A Thank You Note to Former President Donald Trump
As we end a presidency of one of the most tumultuous times of American history, I find it vital to look back on what has happened, what we have learned, and what we are taking with us to the next chapter. So here we go: a thank you note to former President Donald Trump.
First of all, it is necessary to understand that President Trump has led us through quite a roller coaster of social, economic, and racial issues. So let's start at what I believe was the beginning: Immigration. From his 2016 campaigning, we all knew it was coming. In his first months as president, he targeted Muslim immigrants, Central/South American immigrants, and so many more peoples who have helped our country throughout the ages. He brought to our attention all the little things in immigration that we so often overlook. He brought to our attention the inhumanities of ICE detention centers, the sheer difficulties of the American immigration process, the stories of so many immigrants, and the broken families of so many more. So thank you, President Donald Trump, for being so ignorant that those who you were supposed to teach, had to learn for themselves.
Next, let's move to our LGBTQIA+ family. Throughout his administration, President Donald Trump has stripped away rights and protections that have helped our brothers and sisters live and love peacefully. To this, I must say thank you. For forcing these issues into the light. For helping so many people to find the motivation to search for themselves: what this community is, and the love behind each of the stories within it.
But that isn't all that you have done Mr. President. No. You have also brought to our attention the issues that previous presidents have only tiptoed around. In fact, you have stepped on a beehive, a beehive full of the sickly sweet knowledge of racial injustice. Each sting that we received echoed as each death, each story, and each name was said over and over and over again. As the honey dripped into our population, we learned so much. We learned about systemic racism, about the history of racism, about white supremacy, and about so much more. So thank you, President Donald Trump, for being such a person-such a role model- that the people had to once again take to the streets to stop any more death and any more pain.
Of course, President Donald Trump has also spearheaded tens of social, political, and economic trials. Thus, helping to further our knowledge of societal interactions. How does misinformation affect our people, their thinking, their actions? How does bad leadership affect the people who are led? How does the economy function under a pandemic? How many lives need to be lost for someone to come to their senses? So thank you, President Donald Trump, for forcing us to ask and answer these questions among others.
So here we are, standing at the literal cusp of a new tomorrow. In these dying hours of an old presidency, we must remember to learn from our mistakes, move forward to a new tomorrow, and thank those who have led us on the path of learning. So thank you, Former President, Donald Trump, for reminding so many Americans what it should mean-or rather, what it shouldn't mean-to be American.