Personally, 2016 has been a great year for me. I finished my PhD, got a great job, moved to a beautiful new place. I got my parents to visit me and spent the while summer traveling all over the United States. But I dont feel too great about this year. Why? Call me stupid but I need much more than just my personal growth and happiness to feel great.
I hope for world where there is freedom and equality for all living beings, where merit and ability are given more value than feelings of entitlement. A free world where there are no lines between nations. Where it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, you will have the freedom and opportunity to achieve whatever you desire providing you are willing to work for it the right way. True, this is very idealistic. But I have hope that someday we will have this kind of world if we move inch by inch towards it.
So maybe this idealistic hope is the reason I feel personally hurt when I see people moving backwards, away from this dream world of mine. When I hear the story of a little girl abused thousands of miles away from me or when I read about an innocent animal killed.
Two political incidents in 2016 have particularly hurt me the most because they have essentially shaken my faith in basic human intelligence. One was Brexit and the other, the US election. Analysts have said that the main reason why UK voted to leave the EU was to protect their economy and limit immigration. Really? Citizens of UK are not getting their fair share of jobs because people from other countries are coming in to their country. So why cant the citizens of UK just buck up and become as competitive as the people coming in and "stealing" their jobs, instead of forcing the competent people to stay out. Do companies really want to go through the hassle of employee immigration when they can get an equally good person from within the country? From my limited experience of working in a US company, I would believe not. I wasn't living UK when Brexit poll happened so I probably shouldn't say more about it. But what hurt me was the opportunities of collaboration lost due to this decision. The attitude of people who voted to leave is really hurtful.
A deeper wound, only because of proximity and recency, was the election of Donald Trump to be the President of US. Needless to say, I was hoping to see Hillary Clinton being elected. A woman holding the position of the US president would have been a great accomplishment for womankind. US would have joined other powerful countries like Germany and UK which put women in the highest position of power. But that is not the only reason I was hoping to see her be the next President. She is a person with experience, ambition and actual ideas to make the country and the world a better place. Whereas Trump had no real ideas. Nothing but hateful propaganda against "the establishment". Against some religions, some races and women.
So analysts say people voted for him because they felt they were being ignored by the establishment.
I have heard people talk about how the current immigration policies have hurt their jobs Again the same thing about jobs. Come on people!!! Work harder and learn to live in a global economy. Voting for Trump, a person with no experience and no ideas, because you are being ignored is like a child throwing a tantrum. Just that in this case it is a giant tantrum thrown not by a child but by adults who can supposedly think and act intelligently. Building walls is not going to help you recover your jobs. Educating yourself and becoming as competent as anybody coming in from outside is going to help not just you but the entire world. Your future President should have promised you education, opportunities to thrive, and equal pay for equal work.
Some people say Hillary lost because of the whole e-mail scandal. If that's the reason you didn't vote for her, fine! Atleast you made a decision based on some concrete reason. But I've also heard people (even women) say "Anybody but HER" or "I just dont like her". Her, an ambitious woman with ideas. That is just sad and hurtful.
I've heard a lot of hurtful comments from Trump and his supporters through the campaign. People saying "I dont care what Trump does to women", calling all Muslims terrorists, and Mexicans criminals and drug dealers. It saddens me that in this day and age people's thinking can be so backward and narrow.
I talked to a Trump supporter before the election and asked him why he supported Trump. He told me that even if Trump did half the things he promised life would be better for him and his family. But what exactly did Trump promise? He had no answer. And guess what...this guy belongs to the demographic that got Trump his victory. He was thinking of himself and only himself. What would happen to his Black or Muslim neighbor? Maybe he didnt care and maybe thats the right attitude. Maybe I'm being elitist in thinking about the whole world. But I would prefer a world where everybody thought not just about themselves but also a little about the rest of the world and the future generations.
The Trump presidency will come and go. America and the world will somehow survive. I have no doubt about it. But hopefully, he will have the sense to unite the country and not make more divisive statements. Hopefully the country and world will become a better place under his presidency.
I hope for world where there is freedom and equality for all living beings, where merit and ability are given more value than feelings of entitlement. A free world where there are no lines between nations. Where it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, you will have the freedom and opportunity to achieve whatever you desire providing you are willing to work for it the right way. True, this is very idealistic. But I have hope that someday we will have this kind of world if we move inch by inch towards it.
So maybe this idealistic hope is the reason I feel personally hurt when I see people moving backwards, away from this dream world of mine. When I hear the story of a little girl abused thousands of miles away from me or when I read about an innocent animal killed.
Two political incidents in 2016 have particularly hurt me the most because they have essentially shaken my faith in basic human intelligence. One was Brexit and the other, the US election. Analysts have said that the main reason why UK voted to leave the EU was to protect their economy and limit immigration. Really? Citizens of UK are not getting their fair share of jobs because people from other countries are coming in to their country. So why cant the citizens of UK just buck up and become as competitive as the people coming in and "stealing" their jobs, instead of forcing the competent people to stay out. Do companies really want to go through the hassle of employee immigration when they can get an equally good person from within the country? From my limited experience of working in a US company, I would believe not. I wasn't living UK when Brexit poll happened so I probably shouldn't say more about it. But what hurt me was the opportunities of collaboration lost due to this decision. The attitude of people who voted to leave is really hurtful.
A deeper wound, only because of proximity and recency, was the election of Donald Trump to be the President of US. Needless to say, I was hoping to see Hillary Clinton being elected. A woman holding the position of the US president would have been a great accomplishment for womankind. US would have joined other powerful countries like Germany and UK which put women in the highest position of power. But that is not the only reason I was hoping to see her be the next President. She is a person with experience, ambition and actual ideas to make the country and the world a better place. Whereas Trump had no real ideas. Nothing but hateful propaganda against "the establishment". Against some religions, some races and women.
So analysts say people voted for him because they felt they were being ignored by the establishment.
I have heard people talk about how the current immigration policies have hurt their jobs Again the same thing about jobs. Come on people!!! Work harder and learn to live in a global economy. Voting for Trump, a person with no experience and no ideas, because you are being ignored is like a child throwing a tantrum. Just that in this case it is a giant tantrum thrown not by a child but by adults who can supposedly think and act intelligently. Building walls is not going to help you recover your jobs. Educating yourself and becoming as competent as anybody coming in from outside is going to help not just you but the entire world. Your future President should have promised you education, opportunities to thrive, and equal pay for equal work.
Some people say Hillary lost because of the whole e-mail scandal. If that's the reason you didn't vote for her, fine! Atleast you made a decision based on some concrete reason. But I've also heard people (even women) say "Anybody but HER" or "I just dont like her". Her, an ambitious woman with ideas. That is just sad and hurtful.
I've heard a lot of hurtful comments from Trump and his supporters through the campaign. People saying "I dont care what Trump does to women", calling all Muslims terrorists, and Mexicans criminals and drug dealers. It saddens me that in this day and age people's thinking can be so backward and narrow.
I talked to a Trump supporter before the election and asked him why he supported Trump. He told me that even if Trump did half the things he promised life would be better for him and his family. But what exactly did Trump promise? He had no answer. And guess what...this guy belongs to the demographic that got Trump his victory. He was thinking of himself and only himself. What would happen to his Black or Muslim neighbor? Maybe he didnt care and maybe thats the right attitude. Maybe I'm being elitist in thinking about the whole world. But I would prefer a world where everybody thought not just about themselves but also a little about the rest of the world and the future generations.
The Trump presidency will come and go. America and the world will somehow survive. I have no doubt about it. But hopefully, he will have the sense to unite the country and not make more divisive statements. Hopefully the country and world will become a better place under his presidency.
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