Restoring What Trump Destroyed

Democracy and decency, liberty and justice are at the heart of all our futures.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

America, you are coming to the end of your enforced period of madness, while the UK is still in living hell. We have the worst death rate from the coronavirus in Europe, the UK comes in fifth after the United States of America, Brazil, India, and Mexico on the WHO deaths dashboard today. As an English woman living in Scotland, I feel lucky to be away from most of the English populist and nationalist incompetence reported daily in The Guardian. Yes, I read the Guardian because they report on the indecency and injustice of our current political regimes.

Trump

The word covidiot, I believe, was invented specifically for the people who insist on seeing their grandchildren, standing next to people in supermarkets, getting drunk in pubs and losing all sense of social distancing. And don’t get me started on public demonstrations and politicians ignoring expert’s advice and insisting the coronavirus is nothing to worry about. We’ve all seen how that turned out for America and the UK.

The storming of the capitol on January 6th 2021 was the final nail in Trump’s coffin, and so it should be. Inciting a riot is not decent behaviour for anyone, least of all the current President of the United States. The only good thing to come out of that particular farce is that it sees the end of Trump’s diabolical presidency and incomprehensible popularity.

Those of you who never wanted Trump in the first place, those of you who realised the mistake you made voting for him and prayed he would be impeached soon for most of those four years, and maybe even some of you who thought the reality TV businessman shits rainbows will sigh with relief when he is finally charged with something that sticks. Very much like excrement.

Nationalism and Populism

The rise of nationalism and populism in various countries around the world is of great concern to me and should be to you too. The propagators of nationalism and populism incite hate and division and encourage behaviours unacceptable to a modern liberal society which advocates for a supportive, inclusive society where we can all live decent lives.

Trump is so proud of his wall keeping all the Mexicans out of America. I can only hope that the elite and greedy business owners are suffering through a lack of cheap illegal immigrant labour that they can’t legally justify with American citizens. That’s not to say that minimum wage earners in the US aren’t suffering as they are in the UK.

Food insecurity for children and adults is a reality in both the US and the UK, two of the richest countries in the world. How have we allowed this to happen? Poverty and hunger are big problems in the UK, created by changes instigated by the Conservatives under the austerity banner to punish the people they think are lazy and good for nothing.

The UK has not suffered an environmental disaster such as catastrophic floods or famine, nor has it experienced a civil war. Yet, 14 million UK citizens live below the poverty line. The need for emergency food packages increased by 89% from 2019 to 2020. I dread to think what the figure might be for American citizens.

I have felt very strongly about foodbanks since I discovered their numbers had increased from 56 in 2010 to 1200 in 2019. In 2010 The Conservative and The Liberal Parties formed a coalition that gave birth to Universal Credit.

No one should be forced to turn to any charity because they can’t afford food. This can change. And right now, we have a real opportunity to begin to end hunger and destitution in the UK. There’s a part for all of us to play. ~Hunger Free Future

The Trussel Trust provides emergency three-day food parcels from their 1200 foodbanks to people in crisis. They have a strategic five-year plan that aims to end the need for food banks through their values of compassion, justice, community, and dignity. They plan to work nationally and locally to address the reasons foodbanks are needed, like Universal Credit benefit system policies and lack of support services.

The trust exists to help people in crisis, but the crisis is becoming the norm, especially in 2020. The Trussel Trust drew on their foodbank trustees, other volunteers, and staff to identify three main areas that need to be changed; community, policy, and minds.

Perhaps the United States would benefit from this approach to helping people feed themselves. In my experience, nobody actually wants a handout. Do you know how it feels to go cap in hand to ask for financial help from the Universal Credit people? When you have nobody else to turn to there is no choice. When the world is in the grips of a pandemic and millions of people have been left without work resulting in no pay. Young people have returned to live with their parents, their lives on hold. That’s not just hospitality workers, that’s graduates whose chances of finding employment have been dashed in the last year.

Universal Basic Income

This is the point where I have to point out that Universal Basic Income would be a decent and just way of ensuring everyone has healthy food for themselves and their family, their rent or mortgage and utility payments are no longer burdens weighing heavy on their minds, and they have the freedom to choose how to earn the money they need to purchase the extras they desire. If we all had equal starting blocks of a monthly income just imagine the possibilities, the innovation, the environmentally sustainable start-ups, the returning to the land to provide fruit and vegetables locally. Not to mention the dignity of equality. No beggars or homeless. I could go on.

There was one spark of humanity from President Trump when he negotiated peace between various countries and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2021, as well as two others in previous years. Regrettably, the rest of Trump’s legacy was nothing short of undoing what President Obama had started. I suspect his Twitter and Facebook and particularly his Whitehouse presence will not be missed by many.

I think Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want to restore America to its former trusted and respected position in world leadership. Working together to solve problems.

Screenshot of Joe Biden Tweet by Author

Now can somebody please do the same for the UK?

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