Sixth Form Mercury, December 2016
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Sixth Form Mercury By Wilson’s students, for Wilson’s students.
Volume 6, Issue 2, December 2016
Us election special
The Case For Voting For Harambe in the US election By Matthew Kayanja There are many lessons to be learned from this: for example, that some people are aren’t that bright, that the line between politics and internet culture is continually evaporating (just look at the fact that Trump, the President-elect, retweeted an internet meme depicting himself as Pepe the Frog) and that people seem to have stopped caring about their involvement in politics. There are some requirements to running for the Presidency of the United States. You must be over thirty-five, you must have been born in the US and, obviously, you have to be human.
However, before you rush to judge those who voted in this way, stop and think about the reasoning behind it.
So how was it on the 8 November 2016, the day set aside for the election of the 45th US president, thousands of people voted for a candidate that fulfilled none of these requirements: the late Rwandan gorilla, Harambe?
Maybe it’s a scathing indictment of the current political climate, that both main party candidates are so unpalatable in the way they ran their campaigns that neither deserves the country’s votes, and with third party candidates Gary ‘What is Aleppo?’ Johnson, and the slightly more credible Jill Stein essentially having the same chance of
winning as Harambe, perhaps there really was a case for voting for the late Western Lowland gorilla. No matter how much you dislike the other candidates in the US election, most people would agree that even the one they supported was not perfect. The climate of this election was, to put it mildly, distasteful. One candidate was branded a racist, a sexist and a sexual assaulter, while the other was branded a criminal, corrupt, and an enabler of sexual assault. Whether or not you believe these accusations are true, surely you must believe that America can do better? This is a country that valiantly came to the aid of Europe when it was in the grips of Nazi Germany; a country whose culture and ideals of democracy, liberty, and equality of opportunity have inspired the entire planet. Yet one candidate claims that he can easily grab
Want to write for the Sixth Form Mercury? It is open to all sixth formers with an interest in writing or illustration. Contact Tommy MacGillivray or Matthew Kayanja for details: Email:
[email protected]
Sixth Form Mercury, December 2016
2 women and the other claims she didn’t know that C stood for Classified on the documents she handled as Secretary of State. Throughout the election, however, whenever someone considered voting for a third party, or voting for no one, the chant came: ‘That’s a vote for Trump’ or ‘If you vote third party you’re voting for Hillary’. For me, despite her alleged corruption and lying, what Hillary had to offer was still better than the blatant dim-ness, worrying sexism and other –isms that came out of Trump. But think about it: is this what would have been best for the Democratic Party and indeed the country for the coming years? If Hillary had won, the party would have been defined by her for at least the next four years, and would either lose or again have her as its face for four years after the 2020 election. Is this the future we want, or would it have been better to cleanse the Democratic Party of association with a candidate who is deeply unpopular, and live to fight another day?
The election is over, and whether you’re a passionate conservative who believes Trump will Make America Great Again, or a die-hard liberal who enjoys yelling at old videos of Ronald Reagan on the TV, people have to come together now.
And to those people who lambast those who voted for no one, or for a third party or Harambe - try to be a little more understanding: try and see the reasoning behind it. I’m not saying that the reasoning is absolutely correct, but there is a legitimate argument to be had about not voting at all in this election. No matter what, let’s hope the next one makes it so the internet memes can be left on social media and not on the ballot slips.
But then, of course, it is morally compromising to vote the other way for someone who you believe would be the worse candidate in the short term? Perhaps a vote for Harambe isn’t the worst idea, after all. The election is over, and whether you’re a passionate conservative who believes Trump will Make America Great Again, or a die-hard liberal who enjoys yelling at old videos of Ronald Reagan on the TV, people have to come together now.
Opinion piece: Trump and the American Right By Yash Raju On the Tuesday 8 November, it was announced that the biggest political upset since the Brexit vote had occurred: Donald J Trump had won the United States presidency.
However, no matter how divided the Right were on their feelings for Trump, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief that Hillary Clinton lost.
one major issue: racism did not win the election.
In fact, quite a lot of people who voted for Trump also voted for Obama. But now that the ‘Wicked Witch of the Twice. This is because they looked at The reaction of conservatives was a West’ is gone (or her career is, anythe sexist buffoon, looked at the altergenerally mixed bag, with some reway) and CNN, NBC, The New York native, then decided to go with the acting with elation at Republicans Times are picking up the shattered buffoon. holding all three branches of Govern- remains of their credibility, Republiment, and others worried that the cans have to come to terms with the Trump’s victory highlights eight years “Republican” just elected was nothing elephant in the room: what does Pres- of failure by the Obama administramore than a buffoon. ident-elect Trump mean for conserva- tion and a backlash against political tism? First of all, we need to address correctness because, as it turns out, if
Sixth Form Mercury, December 2016
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you call the majority of the electorate racist-sexist bigots without evidence, they won't vote for you. If you call their country bigoted without evidence, they won't vote for you.
Trump is throwing a bone to worried Republicans. Furthermore, his VP, the actual right-winger Mike Pence will be a strong influence in ensuring Trump stays true to the American people.
be cracking down on illegal immigration?
This is a man who flip-flops as though his decisions are made by coin tosses. This is what happens when you elect a The Left still has not learned its lesson What there is to worry about, however, celebrity to hold the highest office in and now we are left with Trump, a man is whether or not Trump will keep the America. And as conservatives look to who probably hasn't read the constitu- promises he made to the American peo- the future - some, like Rush Limbaugh, tion, but at least doesn't call the US ple. with optimism; others, like Mitt Romcitizenry bigots. ney, with despair - one question key remains: will Donald Trump run America Time and time again, Trump has proven like a Republican, or will he run her into that he is not a Conservative, with his the ground? We can only wait and find protectionist trade policies, belief in out. mandatory maternity leave, and rather suspicious chumminess with Vladimir Putin. Rather, Trump leans more towards national populism rather than orthodox conservatism. However, with Republicans holding both the Senate and the House, one can only hope he is steered in the right direction. This, and who he surrounds himself with, will be the two deciding factors in whether or not Trump will behave like a Republican, or whether or not he will allow the left, or, worse, the alt-right, to walk all over him.
One key question remains: will Donald Trump run America like a Republican, or will he run her into the ground?
Unfortunately, Trump has already taken a step to the right by letting Steve Bannon into the White House. Bannon, a Machiavellian far-right populist, will have a say in every policy made by the He has already backtracked on repealTrump administration. This is clearly not ing ObamaCare, claiming that “some good news. parts” of this “failed and immoral system” will remain. This poses questions However, there is always a silver lining, as to whether or not he will keep any of with the sensible choice of Reince his other promises. Will he appoint a Preibus as Chief of Staff. And with the Conservative Supreme Court justice to possibility of the experienced conserva- uphold the constitution? Will he end tive John Bolton as Secretary of State, funding of Planned Parenthood? Will he
Want to write for the Sixth Form Mercury? It is open to all sixth formers with an interest in writing or illustration. Contact Tommy MacGillivray or Matthew Kayanja for details: Email:
[email protected]
Sixth Form Mercury, December 2016
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One Small Step For Trump, One Giant Leap Back for Mankind? By Adam Willicombe Donald Trump is president elect of the United States. Even now, weeks after the election, the words don’t sound quite right. A man whose campaign was based on lies, insults and scapegoating, a man who brazenly proclaimed that not paying taxes ‘made him clever’, a man with no prior military or political experience is President Elect of the most powerful country on Earth, and Leader of the Free World. For anyone who cares about the planet, about minorities and America’s economy this can only be described as catastrophic. Should Donald Trump enact so much as half of his campaign promises, then the world stands on the edge of a dangerous precipice.
Not only in the area of climate change is Trump disastrous; to many, he is also the worst nightmare of any minority. He and his vice president elect - Mike Pence - have been seen to hold backwards views about oppressed and discriminated against groups in America. On the LGBT community, Mike Pence has said: “Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behaviour”; and he attempted to pass a law targeted against gay, bisexual and transgender people: a terrifying insight into the apparently homophobic mind of one of the most influential men on Earth.
More unnervingly, on black and ethnic minority groups, Trump has been sued for racial discrimination … and lost. And, most unsettling of all, on Islam, Trump has proposed plans to ban all Muslims from the US ‘until our country’s representatives figure out what the hell is going on’- an act of blind and unfounded prejudice. In the face of this, it would be reasonable to feel at least a flicker of despair. At least we can all take comfort in knowing the glass ceiling is intact. Oh dear.
Earlier this year, on Earth Day, the landmark Paris Agreement was opened for signature. It symbolised the growing understanding of the need to act together to face the threat of climate change. Obama remarked in October that ‘if we follow through on the commitments that this agreement embodies, history may well judge it as a turning point for our planet’. Unfortunately, Trump, who may or may not believe climate change is a Chinese hoax, pledged to scrap the agreement. Proposals that would have dramatically limited the rising temperatures worldwide and caused a sharp reduction the US’s carbon footprint could well be consigned to history, against the wishes of the majority of Americans.
From the Editors Hey everyone! This time, in the wake of perhaps the biggest upset in American political history, The Mercury provides analysis and insight into this landmark result. It has been one of the most sensational news events of the entire year and condensing it into three articles by no means gives a comprehensive reflection of the wide spread of opinions that exist on the topic. If you disagree with any of our columnists’ views, we highly recommend you research the issue for yourself and who knows, maybe you could contribute a response for the next issue. Our next instalment will focus on ‘The Best of 2016’. Is there a film, book, album or internet meme that defined this year for you? Tell us about it! Matthew and Tommy
