Image by Gerd Altmann
In this Article:
- Why is Donald Trump considered a danger as president?
- 18 key reasons to oppose Trump's re-election
- How Trump's policies and actions harmed the United States
- Ethical considerations from an ethicist and physician
- Potential harmful consequences of a second Trump presidency
Beyond Politics: 18 Reasons Trump Should Not Be President
by Carl G. Schowengerdt.
An ethicist and physician looks at why Donald Trump is such a danger. Adapted from Human Ethics, by Carl G. Schowengerdt.
I'm a retired surgeon and physician who was raised to consider ethics in every action. My father was a Methodist minister who taught me well. I always wonder what he'd say about the state of affairs today.
From my perspective, I see empathy, compassion, and respect for all other life being displaced by human greed, selfishness and disrespect. Among the leaders most responsible is Donald Trump. As a U.S. president his actions badly damaged this country, and these 18 examples are only the simple ones.
There are countless more ways Trump harmed this country, all having to do with collusion, corruption, and — all to serve his own needs and that of his wealthy friends. But this list of 18 actions during his presidency should be enough, on its own, to remind all of us that a second presidency could do irreparable harm.
18 Reasons Why Not to Re-Elect Trump
Let's take a look at 18 ways Trump compromised the United States while in office:
1. He tried to end the Affordable Care Act, but found public resistance too great.
2. He tried to defund Medicare/Medicaid, but was only able to weaken a few aspects of those programs covering the elderly and ill.
2. He partially repealed the Dodd-Frank Act, which regulated the banking industry. As a result, we have now had multiple bank failures requiring expensive bailouts when those banks overextended their spending.
3. He signed heavy tax cuts into law, a boon to the wealthy, but a greater burden on the middle class and working poor. As a result, the federal deficit ballooned under Trump, placing greater tax burdens on our children.
4. He implemented a heartless and cruel policy to separate immigrant children from their parents. As a result: several thousand children were lost in the system, unable to ever see their parents again.
5. He withdrew from the Paris agreement on climate change, in spite of the clear evidence that this problem is accelerating. We are now faced with monumental floods, fires, drought, heat waves and tornadoes — never before recorded to this extent.
6. He withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, allowing China to step into the vacuum, and wield greater influence in the Pacific theater.
7. He reversed environmental protective regulations, allowing pipeline to be run through native Indian reservation land, allowing more drilling for natural gas and oil, and allowing wetlands critical to sustaining wildlife to be drained for economic development.
8. He implemented a major arms sale to Saudi Arabia, in spite of evidence that the Saudi’s had facilitated the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centers and had an abysmal civil rights record.
9. He tried to prevent immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries from reaching our shores, showing religious bigotry.
10. He withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement, allowing Iran to surreptitiously advance its stock of enriched uranium.
11. He ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by drone strike at the Baghdad airport, while Soleimani was on his way to meet the Iraqi Prime Minister. The Iranian anger at this assassination has been intense and unrelenting.
12. He pressured Ukraine to begin an investigation into the affairs of Hunter Biden, President Biden's son, and threatened withdrawal of United States military support if Zelensky did not do so.
13. He disavowed the urgency and severity of the COVID epidemic, allowing the disease to spread rapidly, and cause thousands of deaths that could have been prevented.
14. He appointed lobbyists as members of his cabinet, in essence, putting foxes in charge of the government agency hen houses.
15. He reversed the Commercial Financial Protection rule that had made it easier for citizens to sue banks, giving banks a barrier from damage after committing illegal financial acts.
16. He praised rough treatment by police in a 2017 speech to police officers, and by doing so, encouraged police brutality.
17. He pardoned his longtime friend, Roger Stone, who was found guilty of lying to Congress about his dealings with the Russians and sentenced to prison. The pardon, a few weeks before the sentence was to begin, essentially rewarded Stone for lying to the United States Congress.
18. He fired James Comey as director of the FBI after Comey refused to fully stop the investigation of how Michael Flynn worked with the Russians during the 2016 election.
Looking Ahead
As we head into this upcoming election, the question is this: Can this country endure another 4 years of a now-convicted felon? I'm not sure. The evidence is overwhelming that he was the worst president the United States of America has ever had, and the evidence is clear that he doesn't care.
Donald Trump tried, and is still trying, to destroy the most precious possession we in the United States of America have – our democracy. And as he gains in power and influence with his rabid followers, he's following the same path and rhetoric that Adolph Hitler used in order to throw the entire world into war during the last century.
This isn't a normal election. This isn't a normal candidate, and the ramifications are global. Consider what that could mean — before it's too late.
Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Article Source:
BOOK: Human Ethics
Human Ethics
by Carl G. Schowengerdt.
What a mess! Since the beginning of human societies, our sense of optimum human behavior has been thrown into a steaming cauldron of right, wrong, ethics, morals, religions, mythologies and theologies. Further, the guidelines we withdraw from this simmering stew keep changing from generation to generation. We come to fiercely conflicting conclusions about right and wrong human behavior, depending on which of these philosophies is attached to our human values.
It is time to end that confusion. This book examines human ethics and morals throughout human history, from several different perspectives, then provides a definition of ethics which is immutable, unchanging, and unattached to any society, place, politics, economic climate, mythology or religious philosophy. The compelling reasons why this definition should be universally adopted and followed are concisely presented.
For more info and/or to order this book, click here. Also available as a Kindle edition.
About the Author
Carl G. Schowengerdt is a retired surgeon who grew up in a family of daily religious and ethical discussions. His father was a Methodist minister; his brother a Methodist bishop. Schowengerdt instead studied medicine, became a physician, and practiced surgery for 40 years, specializing in lung and esophageal cancer, as well as family practice. He chaired the Ethics Committee for Genesis Health Systems; was medical director of the Genesis/James cancer unit and Rambo Memorial Respiratory Health Clinic of Muskingam County; and was president of the nonprofit Appalachian Primary Care. His new book is Human Ethics. Learn more at Ycitypublishing.com.
Article Recap:
This article outlines 18 compelling reasons why Donald Trump should not be re-elected as President of the United States. Written by Carl G. Schowengerdt, a retired surgeon and ethicist, the article highlights the dangers and negative consequences of Trump's policies and actions during his presidency. It discusses issues such as attempts to dismantle healthcare, environmental deregulation, foreign policy blunders, and mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The piece emphasizes the ethical concerns and potential risks of a second Trump presidency, urging readers to consider the broader implications for democracy and global stability.
