Donald Trump for President?!
2/16/16
Donald Trump. Most of the time he is getting bashed for his outrageous statements, but he is leading the presidential election. Why? Americans are angry and Trump is portraying hisself as a "strong man", a man who will get things done. Vanessa Barford outlines the sources of America's anger in her article "Why are Americans so Angry?" .
69% of Americans believe that the government only satisfies the needs of the insiders, or the people with the money. The government is veering away from the principles that it was built on: to protect it's citizens natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You would think that after almost 200 years the government would have got it right.
The economy has been stagnant for almost fifteen years, nothing is getting done in Washington, and the nation is divided.
In particular, young people are angry. The 18-25 age group is always ridiculed for never voting, but when 18-25 year olds go to vote, none of the candidates beliefs resonate with theirs. "Democrats and Republicans have become more ideologically polarised than ever. The typical (median), Republican is now more conservative in his or her core social, economic and political views than 94% of Democrats, compared with 70% in 1994, according to Pew Research. The median Democrat, meanwhile, is more liberal than 92% of Republicans, up from 64%." With such polarization in the government, there is no middle ground for 18-25 year olds to connect to, leading to this age group not voting. This leads to more anger because if less than half of 18-25 year olds are voting, then the majority of 18-25 year olds are not being represented in the government.
This anger cannot be placed solely on the government. America is based off of popular sovereignty, or the power people, but if the people aren't taking advantage of this right, or doing nothing, what power do they have ? With only 5% of America being rich, Trump is winning because he is connecting with the people, and acknowledging their anger.
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