Weekly Report 5

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, is without a doubt, one of the most polarizing political figures in American political history. Recently, Mr. Trump proudly and publicly proposed a ban on all Muslims entering the United States, the monitoring of Mosques across the country by the United States government and a national registration of Muslims so as to know who they are and where they live. These ideas are, at best, unconstitutional and in reality, absolutely un-american. My heart grieves a bit every time I see a Donald Trump sticker on a car or news reports interviewing Trump supporters, who are buying his hateful and destructive rhetoric. As of late, as many of the Republican presidential candidates have been dropping out or suspending their campaigns, these same candidates, who once fought Trump on every conceivable level, now support him. The trouble with this is not just one of political "flip-flopping", but an ethical issue as these powerful conservatives all seem to back the one who promises to "make America hate again", even though the turn of phrase is not so obvious. It is very easy, when looking at this bleak political landscape to feel a sense of hopelessness for our country and particularly, for its relations with others in the international community. The most angst is perhaps felt over the already tumultuous relationship that the United States currently has with the Arab World. There is however, some light at the end of this very long and dark tunnel. Two days ago, The Daily Star (a news source out of Lebanon), as well as others, reported that Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is offering s feeling of hope to the Aran World; particularly to the President of Egypt. Being interviewed following a conversation with the Egyptian President, Graham said, "All of us, regardless of what Mr. Trump says or does, we are going to keep being who we are, so don't let the political scenes at home get you too upset. That's what I told the President" (The Daily Star). This seems to suggest that though there is a very strong likelihood that Donald Trump could be the next President of the United States, Congress and the Senate will be standing between Mr. Trump and any unconstitutional propositions that might be made. While this may bring some comfort, and while I acknowledge that there is a system of "checks and balances" in place to ensue that a fascist minded man not reign supreme, the light at the end of the tunnel, in my view, is that conservatives are standing up to this rhetoric. To what degree this problem was created by the Republican party as a result of the presentation of poor and outright false representations of Islam and concepts such as Sharia law, particularly through harmful avenues such as Fox News, is another conversation entirely. It must also be said that it could be that these assurances are too late, as there is a large number of far-right conservatives, who have now been brought to the main stream by this problem which has grown grossly out of hand. I would like to see the response from those leaders within the Arab World, as to Donald Trumps ideology, and that of his followers. Do those leaders and the citizens of Arab world nations feel as though these reassurances are enough? Hopefully, it will be so that no reassurances are needed and peaceful relations may be sustained.

Sources Cited:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/World/2016/Apr-03/345488-us-senator-tells-arab-world-us-hasnt-changed-despite-trump.ashx