Christopher Andrews ’18

Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States on January 20, 2017. Ever since then, much of the country has been unhinged. People are rioting in the streets. Protests are happening in Washington. People are still declaring the saying, “Not my president!” Then it got worse.

On January 27th 2017,  President Trump signed an executive order that bars citizens from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the United States. This executive order has led many muslims to be blocked in airports and not able to go back to their country peacefully. This has caused an uproar all over the United States.

I think that this is a terrible decision. A lot of muslims aren’t terrorists and ISIS isn’t a reflection of Muslims. Generalizing them all as terrorists is not right. When I heard this on Saturday morning, I couldn’t believe my ears. I thought this was a joke. It felt surreal.

From the start of Donald Trump’s campaign, he always had something to say that would catch people’s attention. It ranges from building a wall, to saying climate change isn’t real. At the beginning, he was considered the joke candidate. As months went by, people thought there was a chance that he might win. That is now the reality.  I always thought that he wasn’t going to follow through with his ideas. I always thought that he was saying these things because that is what quite a bit of America thinks. And even if he wants to follow through, there is no way the rest of the government would allow these plans to happen. Once again, I was wrong.

My whole view on the government has been totally different since Donald Trump was elected.  According to The New York Times, president Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis was clear-eyed about the dangers of a proposed Muslim ban during the election. Now, when Trump was signing the executive order, he hasn’t said anything to challenge the decision. His silence now is alarming to me and all who admire his commitment to American security. He was only one executive that didn’t step in about Trump’s order. Many others who also disagreed were mute.

We need to be together as one. We need to stop all the judgement on muslim people because it will only make things worse.