I am writing you today what is for me an unprecedented letter. I am doing so because of my concern for our country’s security and democracy. Of course many people hold strong opinions, experience deep emotions, and express these accordingly. I myself wish to avoid hyperbole and rather attempt to state my concerns in a matter of fact manner.

The present executive administration was voted into office arguably due to a majority of the voting population preferring their general political leanings. However, this doesn’t mean that the executive branch should receive a free pass nor that the majority of our population wants them to do everything that they are attempting. You are of course aware that the United States federal government was Continue reading →

This is the sixth in a series of articles on Trump’s upcoming second presidential term; see the first post in this series, Concerns About Trump Presidency Part 1: Important Intro

This is the final article in this series. The concern here is in regards to a well functioning, free, democratic government. The idea in the U.S. is that the population has a say in the government, indirectly through voting for representatives. This series regards Trump who will occupy the office of president. However, there are of course many, many people working for the government as part of numerous agencies. The expectation is that all of these government agencies will do their job, perhaps not efficiently, but at least reasonably fairly.

Of course no Continue reading →

This is the fifth article in this series; see Concerns About Trump Presidency Part 1: Important Intro.

A common defense against criticisms of a politician is to suggest that they’re little different than other politicians past and present. I suspect that most people with wealth will face some legal attacks, but these come in the form of law suits. Trump is the first president to face criminal charges and the first to be convicted of crime. This is not to say that other presidents have been saints—far from it. Arguably, some should have faced consequences for their actions. Nevertheless, Trump’s actions are concerning.

In addition to his alleged and convicted crimes, Trump has been impeached twice; only two other presidents have Continue reading →

This is the forth in a series beginning with Concerns About Trump Presidency Part 1: Important Intro.

Prior to the 2016 presidential election, I expressed concern that Trump demonstrated signs of technically diagnosable narcissistic personality disorder (in other words, not just the generic use of the term). One response I received was along the lines of “every presidential candidate is that way.” Politics is often frustrating, and one way of dealing with this is to throw up one’s hands and say, “They’re all bad.” Politicians the two primary parties in the United States do share many things in common. But I don’t believe they are all equivalent nor equally bad. Responding to a potentially valid concern by deflection to another target is a fallacy.

The concerns I want to outline here aren’t so much about direct policy decisions; I’ve covered those in Continue reading →

See the first article in this series, Concerns About Trump Presidency Part 1: Important Intro.

Economics

It’s difficult to know if Trump will actually enact what he has suggested—high tariffs on all imports—but economists generally all agree this will lead to inflation. The goal of bringing more manufacturing back to the U.S. may be a good one. But in the best case, it won’t happen overnight. And even if it does, domestic manufacturing is more expensive, so therefore the products it produces will cost more. This is why so much manufacturing went to foreign countries to begin with and why Walmart’s prices are so low for example.

It’s really ironic—Walmart is like rural America’s store where those with low incomes can buy the Continue reading →

This is the second in a series of posts on Trump’s upcoming presidency; see the previous post, Concerns About Trump Presidency Part 1: Important Intro.

It is interesting that one of my biggest concerns comes in the area of foreign policy. I think Trump is more of a domestic candidate. In other words, I think most those who support him do so for his domestic policy. At the very least, he is known for being protectionistic—that is a desire to lessen competition from imports toward domestic production. This may be my bias, but I suspect most people are oblivious to foreign affairs beyond the belief that other countries have taken our jobs and that foreigners are trying to break into the U.S. Beyond this, most are aware of the war in Continue reading →

First of all, see my comments on my news sources.

Politics in general and the recent presidential election in particular are contentious and emotional. Many posts in regards to politics end up emotionally charged. Talking about it at all may be emotionally triggering, but I want to attempt to share my perspective reasonably and avoid emotionally triggering language as much as possible. As an analogy, if there is a politician Bob and I think Bob harms rabbits, then I will be inclined to think that anyone who supports Bob either wants to harm rabbits or doesn’t care. I have to catch myself in order to avoid making this assumption which is likely inaccurate for most people.

From my point of view, I find it challenging to understand how so many Continue reading →

Religions tend to share certain features: a set of beliefs, rituals, texts, holy days, rites, etc. We usually think of religion as having to do with spirituality and belief in the divine. This is true, but many aspects of religion do not require either of these. Some people hold their religious beliefs and practices casually. Many other hold these quite fervently. People can demonstrate religious like devotion to entities we have not traditionally thought of as religions.

American nationalism is one such entity. We have our holy days, the highest of which is the Forth of July. Our rituals include the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem. Our most sacred symbol is the U.S. flag. I think also about how much the U.S. flag or Continue reading →