“In our X-path opinion” is a weekly piece that cuts through the rhetoric and propaganda surrounding contemporary choices facing societies, providing clarity to the nature of the options and enabling a more informed choice.
By: DAVID EJIM (Voice of Reason Nigeria)
With the US Presidential elections coming up in less than a month, many pundits and partisans have their preferred candidates and predictions. Any informed global citizen must be inundated with articles -about what has been a most unconventional election cycle- with drama,that’d fit in a telenovela series.This is not one of such pieces. What this article will do is outlinewhy you would be justified to support one candidate or the other depending on your views, needs and perspective on the trajectory they represent. Saying you are justified in supporting either candidate is not news to the partisan. For the undecided out there, this might be important.
To Trump:
Cut clean of all the fluff, Donald Trump’s policy direction means one thing: a pivot away from imperialism and global security hegemony, to a narrow focus on internal growth and development. His policies on immigration, outsourcing clampdown, blocking tax loopholes, attenuating America’s contribution to NATO and international collaboration in matters of security with Russia, all signal a platform that seeks to greatly minimize the role of America as a global police, while seeking to invigorate its middleclass by repatriating manufacturing jobs currently outsourced by American firms to South East Asia and Latin America. This coupled with classic social conservatism of the republican party makes The Donald an unconventional GOP candidate. This platform though saddled with accusations of racism, sexism and much other bigotry would be grossly misunderstood if reduced to just these things. The media’s sensationalism and the candidate’s own penchant for flamboyant language must not distract from the true implications of a Trump presidency.
For Clinton:
The Clinton platform should be very familiar to any who has studied the Obama administration. Though it goes beyond the incumbent in some instances, it isn’t a radical departure at any point. At its heart, the platform will be a continuation of the Neoliberal orthodoxy in supporting globalization and open markets. It portends to be more hawkish than the incumbent and is likely to continue the exertion of American military might abroad. It’ll also feature a continued mainstreaming of liberal social norms (such as LGBTQIA & abortion rights). In summation, a Clinton presidency stands for expansion; of American military hegemony & globalized capital abroad and social liberalism at home. While her opponent and the theatre loving media has given more coverage to her email scandal and other frivolities from her husband’s regime, one must keep the substance of her policy position in mind.
In conclusion, the choice before Americans come November, is between a contraction and an expansion. The decision the voters make will be driven by their feelings about whether what is being expanded or contracted are good things, or people will just decide based on the latest leaked video, audio or email.
