What’s Really Going on Here?

Building Walls and Breaking Down Barriers is Not The Precedent That America Should Set

Donovan Peterson
The New Age
3 min readFeb 3, 2017

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A Group of Syrian Refugees Arrives on Lesvos After Traversing the Mediterranean. (PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW MCCONNELL / PANOS)

Right now, many of my fellow Americans are probably asking themselves…what the hell is going on here? In the wake of a very controversial election, Americans find themselves being led by an administration that continuously strays away from American values that are the foundation of our country. Americans have a peculiar problem, as well as a constant question we must ask ourselves in pursuit of a fair, more just society. That question is: What do we stand for? Who are we going to be?

Trump’s administration is playing a major role in re-defining what it means to be American. Trump represents a scared, isolated, desperate portion of America and these people are trying to find their place in a globalized, tech-centered world that largely views them as xenophobic, backwards, bigoted, and racist. A vote for Trump was not solely a chance to gain power and influence in the political realm but it was largely a vote for representation. Trump — cunningly — was able to convince these people that he was “one of them” and that he’d fight for them to be represented, although nothing could be further from the truth. In this fight for representation, many men and women from the heartlands of America pushed for the man who would be most beneficial to their revolution, just as many people pushed for Bernie to be the face of their revolution.

Trump Standing Before the American Flag Prior to a Speech. © Getty Images

The problem is that the Trump administration is dangerous for all of America and the world as well. In the first week, there was a massive effort to blur the lines between truth and “alternative truths”…fact and fiction…lies and honesty. Frankly this only serves a person who is planning to manipulate the public. A person who will say: “The Muslim ban is going quite well,” in the midst of people crying for their loved ones, children being arrested and detained, and thousands of Americans in a boiling rage over the casual injustices forced upon our public. Lies serve an administration that wants us to harbor distrust for our eyes and to question our values. Lies serve an administration who want to redefine truth for personal gain and profit. Lies serve an administration that purposely goes against everything that we stand for to pursue an America that reflects their own values. Lies serve an administration who will refuse to put the values of American people first in pursuit of destruction and isolation. Lies serve an administration that aims to build walls instead of breaking barriers down.

The truth is, erecting walls will not stop terrorism. More vetting will not stop terrorism. Banning Muslims will not stop terrorism, but all of these things might prove to inflame it. These things make us LESS safe, not more safe. What will make us more safe, is embracing a globalized world, cleaning up our environment, and providing more resources for the impoverished and mentally ill. America, building a wall and isolating ourselves, or as I’ve heard, putting “America First,” are in no ways viable solutions, it’s what toddlers do when they don’t want to deal with a tough reality. We live in a world of international intimacy…and to my fellow Americans, there is no wall that can separate us now.

Protesters of the Refugee/Muslim Ban Welcome Refugees at JFK. (photo: Kamil Krzaczynski/Reuters)

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