To the frustration of some friends and many family members, I haven’t been a fan of President Trump.
While I support the President over Congress, and definitely his opposition in the media and on the left, many of his decisions show his clear lack of ideological grounding and complete lack of understanding of Liberty.
But he’s growing on me.
Let me back up a bit.
In 2016, I endorsed Donald Trump as I felt he would unintentionally break down our bloated, intrusive and dangerous federal government.
His first year in office was a disappointment as our president was likely led around by establishment cronies in Congress and failed to do away with Obamacare.
Then the “Trump Tax Cut” turned out to be a sham as well that simply shifted the tax burden around by eliminating deductions for a paltry drop in the tax rate – not even close to what he promised on the campaign trail.
Aside from those failures, his ongoing lack of integrity alongside lack of leadership skills, gave me and many Americans a tinge of disrespect for the way he handled himself.
With that said, no political leader will ever be perfect . . . especially in the eyes of a libertarian like me.
Within the past several weeks, I’ve seen another side of Trump which may be coming from his growing independence from his advisors.
It appears that Trump’s instincts are sound, but his lack of knowledge on how government works had left an opening for manipulation by establishment players.
Let’s start with the decision to withdraw from Syria.
Despite the recent attack in Syria, Trump’s decisions was sound and proves his long-standing stance on not engaging in unnecessary foreign intervention.
While flag-waving, chest pumping Republicans in Congress continue to criticize the decision – I even watched one Congressman on Fox News this morning talking about how we have a “moral obligation“ to the poor people of Syria who deserve a chance to be free and live in a democracy – they are dead wrong.
Trump is showing his Jeffersonian streak when it comes to foreign intervention. America has no place in the civil wars, or wars between other nations no matter how atrocious.
When it comes to the War on Terror, occupying a foreign land is a proven method to increase threats to the occupier’s homeland – not decrease them.
Many forget that Osama Bin Laden was a creation of the first Gulf War.
America’s military is there for two purposes – vigilance and defense.
If attacked, by all means, unleash hell.
If the people of a foreign nation are unwilling to rise up and claim freedom for themselves, then they’ll suffer those consequences buy choice.
Looking through the backwards lens of history, nations go the way of their populist intent. Take Afghanistan. The hearty Afghans have never been broken. While they have been beaten throughout history, their independence has always returned due to their refusal to give in or give up.
Afghanistan has been invaded by Persians, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, the Arab Caliphate, the Sikh Empire, the British, Russians and the United States.
Their tribal nation remains predominantly unchanged aside from religion.
In a nutshell, a nation that refuses to be conquered will always outlast their occupiers . . . including us.
President Trump appears to understand that, and sees the futile role in continuing the occupations of Syria and other nations – including our presence in Korea.
That is an admirable trait for a political leader and shows Trump’s fierce independence from the Republican Party, but also the military industrial complex that continues to profit from never ending occupations.
So while Chicken Hawks in the GOP cry foul and the resignation of General Jim Mattis over Trump’s decision is regrettable, the President’s decision was the morally correct route to take.
Moving on to a more recent issue that shows the resolve of Trump; we’re nearing the 30-day mark of the partial government shutdown.
While he doesn’t show it, the pressure on the President’s shoulders must be nearing Atlas proportions.
Yet he persists and stays the course.
As one sob-story after another of unpaid federal employees hits the media, Trump is standing his ground.
He will not blink.
While I don’t even agree with the wall (kill the Welfare State and you kill the immigration problem), I respect Donald Trump’s strength on this matter.
More importantly, President Trump is proving that the majority of unconstitutional functions carried out by the Federal Government are utterly unnecessary.
After nearly a month of this shutdown, there are no people dying in the streets (although we can expect a few immolations by liberals if this drags on), no zombie outbreaks, no rogue militias running the countryside, and no starving children lined up in ditches.
And there never will be. Americans, in the absence of being forced to be their brother’s keeper through taxation at gunpoint, will do it anyway through charity, kindness and love.
As a bonus, the stock market and financial world is plugging along unfazed by the political dispute.
But we are seeing impact and it should stand as another lesson learned.
Airline travelers are lining up for hours as TSA screening checkpoints continue to close – proving again that the fledging government agency should not exist and should return to the hands of airports and airlines.
Ongoing security test have proven the complete lack of protection TSA provides in addition to their cost and intrusiveness makes for a failed experiment.
Next month, if the shutdown continues, SNAP recipients (food stamps), will begin to claim starvation as funding for the program does not exist past January.
While there are of course women, families and elderly who truly need assistance, they will never go hungry due to the generosity of the more fortunate combined with the effectiveness of our churches.
For those others who collect public benefits but choose not to work, or choose not to improve their own financial status through hard work and study . . . get used to eating dirt. I really don’t give a damn, and I doubt President Trump does either.
Let’s hope that this is a turning point for our President and he continues to further distance himself from the greed and manipulation of the political establishment, while looking out for the best interests of the American people.
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