By Natalie Murray ’18

The Good Doctor is a Bad Politician

As an 8-year-old, I found politics confusing and dull. Now that I’m seven years older, I find politics more interesting, but just as bewildering.

For example, two of the top three Republican candidates, Donald Trump and Ben Carson, used to identify as Democrats, yet they’ve earned most of their support from hard-right conservatives. The two candidates are notorious for spewing every insane comment that pops into their head, but they usually gain support from these rude statements. For example, Trump’s supporters glorify the idea that a wall — one that would cost billions of dollars and would most likely be completely ineffective — is the best way to keep out “rapist” “criminal” Mexican immigrants.

Despite Trump’s blatantly stupid plans, it’s Dr. Ben Carson that I find more unnerving and unintelligent. Despite being a neurosurgeon at one of the top hospitals in the U.S., Carson has said some of the stupidest things of any candidate, and his crude beliefs shouldn’t be excused just because he’s a “man of faith.”

He’s claimed that he wouldn’t let a Muslim be President unless they “reject the tenets of Islam.” Political incorrectness aside, the statement is illogical and self-contradictory. Carson also said that there “may be a war on what’s inside of women,” but not a war on women, and it seems that Carson himself has no clue what he meant.

Alongside his confusing and senseless remarks, Carson has also made highly offensive comments — even using the Holocaust to advocate against gun control. He claimed that homosexuality is a choice, citing male prison rape as his proof. He stated that Obamacare is “the worst thing to happen to this nation since slavery.” He also recently said that Syrian refugees were like rabid dogs, and, since making this comment, he has seen a drop in the polls.

Since his appeal doesn’t come from his very accurate analogies, his inability to be offensive in any way, or his years of experience holding political office, it’s likely that Carson’s appeal comes from his religiosity. So if he and his supporters pray hard enough to get Carson elected, I’m moving to Canada.

Donald is the New Adolf

Donald Trump has led the Republican presidential race for what seems like years, to the shock of many. Some think of Trump as a walking joke — an egotistical businessman with bad hair who says things that are so stupid, they’re comical.

But some of his proposals are radical and ultimately terrifying in their implications. For example, his plan to keep a database of Muslims and make them carry cards identifying them as Muslim is horrifyingly similar to what happened to Jews in Nazi Germany.

Prior to Adolf Hitler’s takeover of Germany, the German government was viewed as weak and Germans were dissatisfied with it. Hitler was appealing to those who wanted change, and he received lots of support from traditionally conservative towns. He was viewed as a man who was very devoted to making his country better, boosting the economy and controlling Germany’s borders.

Like Hitler, Trump promises to improve the country, or, as he says, “Make America great again!” He is also viewed as a patriotic man and is praised by many for being an “American success story.” Trump also receives most of his support from extremely conservative people, and he plans to regulate the borders by building a wall separating the United States and Mexico.

Hitler fueled lots of anti-Semitic beliefs by telling Germans that Jewish capitalism was the reason that the economy was bad, although Jews were not in control of any important German industry. Similarly, Trump fuels Islamophobia by spreading lies about how massive numbers of Muslims cheered when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11.

When an NBC reporter asked Trump if there is any difference between Hitler’s way of tracking and identifying Jews and his plan for keeping records of and identifying Muslims, Trump replies, “You tell me.” However this answer is interpreted, it’s scary. Either Trump doesn’t want to admit that there is haunting similarity between his and Hitler’s plans, or he truly can’t see the difference between himself and one of the most infamous “bad guys” the world has ever seen.