We Just Might Be Entering a Dystopia in 2016

Looks like Hollywood's obsession with adapting hit Young Adult Dystopia novels for the big screen has attracted a real life equivalent in the form of the 2016 presidential race.

While searching for inspiration to base this very editorial on, I found the perfect article on the New York Times' website about Trump's latest transgression at one of his own campaign events. Apparently, a Black Lives Matter protester that was present at the event was violently beaten by Trump's supporters. Trump responded to the commotion with a simple "Get him the hell out of here," the "him" of course referring to the protester. When asked to comment on the situation, he responded with, "Maybe he should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing." Let that sink in.

I really wanted to avoid writing an editorial on something negative, as I didn't want to fuel our society's outrage addiction by publishing a blog post on the Internet about something that will further anger people. But my point in talking about this specific situation is to bring some proper attention to the type of person that an alarmingly large portion of America wants to elect as their leader. 

Trump has never been subtle about, well, anything. So many articles from endless news outlets are published and printed every week chronicling each of his controversial missteps that we've grown immune to his predictable personality by now. His Twitter account is even a parody of himself. But now, he just openly called an activist's desire for racial equality disgusting. And how are people responding? Are they responding at all? One could say they're responding by looking the other way and continuing their support for Trump anyway. Has our immunity to his behavior become a serious problem? Does the media play a role in our immunity? What will the elections (both Primary and Actual) uncover about America's latest desires for a leader? Is this real life?! 

Trump's actions in the Primary alone are enough to garner concern for the future of our nation. His ideas and beliefs sound like something a leader directly out of a post-apocalytpic novel or movie would implement (Hunger Games, anyone? Abundance for the rich and poverty for everyone else sounds like just the course of action Trump wouldn't hesitate to take one day) and his followers/supporters are equally guilty/responsible for implementing a dystopian society upon the rest of us. Speaking of the rest of us, we need to, with a good conscious, think about what our society needs when voting in the upcoming election. Do we want to bring Panem to life and elect the beginning of a potential downfall of our society? That may sound dramatic, but when you look into what kind of person Trump is, I have no doubt that the nation will suffer at his hands if he wins. Of course, nothing in this blog post is truly new information (we all know Trump is scary and dense) but I felt the need to bring about the dystopia comparison to cement the fact that Trump will not be a healthy president. As for other societies I'd like to see America become, I'd much rather bring to life a utopian universe with dragons or Marvel heroes. Or student discounts on Netflix accounts, at least.

In Response to Abigail Clark's "Bernie Sanders for President?"

I've seen the potential presidential candidates for the 2016 race and I can say with confidence that I'm not too impressed, even with the liberals' side. This time around, the candidates fall on two extremes: the conservatives are too uptight and the liberals are too loose. However, this article written by my classmate/colleague Abigail Clark about her support of Bernie Sanders actually did a great job of swaying me to side with Sanders in the upcoming election.

I really do support Sanders and his ideas, I just feel that he's way too genuine for the field of politics he's entering. Politics is nothing but a huge game of strategy, and I can't see his sobering personality swaying the politicians that run the behind-the-scenes of the election. I actually didn't know that Sanders wanted to make public college free prior to reading Abigail's article, and I think that's amazing and needs to happen. But in reality, will current politicians and other one-percenters really let themselves be subjected to higher taxes for the sake of sending some middle-class millennials to school? Sanders' target demographic are exactly the people that don't show up to vote which is really worrying, and maybe if Sanders is lucky enough to win the Primary and be the democratic candidate in the 2016 race, people will change their minds and go vote for him. Because I truly agree with Abigial when she says that Sanders is the president we need right now, but I just don't think that the electoral college will feel the same way. Especially when Sanders' policies directly attack and affect the people in the highest powers in the government.

If Sanders makes it through the Primary I will be beyond shocked but I will also be overjoyed. Because if Sanders can make it as the democratic nominee, then there's a sliver of a chance that he'll be able to pull through as president. I just hope the electoral college makes the right decision when it comes down to it on election night.