I passed a protest on my way to work. It was because Indiana was sending state policemen to monitor the situation at the Dakota Access Pipepline.
Among other items in the news is the Southern Poverty Law Center’s claim that there have been 437 hate crimes since election night. Finally, 75,000 children in Boko Haram-captured territory in Nigeria may starve from lack of food resources.
Yet, the entire front pages of BBC news and CNN are all about Donald Trump. His plans, his suspected cabinet members — everything and anything that has to do with him. While I have long since accepted that Trump will be the president for the next four years, I cannot and will not focus solely on news about the current president-elect.
For the 63 days until Jan. 20, I will not make any comments on the current president-elect unless he does something utterly heinous or amazing. Not because I don’t care, but because there is so much else to care about. I was unaware of the cases that I referenced above because seemingly all media attention has been focused on Trump.
I pride myself on staying up to date on the news. These are all important events, but we’re not talking about them because news about our president-elect is more popular.
I don’t mind talking about our president-elect. His policies are important, as are his actions. However, they cannot and should not be the only thing that we as a nation can talk about for the next four years. Americans should talk about everything that is going on in both domestic and foreign affairs. Not just because it is good to stay on top of the latest news, but also because focusing on our president all the time will do nothing.
If you are angry with your government and are worried, you should pay attention to the national laws, but don’t forget that there are much more than national laws. We are affected by local, state and national governments. We are affected by the stories of injustices in the United States and under foreign governments. We should talk about them. Moreover, we should learn what is going on in our own communities, physically and socially. Black Lives Matter, minority groups, women’s groups and church groups all have things that they want to focus on. Get involved and become part of the process if you are worried about this country.
Mr. Trump’s election is a fact. However, over the course of the next 65 days, the world will go on. Will his policy proposals affect us all as a country? Yes. But so will all of the ordinances passed by our local and state governments. We would do better to focus on all of them, not just the actions of our president-elect.
npatwari@indiana.edu
