The episode of Black Mirror titled "Waldo" was a great pick for us to watch as a class. It so closely relates to what happened during this last Presidential running that it's scary. In the film that we watched, Waldo was a popular cartoon character that ended up being turned into a political figure whose purpose was to stand against modern politics and modern politicians. While openly admitting that Waldo stood for nothing, the team behind the cartoon pointed fingers at the other candidates who were also running and accused them for standing for as little as Waldo stood for. Waldo ended up being placed on the ballot and received almost enough votes to win a position in political office. At the end of the episode, Waldo actually made it into office and is shown to have become some sort of world leader. The purpose of the film is to show that people are tired of the way that politics are handled and that many people would even vote for a cartoon who stands for nothing more than changing the system.
Recently in America, the 2016 Presidential Election had an shockingly similar turnout. Donald Trump, who can almost be seen as a wacky and heavily inappropriate cartoon character, possesses little to no political experience, yet he somehow won over the votes of many Americans and made his way into office. He never made clear what exactly he planned to accomplish while President of the United States (outside of his poorly planned and highly unrealistic idea of building a wall along the US/Mexican border, of course), and with his unpredictable nature and intolerant/tasteless 'sense of humor', I'd say that, as Americans, we are two months shy of watching a cartoon run our country!
However, we can only speculate about what Trump will or will not do as president, because we don't have ANY idea of what he is politically capable of. His presidency is merely a gamble for us all, so we can only hope for the best for our country.
Having said that, I should express that this election shouldn't divide us as a nation. A division among us will only weaken the power we have as US citizens to protest immoral/unconstitutional acts that may be presented to us. We should, instead, set aside our personal biases and look for the good in our new president (such as his claims to end corporate outsourcing) in order for us to remain united and strong.
Recently in America, the 2016 Presidential Election had an shockingly similar turnout. Donald Trump, who can almost be seen as a wacky and heavily inappropriate cartoon character, possesses little to no political experience, yet he somehow won over the votes of many Americans and made his way into office. He never made clear what exactly he planned to accomplish while President of the United States (outside of his poorly planned and highly unrealistic idea of building a wall along the US/Mexican border, of course), and with his unpredictable nature and intolerant/tasteless 'sense of humor', I'd say that, as Americans, we are two months shy of watching a cartoon run our country!
However, we can only speculate about what Trump will or will not do as president, because we don't have ANY idea of what he is politically capable of. His presidency is merely a gamble for us all, so we can only hope for the best for our country.
Having said that, I should express that this election shouldn't divide us as a nation. A division among us will only weaken the power we have as US citizens to protest immoral/unconstitutional acts that may be presented to us. We should, instead, set aside our personal biases and look for the good in our new president (such as his claims to end corporate outsourcing) in order for us to remain united and strong.
Good post Collin. It seems like we are already divided as a nation. Do you have any thoughts on the underlying cause(s) or what we might do to heal them?
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