The Problem with our Current Administration: working towards a tolerant approach

   One of the main issues that I believe have grown exponentially during the current administration is the social disintegration that the people of the United States are now experiencing. We can easily notice a polarization on opinions and points of view, which was something that this society worked so hard in the past change.

   As someone who grew up in a different country I had a different perspective of the American society while growing up. From the outside, the United States of America is often perceived as a country characterized by social unity that always comes together in social issues, wars, prosperity, or worldwide competitions like the Olympic games. This has always been one of the biggest attributes of the country as a whole. Through this unity the United States has achieved great things throughout it whole history as a country.

   I believe that the main problem is that the current administration has promoted intolerance for one another and also the incapability of accepting different realities and points of view. It is clear that since the beginning of this administration – and even before Trump winning the presidential elections – President Trump’s arguments and proposals have been based on the incapability of seen beyond the limitations of his own beliefs and not being able to see the bigger picture and every issue that the administration is trying to defy. This outcome comes as no surprise since his campaign was mainly based on arguments such as “this is my point of view and I don’t really care if you agree with me or not”.

   This issue can also be seen in many decisions that are being made in international affairs. For example the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, leaving the Asia-Pacific trade deal, the desire for building a wall in the border with Mexico, the proposal of imposing tariffs on steal imports, among many other things. All of these examples are based on someone not being able to understand that their point of view and opinion is not the only one that is valid.

   In my opinion one of the most important traits that a country leader should have is being able to promote tolerance and encourage people to come together to solve society’s issues rather than encouraging aggression and narrow-mindedness. We have to be able to understand that everyone is a member of the same country striving for a better society despite his or her background. We have to realize that over the years this country has put a lot of effort in leaving the social challenges behind and work to achieve a more integrated society. We have to make this conscious and work towards a better society rather than working backwards.

   In conclusion we have to be able to identify the root of this problem and work on changing this approach before it becomes irreversible. Decisions made with this approach can have a serious permanent damage. We should be able to learn from this experience and make a transition towards a more tolerant and harmony based government.

Critique: Trump Just Started an Unwinnable Trade War

   Trump just started an unwinnable trade war is an editorial article published in LA Times written by the Times Editorial Board. The Times’ editorial board is conformed by serious, educated and specialized members. Their intended audience is diverse, but mostly adults.

   The article discusses Trump’s decision on putting a 25% tariff on imported steel and a 10% tariff on imported aluminum starting on March 23. This new tariff will apply to every country except for Mexico and Canada. According to him, the reason for this new law if to “bring steel and aluminum jobs back to the United Stated by making foreign version of the metals more expensive”.

   The editorial argues that this is not the correct way to respond to the problem and that this would probably just have more cons than pros. they argue that this type of policy only invites the United States’ trading partner to respond in the same way and impose similar policies. Most they discuss that this decision would most likely cost more jobs in many other different sectors of the economy than the jobs it could generate for aluminum and steel companies.

   I agree with their point of view because I believe that first of all Trump and his supporters need to realize that the world is not the same as it used to be in 1950, 1960 or even in the early 2000s. We live in a globalized world were every economy depends of one another and we need to realize that the United States doesn’t control the global market as they used to do in the post-war era. Those times the US had control over most of the countries and could impose the rules they wanted to because those countries depended on their supplies to rebuild their nations after World War II.

   We need to realize that we live in a completely different world where there are many countries that make up the global market and not only the United States. As we can read in the article other countries can respond to this tariff with another policy that might hurt the US’ economy. For example, Germany responded by saying that if this tariff becomes effective then they are going to impose a tariff to all the cars coming into their country that are manufactured in the United States. These are the type of things that Trump doesn’t realize. He can’t go around manipulating countries with his decisions because every country depends on each other. There is no one-way commerce. Every single industry is interconnected and by making a decision like the one discussed in this article it will only cause harm and bring more problems.