make you feel powerful? Special?
I have relatives with a Guatemalan parent. When Trump was in office, they were too scared to go to Guatemala since they feared they might not be let back in the states based on their heritage.
Yet I hear people casually bitching about how the damn immigrants are going to “take our jobs” and “invade this country.” To people like that, do you enjoy the fear you inspire in people like my cousins? Those were kids who just wanted to visit their family, and you have them too afraid to do that. Does that make you feel good?
I’ve made really good friends with a lot of young women in high school. Sometimes, because I’m curious, they open up to me about being female and the hardships they already face and fear facing. Some of them have already admitted to enduring minor sexual harassment on multiple occasions.
And now MAGA state governments across the country are banning abortion rights and contraceptive rights. They are banning women’s reproductive rights. They are actively making the world a harder place for all women. Some of those people think they’re saving babies. Others know damn well what they’re doing.
To those who are dismantling women’s rights, does it make you feel powerful? Does it make you feel strong? Important? Does it make you feel powerful knowing you’re forcing millions upon millions of women into fear?
I have a lot of atheist friends. Some of them are like that because they simply have a hard time believing in a god. Others feel that way because they were denied religion. Sometimes they were denied religion by being forced into it.
Religious MAGA extremists go against LGBTQ+ rights. They go against certain women’s rights. They’re gatekeeping an entire religion. They’re gatekeeping a religion based on a man actively telling his followers to go out and give this religion to everyone. They are spreading hate in a religion founded on a man preaching about love. Unconditional love. They judge people’s “sins” even when their own prophet told them to “let the one without sin cast the first stone.” They’ve made their religion an unwelcoming and hateful thing.
To those of you gatekeeping an entire religion, does it make you feel special? Does it make you feel righteous? Does it make you feel good to deny God from people? Does it make you feel good to deny people from God?
There’s people I go to school with who are afraid to go to school in the first place. I can’t blame them. School shootings have gotten bad. Mass shootings in general have gotten really bad. There’s this constant anxiety when it comes to potential violence like that. Whenever there’s a lockdown drill, everyone gets really tense. We all are forced to consider the possibility of this actually happening. We are all forced to remember the communities it has happened to.
MAGA’s answer to gun violence? More guns. Arm the teachers. Add more conceal and carry. Make it the freaking wild west up here. I remember hearing about some asshat who thought it’d be a good idea to make one-door school buildings. Oh, yes, turn the building into a can of sardines. I also believe that goes against every fire code ever.
To MAGA unrestricted gun rights promoters, does it make you feel good to know that millions of students across the country have anxiety just because of your gun obsession? Does it make you feel good to know that a child will likely die due to your incompetence? Does it make you feel good to know that children have already died due to that?
I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. So many people are terrified of the MAGA movement, and rightfully so. It’s the worst thing for this country and this world. It breeds hate, division, and false information. Nothing good comes out of it.
Yet I’m sure MAGA supporters and lawmakers will continue to play the victim. They will cry and whine and bitch about how they’re the ones being oppressed. They’re the ones getting persecuted by the “woke agenda.” They are the victims.
I cry bullshit because I’ve seen the victims. And the victims are terrified of MAGA.
If you’ve read this and remain unmoved in your opinions about the MAGA movement even slightly, then I have one final message:
You must have no problem with creating a world that excludes people. So don’t complain when a world is created that excludes you.
Most excellent with a powerful ending. Mic drop.
Young man, you rock! You also give me hope that your generation will be a driving force in rejecting MAGA. Keep spreading the word and please know that I enjoy every word you write. Thank you!