Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump campaigns in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 3, 2016. Photo from Facebook

Is presidential candidate Donald Trump really a blessing in disguise? Julian Cola credits the Republican front-runner with exposing some awful truths in America:

Much more than just being a modern phenomena bolstered by a 24-hour news cycle, Trump is a progeny, an open window into the very conscious of America as it is and always has been. And if one dares to look with a discerning eye, save only a handful of policy proposals suggested by Bernie Sanders, there’s very little difference between Trump and front running presidential candidates.

Why so much fear just because the Donald came out? Should his mastery of the crass, hurdle those who struggle on behalf of human rights into the abyss of resignation? The fact of the matter is that Trump, even if he loses the presidential election, has already won because he has garnered mass support and prompted fear. Retired University professor Jerry Ward wrote in a recent blog post titled, To Trump or not To Trump, that: Trump is an embarrassing gift to contemporary politics. He is the voice that asks the question; Why did I happen, and how does your outrage and your silence give substance to my shadow?

America’s on the brink of imploding again. And, to cut Trump some slack, it won’t implode as much beneath his weight as it will from the country’s hot-air hagiographers who serve apple-pies and lull people to sleep. If it weren’t The Donald some other force would be leading the charge of bygone days that have, in fact, gone nowhere. And while the truth sets some free, no matter how racist, xenophobic, and sexist they are, others rescind deeper into faint concepts never consolidated in the US such as equality, democracy, and justice for all.

But all’s not lost. Trump’s presence, along with his posse, hasn’t put everyone on their heels. Alarm bells ring louder than day, prompting old and young heads to recognize a truth deferred—a better future is condemned to a lofty dream without a sustained, robust struggle.

Get the Story:
Julian Cola: Trump, the Shocking Truth-Teller (Indian Country Today 4/2)

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