MY
VANTAGE POINT: AMERICAN POLITICS
Vũ Linh
“Elections have consequences.”
President Barrack Obama
About a year and a half ago, America elected Donald J. Trump as
her 45th president. Like with all his predecessors, half the
country voted for him, the other half selected his opponent. Unlike the case
with all his predecessors, long after the elections, close to half of the
country is still not willing to accept the people’s legitimate choice.
Never in the short history of this relatively young nation has a
president been so controversial, arousing such hysterical feelings one way or
the other. Amazingly, extreme opinions have also been rampant among my fellow
Viet refugees who presumably should have been a lot more detached from US
politics.
For those who can and have read this forum, obviously, I certainly
have been more than involved in the red-hot debate about this president, and
just as obviously, have been squarely on his side, to the dismay of many.
Full disclosure first: I did not vote for Trump, nor for Hillary
Clinton. I did not like the prospect of having to select ‘the least bad’
candidate. In my large family and even larger circle of friends, most have
taken sides, yet we have been able to have a lot of fun discussing American
politics without grabbing each other’s throats. Maybe like they say, old
friendship and blood, especially, are thicker than politics after all.
The mere fact that this great nation has to make a hard decision
to select the ‘least bad’ instead of welcoming the ‘better’ candidate is not
something that many American could feel proud of. But then, one can only deal
with the cards one has.
And then again, that is my personal opinion too. Many other people
may have thought America did have a great choice between two exceptionally
qualified patriots. Einstein spent his lifetime explaining to us relativism,
didn’t he?
One more thing that I want to be as clear about as possible: I am
not trying to convince anybody of anything whatsoever. As I have reminded many
of my relatives and friends, we passed the age of being susceptible to
‘brain-washing’ by somebody else long ago, notwithstanding the fact that I
neither have the capacity to ‘convince’ anybody nor the wish to do so. On the
contrary, I’d rather hear a different opinion, just for the sake of triggering
some smart conversation within the confines of civility.
And maybe more important, for our American friends and our younger
compatriots born or raised in this country, I just want them to hear from me to
understand why some of the Viet refugees could support Trump.
It just happens that the Viet refugees community is no different
than any other ethnic communities, widely disparate, ranging from hard-lined to
soft liberals/conservatives, from pro to against Obama/Hillary/Trump, you name
it. This essay strictly reflects my personal view, nobody else’s.
While I did not vote for Trump, I have been unwittingly sliding to
his side, recognizing not just some of his surprising successes, but also
witnessing the stupefying alacrity of all the attacks, not against his
policies, but against him personally.
In any case, let’s go back to our discussion. Within the
constraints of this short essay, I simply cannot discuss everything, thus can
only limit myself to certain key issues that are important to us, Viet
refugees.
Let’s first talk about what many people have blamed Trump for.
President Trump’s predominant flaw within my Viet community is of
course his apparent ‘racism’, favoring whites to the detriment of all other
races like black, Hispanics and us Asians. Which is evidently a big concern for
us. What is less evident for me is whether Trump is really racist or not.
Yes, he does attack Hispanic immigrants. Yet, it sounds more like
he has been attacking them as immigrants, not as Hispanics as a race.
Yes, he did equate white supremacists to AntiFa mob, but as far as
I was concerned, I would have been real confused if he did not equate these 2
groups of lunatics. Yet again, it sounds more like he was attacking their
extremism or fanaticism, not the color of their skin. Most AntiFa demonstrators
are as white as their opponents, aren’t they?
Is he racist against blacks? I have not seen any anti-black acts,
nor heard any anti-black diatribes. But I do see things like lowest black
unemployment rates ever. Would that count as something anti-black since that
cut them off welfare benefits?
Trump had been in business in all his pre-presidential life,
including a big chunk of it in the entertainment business, dealing with sport
champions, beauty contestants, comedians, singers, artists, many of them were
blacks, like Muhammad Ali, Don King, Oprah Winfrey, Diddy, to name just a few.
Nobody had heard of him being racist against them, until he ran for president.
All of a sudden, he became racist just when he needed the votes of everybody?
Does that make a lot of sense?
The racist label seems to require a lot more hard selling. So
maybe the anti-immigrant label could be an easier sell?
We, Vietnamese Americans, being immigrants ourselves should be at
the forefront of this fight for immigrants. We should be much more sensitive to
any attack against immigrants, right?
For sure, we have witnessed all kinds of rationalization about how
America being a country of immigrants should welcome all immigrants with open
arms, about how Trump has been so ‘un-American’ with his ‘anti-immigration’
policy. But then, has anybody noticed that the main stream media (MSM) has
always intentionally chosen to hit the ‘delete’ button on the word ‘illegal’
when writing about illegal immigration, so that whenever Trump criticizes
illegal immigrants, it always comes out as simply ‘immigrants’ without the
critical word ‘illegal’? Does that strike anybody as disgraceful dishonesty or
willful misleadingness?
President Trump has obviously been against Islamic people, or so
it seems from the way the MSM has been reporting on his Executive Orders. Has
he? The EO’s restricting admission of people from some Islamic countries affect
a grand total of 8% of the Islamic population in the world. None of the biggest
Islamic countries has been affected, namely Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt,
Pakistan, Indonesia, among so many others, so how could these EO’s be
anti-Islamic acts? And look at the map: Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Libya. Aren’t
they countries with huge messy wars that nobody knows who are fighting against
whom? Can we trust people coming from these countries with some kind of papers
issued by some obscure warlords that are not even recognized beyond their own
town? The Supreme Court accepted Trump’s explanation and agreed that the
responsibility of protecting the country belonged to the president, not to some
liberal judges more concerned with political correctness than the safety of
their fellow Americans.
The MSM howled against a partisan Supreme Court. Did they do
anything similar when that same Supreme Court twisted itself to save Obamacare?
Are we, Viet refugees, affected in any way? Last time I checked,
we were admitted in this country through a special Act duly voted by Congress
and duly signed by President Ford. Of course, some of the Viet living in this
country at the present time are ‘illegals’, tourists or students refusing to go
back home after expiration of their visas. For these people, sorry, but I have
no objections whatever that they be deported as soon as they are found out.
I welcome all legal immigrants from anywhere anytime. I just don't
accept illegal immigrants. No hard feelings, just the law of the land that
needs to be respected. No one is above the law, including presidents and
illegals.
President Trump is such a flawed man while character does matter,
doesn’t it?
Hell, I’d be the last man calling Trump a saint! He is nowhere
near any lowest bar for a well-respected Head of State, apparently. But then,
how do we set those bars? Who does that? Based on what criteria?
Trump is a sexual predator? Is he any worse than some other
presidents who did the deed in the Oval Office while keeping their mouth shut
when Trump has been loudly boasting while nobody has seen any act anywhere,
except for a tryst with a consensual adult long before he set his eyes on the
White House?
Trump is a liar? If you never lie or don't know how to lie, don't
get into politics. Politics is not for boy scouts or preachers. Even Jimmy
Carter was lying when he said he would never lie. And for those who have
watched Jim Carrey’s ‘Liars, Liars’, they should know there are lies and lies.
Some lies are harmful, intentionally duplicitous, some lies are just
hyperboles, some are helpful, some are even necessary.
How many lethal or even deceitful lies has Trump said? How do his
lies rank with blatant lies like “you can keep your health insurance, your
doctor,…”?
On this issue, one can’t help noting some kind of contradiction.
Some say Trump is the biggest liar, some others assure he is the most honest
politician speaking out his mind. So which is which? As far as I am concerned,
between a smooth talker and a straight talker, I’d rather take the bitter pill.
The choice is so easy and obvious, at least for me.
Of course, Trump is not perfect. So was the alternative
presidential candidate, well-documented for all types of scandal-gates ranging
from wealth accumulation to power grab for the last half-a-century. Yes,
character does matter, but then again, does corruption count as criteria for
character assessment too? Then which one is the ‘least bad’ choice? As the
election results clearly showed: we have some kind of split decision, so that
effectively neither one is meaningfully better under this angle, to say the
least.
Now, let’s move beyond individual character which is so easily
subject to assassination, and take a look at Trump’s decisions as president.
How have they affected us, notwithstanding political ideologies. What has he
done specifically?
Obamacare? Yes, he did try to scratch it but was only partly
successful. No, he did not intend to chase away sick people to die in the
street. He just wanted to correct certain obvious shortcomings that even
president Clinton recognized. When the cost of healthcare increases across the
board for all of us, when all of us must change insurance carriers, doctors,
hospitals, drugs, or even treatment, and when scores of smaller health
insurance companies file for bankruptcy or are being swallowed by larger ones
leaving vast counties with no insurer, there is something wrong that needs
corrective measures. There have been no agreement on those corrective measures,
which is why Obamacare is still around, except for the elimination of the
enforcement and tax rule. Should we continue to try to find a better system or
should we be happy with this defective one and leave it untouched?
Tax cut? Taxation, besides being a tool for redistribution of
income as called for by the liberal schools, is also a means to manage the
economy, like promoting economic expansion and employment. Looking under that
angle, what has Trump’s tax cut accomplished?
One can even ignore the performance of the stock market as it
mostly reflects the investors’ speculative moves, and try to take a look at the
broader picture. The last quarter’s number was a 4.1% growth in GDP, the lowest
unemployment rates for all categories of workers, be they white, black, young,
old, male or female, in all economic sectors. Isn’t that what good governance
is all about? Isn't having a job more rewarding and more dignifying than
collecting welfare hand-outs?
President Obama once consoled the Michigan workers that their jobs
were gone for good, in the trash bin of technological development. Then how do
we explain the current revival of large swats of manufacturing jobs in the Rust
Belt? Does it behoove the president as a leader to take actions to make things
happen or should he just be a spectator watching historic developments from a
bench?
Some people have been screaming against Trump’s new tax rates. Is
that because they are required to pay more taxes? Not exactly. It’s just
because they look around and see some other people having larger cuts while
completely ignoring how their paychecks compare. For these people, nothing less
than taxing the top 1% to feed the remaining 99% would do.
Is Trump a legitimate president?
When candidate Trump talked about reserving the right to assess
the validity of elections results, the shocking protests from all corners,
including from president Obama and candidate Hillary Clinton, were deafening
yet fully understandable as Trump’s statement sounded like an assault on the
American political foundation.
Yet, when Trump won the election, the losing side screamed
election frauds, Russian intervention, “Not My President”, recount, change the
rules, abolish the archaic electoral votes, etc… Calls for impeachment were
heard even before Trump was sworn in.
To be honest, coming from a country that never had, thus never
understood, free elections, I’m confused!
Not only do some people refuse to accept the elections results,
they also turn nasty against anything that does not please them, including
suppression of freedom of speeches through blockade of events where unwanted
opinions are presented, and personal harassment against people they don't like
in their daily chore.
Extreme opinions have turned vicious with people engaging in
violent acts against each other collectively in mass demonstrations as well as
individually in personal stunts such as Robert DeNiro’s rant or Kathy Griffin’s
bloody Trump’s head.
These utterly disgusting expressions of political view have been
sporadically condemned, although many have tried to defend themselves by
blaming president Trump for being the one who somehow awakened the worst
bestial instinct in many people. This line of defense can only remind me of the
classic defense commonly used by rapists, “not my fault, she provoked me or
even invited me with her way of walking, looking, dressing, whatever…”
Now, let’s take a look at some of Trump’s foreign policy
decisions.
The MSM and the liberals have loudly screamed about possible
‘collusion’ with the Russians.
Did the Russians attempt to interfere with the US presidential
elections? Who’s naïve enough to believe that’s not the case? There are hundred
of ‘registered foreign agents’ operating in Washington DC; what can they be
doing exactly, except trying to interfere with American politics, elections and
whatever else? The question is did Trump –or Hillary for that matter- collude
with them? After a year-and-a-half of costly scrutiny by a Special Counsel,
what evidence has anybody seen besides some indictments for corrupt acts that
have absolutely nothing to do with Russian collusion in presidential elections?
The MSM and the liberals were in absolute shock when Trump shook
hands with Putin and questioned Mueller’s accusation of Russian meddling in US
elections. How dare Trump question US intelligence services? Blatant
un-patriotism! Lost in this brouhaha was the fact that Trump did not exactly
question US intelligence services, only Mueller’s indictment following
investigations conducted by his Democratic-donor lawyers, independently from
the US intelligence services.
The MSM and the liberals also yelled about
Trump’s apparent bowing to Putin’s authorities. High treason beyond impeachment
benchmarks! Clearly, president Trump is trying to build some sort of strategic
alliance with Russia. The question is: why is an alliance with another
superpower considered ‘treason’? Did Roosevelt commit high treason in his
alliance with Stalin?
How do we, Viet refugees, feel about the whole issue?
In Vietnam, as in all of east Asia, every schoolboy is aware of
the classic Chinese novel about the Three Kingdoms' War, centuries ago in
China. It was a story of political and military alliances, betrayals,
alliances, and betrayals again and again between the 3 warring kingdoms. Looking
back at Trump’s current maneuvering, we do not see much difference at all. It
all appears like president Trump is seeking an alliance with the Russians to
contain the Chinese. That, for all practical purposes, is all we, Vietnamese of
all political shades, are wishing for as our country has long been the prime
target for Chinese expansionism.
The most salient fact in the current political climate is clearly
the MSM’s attitude, or approach, as sources of information for the public. When
a Harvard study reveals that the MSM reporting on Trump is over 90%
negative, gone are all pretensions of objectivity that so characterized
the well-respected American media for so long.
A few years back, when a congressman yelled “You Lie” at Obama,
the entire world was shocked at such a lack of respect for an American
president. Nowadays, “F… Trump” has become the new norm for expression in
political discourses.
And the public at large does not seem to be much upset. One can
only wonder whatever happened to the celebrated American sense of fairness and
objectivity? Whatever happened to the American democratic system of government?
Next time an American diplomat lectures a third-world leader about
the democratic process and need for free elections, he’d better think twice
unless he is ready to accept being lectured back himself.
That is the current state of this union, from my vantage point. As
Trump says, “SAD!”
Or am I missing something?
Vũ
Linh
I can't imagine where would we be right now if Hillary were in
power.
The glaring differences between Pres. Trump and the shallow, thoroughly corrupt president who preceded him are more evident by the day.
God is not done with America !
The glaring differences between Pres. Trump and the shallow, thoroughly corrupt president who preceded him are more evident by the day.
God is not done with America !
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The rest of the world often look up to America to learn about
"sportsmanship" (Winners should not be arrogant, losers not
disappointed), even in politics. It had been like that until Donald Trump was
elected president. Now, very long time after the election, the loser and the
losing parties keep whining, and have tried all possible ways to sabotage the
winner, even if the national interests will be badly damaged. There is no more
sportsmanship, but the situation is not different from those in underdeveloped
countries, sometimes worse. Look at Hillary, Maxine Waters, and leftist
Democrats.... America is no more a model for the world, SAD!
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Dear all: there's still so much fog around that we need to clear
for the benefit of our fellow refugees. We should save back-patting for later.
Deeply appreciate your support though.
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While President Trump concerns himself with "making America
great again"- he did, has been, and is continuously doing it with so many
achievements domestically and internationally - then Robert Muller and his gang
are like bedbugs sticking around his sides to annoy him. Shameless!
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I myself once said, when reading Vu Linh's essays from Viet-Bao
a couple of years ago (when America was still under Obama administration), that
his opinions even went well advance of other mainstream commentators. The way
he saw, reasoned, and analyzed things was smart, original, down to the depth of
things, and quite correctly predictive of what would be happening. He was, and
has always been that smart. Thank you, Mr. Vu. We, the Viet-Americans, are very
proud of you.
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You said it ! Very clear and very true. Thank you, Mr. Vu Linh.
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I have read many
political and financial comentaries of Mr. Vu Linh since he worked for Viet Bao
magazine as a senior political commentator many years ago . I always admire his
exceptional political point of view and financial analysis . This commentary is
one of his great political essays , maybe the first time he wrote in the smooth
, professional English language .
Everything he said
in this commentary is exactly everything the Vietnamese American Trump's
supporters want to say . Every Saturday morning we always wait for a new
political essay about American politics from Mr. Vu Linh in his own forum -
Dien Đan Trai Chieu .
Thank you Tien sinh - Master Vu Linh .
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I knew you were very good at English when I first contacted you.
However, I had never expected that you were able to write such a beautiful
piece with very deep knowledge in economics as well as in the English language.
I read the whole story from beginning to end right after I woke up at 3 this
Saturday morning. Congratulations! Hopefully your readers will have more
valuable pieces in days to come.
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