photo credit: vi.wikipedia.org
"From early reports, the results clearly show that the people voted in incumbent Mark Townsell, but to the astonishment of many, the electoral college selected James Hatcher as President. Many state's representatives voted for Hatcher, often against what the people wanted."
Back in the year 1998, about a year out of high school and very early in my writing career, I started a screenplay called Rebellion. I had forgotten about it over the years, but last night's acceptance speech by Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for president had me digging through a box of my old writings to locate this script.
Upon finding it, I discovered I'd handwritten 72 pages--much more than I thought--of bad dialogue and choppy scenes. Pretty much what you'd expect from a 19-year-old taking his first real crack at screenwriting.
The story is about a rich man who basically buys the presidency. He want to ensure the country will be great again, but he wants to do it in ways that play off of the fear of the people.
What ensues is him buying the votes needed for the electoral college. Soon, he is imposing martial law, reinstating the Sedition Act, using the military for his own personal gain and leaving people with the feeling they are trapped in their own country.
I read the script, immediately thinking of how it applies to today's world. Things have changed in the last 17 years, both good and bad, but I began re-writing this script last night. (There goes my writing A.D.D. again.)
Trump's speech last night soon had me imagining a country in which he was elected president. One in which the very things of fiction I wrote in my screenplay were suddenly coming true.
It is a future in which by no means will "Make America Great Again."
One can already spot the inklings of a man who will implement these types of occurrences from my screenplay. He's already started by revoking the press credentials of the Washington Post. Couldn't you envision him shutting down websites and newspapers that portray him and his policies in a negative light?
Trump has already made promises of a border wall and tightening our borders. Does one not think their would be repercussions for this? Would Americans still be able to travel to Mexico? Or vice versa? Where does Trump stand on this?
If we stop welcoming refugees to our countries or foreigners simply seeking a better life, in turn wouldn't governments of certain countries not allow the same for Americans? Even for the simple sake of travel?
Trump delivered a speech that took the worst of what happens in this world and preyed upon that fear.
He spoke of the Democratic Party taking cash from corporate lobbyists. I wonder what the scores of Republican representatives taking money from the NRA think about that.
Trump is the law and order president. So he repeated over and over again in last night's speech. He's going to wipe out the terrorists with one fell swoop. Because, you know, we know who all the terrorists are and where they are hiding.
He said Americans felt helpless and scared. He's right. I am scared. I'm scared of what a country will look like if this man becomes president. He will send the military to fight people in a battle that may never be won. (How long have we spent in Iraq and Afghanistan?)
Trump (and his many supporters) blame President Obama for the divisiveness in this country when instead he should be looking at his "party". Many are the ones that refuse to accept minorities in this country as equals. They hold true to a belief that all minorities fit a stereotype. They fail to be accepting of people that have different lifestyles and different beliefs.
Yes, some of these people have the same "it's my belief or nothing" attitude towards the Republican Party. It's a whole other subject, but the nastiness that resides on the internet is part of the problem. It's not Republicans, it's not Democrats. It's the comments and hate that used to only talked about among your close circle of friends and family is not put on display for the world to see.
Fear. Anger. Hate. The fire gets stoked every day. And there is one orange colored man that is helping to drive it even more.
"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."- Yoda
Maybe it's a political problem we're seeing and the big money involved on both sides. I'm by no means here stumping for his rival across the political platform. America is a shady place right, in terms of politics. More so than I've seen in the nearly twenty years I've been allowed to vote.
We need a change. That change is not Trump. He is a man of all talk, with no real plans behind his talk. He reminds me of a kid that runs for class president, promising pizza every day and no homework.
All talk and no substance.
We are not helpless. We don't need to be rescued.
We need to be united. We need to have big hearts.
We don't need Trump's hate, his bigotry.
We need open dialogue. We need compassion. We need a world in which people aren't judged by the color of their skin, the religious belief, or their paycheck.
Above all else, we need love.
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