I believe Trump to be the most polarizing figure of our time. As a WWE fan, the Trump effect was very similar to the John Cena effect. Throughout the 50+ year history of the WWF/WWE, Vince McMahon & the writers clearly stated who were the baby faces (good guys) and who were the heels (bad guys). The identities of who occupied which reverted back and forth repeatedly making you question if the fans had any memory whatsoever. There were a couple holdouts here & there but the majority of time, when McMahon and the writers told you to boo, you booed and when he told you to cheer, you cheered. Then came John Cena. His character undoubtedly was supposed to be a face but every time the chant came out “Let’s go Cena” came an equally loud chant of “Cena Sucks.” Stone Cold’s character was supposed to be a heel but everyone cheered it. That is not what happened with Cena. There was no unanimity but a split. Thus is the case with former-President Donald Trump.
The Trump presidency has provided a lot of clarity in my life. For a long time there were things I didn’t understand about the time of my birth. I have learned that people do not get wiser with age. They make the same wrong assumptions and ridiculous conclusions. Suddenly the 1900s makes sense to me. The last four years has given me a clarity that history books could never explain for I had to see it for myself. Much like the Matrix taught us that nobody can be told what the Matrix is, you have to see it for yourself.
Former-President Trump presided over a huge surge in the stock market, three Supreme Court Justices (None of which were the two that voted to hear the election challenge, which should put to bed any objections their opponents had), approximately 300 Federal judges making up about a third of the judiciary. He had four middle east peace deals, brought manufacturing back to the United States, lowered drug prices for the first time in decades, passed right to try and made companies like Good Rx possible due to price transparency in the drug market. As of January 1, hospitals are required with the same transparency so now, much like when you go to a mechanic for your car, hospitals are required to alert you to how much a procedure will cost. It is unclear if President Biden will reverse this but for the last three months, it has been so. In addition to all this, voter turnout was at an all-time high. 154 Million people voted in the 2020 election blowing out any previous record. Donald Trump got people interested in voting again. I’m not going to list others because I know I will leave some out so I’ll just say ‘and more.’
With all these things in the prior paragraph, however, there was another side. His critics will attack each point with excuses and explanations to make them feel better. That is fine, for the last four years has made human nature crystal clear to me. Unfortunately, Trump’s accomplishments came with his rhetoric appalling so many people. His real-estate and Queens-guy nature to utilize exaggeration as a starting point to settle on a lower deal that may be more than he wanted in the first place alienated many. The biggest flaw in conservatives is their insistence on making the perfect the enemy of the good and nobody is more indicative of this than Donald Trump. There are 330 Million people in the United States and just as many theories as to what his downfall was. I won’t get into mine but his insistence on labeling ‘disagreements’ as ‘betrayals’ did wear thin. Those that spent years supporting him that are now labeled ‘traitors’ reminds me as a wrestling fan when I cheered a wrestler only to hate him vehemently when he ‘turned heel.’ Where does my reverence of Trump come from if I can acknowledge these things? Like Christian Bale explained in Batman Begins, I don’t define people on what they say but it’s what they do that defines them. His supporters will tell you that you can’t get the actions without the rhetoric but if anything has been shown the last four years; impossible really doesn’t exist. My closest friends have been shocked at how seriously I take this batman philosophy but outside opinions on the beliefs I run my life on have been predominantly irrelevant.
I think now how the Trump presidency has made me challenge other long held beliefs. The me four years ago would be shocked to find my opinions on certain things. Then a beacon of light came to me unexpectedly. Someone bought my book that I wrote 12 years ago. As I ran the book in my mind, I realized that none of these views that have changed the last four years are in the book I wrote about my most treasured core beliefs. I told the purchaser that he will find only one sentence I no longer agree with and it is the epitome of minor. Thus, these beliefs that have changed were not core beliefs but merely surface ones. 12-years-ago, I didn’t even deem them fit to include in the book. The most prevalent emotion I feel right now is ‘gratitude.’ The Trump presidency has been a confirmation that I have led my life correctly. The most criticized ideas I have in life got resounding confirmation. I spent so much time focusing on the things I hadn’t done that I missed all the things I did do in the name of never taking anything for granted. As Aaron Rogers said, “The future is a beautiful mystery.” The power of now has never been stronger personified than today. Quotes such as “Nobody can feel the rain on your skin, your life is a book and the rest is unwritten.” and “You live two lives, the one you suffer through and the one you live after that” have never meant more to me. I spent 2020 in an enraged state without realizing that 2020 really was vision 2020. Everything has been put into focus. Everything is so clear and I thank the Trump presidency for that. My immediate family has never been more united than it is now. Ironically, the most polarizing president of all time brought together my family that has been polarized for longer than I can remember.
I do hope I am wrong about the future. People who root for the demise of the country they live in never made much sense to me. I wish President Biden or Harris in a couple months the best of success. I want so much for them to prove me wrong; in fact I dare them to do so. Nothing would make me happier. Yes, the parties are more divided now more than ever but that is only true when compared to American standards. By the European standard, we got a long way to go. Every election, my family in Greece shutters at the result because they may be fired for being a member of the party that lost. I’ve never known this fear.
History repeats itself. We are in the roaring 20s. This isn’t the first time I’ve stood on the edge of a cliff. Will we step away as I did after dangling my foot over a 1,000ft cliff at ZIon National Park or will we fall? As I look at the beautiful mystery that is the future, I smile and say “BOHICA.”
