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Trump's Presidency Has Forced America's Institutions To Wake Up

Trump's surreal combination of incompetence, absurdity, corruption and being profoundly unpresidential has released a societal antibiotic working its way through a system desperate for a cleansing. To think, Steven Bannon wanted to destroy the administrative state, but he may be succeeding in making it stronger, and with a stiffer resolve.
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If there had only been two names on the ballot in last November's election, and if I was eligible to vote in the United States, I would have cast my ballot for Donald J. Trump.

I know what you are thinking: what a douche. Some people reading this believed that a vote for Trump was a vote for normalizing racism, sexism, xenophobia and a whole host of other negative trends in our troubled society.

If you are one of those readers, just relax.

Electing Trump was an exercise in productive cynicism, made possible by a perfect storm of colliding realities such as an incredibly unlikable Hillary Clinton, a profit-obsessed media blowing their coverage (as well as their sponsors), a public growing weary of status quo politicians, and a large swath of the population who felt swindled in the primaries.

Because the truth is there were many people who cast a ballot for Trump so that he could help fulfill the one thing that has eluded the shit show known as American politics -- a complete breakdown and subsequent moral inventory of the world's most important Republic and its most significant institutions.

Let's begin with the Republicans and Democrats and the certainty that a two party system can only foster the potentiality of a polarized electorate. Through ideological animosity the United States has bred a sagacious climate where most voters have just one choice in the end. After all, a progressive stalwart will never vote Republican, and a true-blue conservative would not be caught dead voting for a Democrat. So when both parties abandon their supporters a collapse in support is only natural. Trump hijacked the GOP, putting Republican lawmakers in the precarious position of propping up the man who gutted whatever principles they had left.

Meanwhile, the DNC thwarted the beginnings of an organic movement when they worked against the wishes of their own base, propping up Clinton during a time when the public was begging for real change.

[Trump's] just such a disaster that the system is instinctively correcting itself.

The Trump victory exposed the ugliness of both parties, the innards of the inner workings, and the debasement of party ethics. Both party bases undoubtedly shrank, and now each party has a stark choice in front of them -- evolve or get used to a growing revolt where more voters take longer looks at other parties and independent candidates. This new reality is not just good for democracy, but it may help to preserve the democratic pillars that help hold the nation steady.

The media is also rebuilding, albeit contemptuously and without the culpability one would expect after the avalanche of irresponsible reporting we witnessed, not to mention the unmasking of various media personalities who were joined at the hip of the Clinton campaign. But now, finally, the media seems to be doing the kind of work they are supposed to be doing -- journalism. They are holding the highest office in the land accountable. They are digging for stories. They are engaging in the kind of reporting that has been absent for decades. They still have a long way to go, but it was the reaction to the election that prompted them to begin the long road back to relevancy.

Even the so-called "deep state," the collection of intelligence agencies that have been caught lying to the public about domestic spying, are starting to answer more questions. And even if they aren't willing participants in transparency, if the end result is lifting the curtain and forcing them to either change tactics or water down existing methods of intelligence gathering, it has to be considered a win.

And to think, Steven Bannon wanted to destroy the administrative state, but he may be succeeding in making it stronger, and with a stiffer resolve.

These systemic improvements are the direct result of electing a rodeo clown as president, and none of them would have materialized under a Clinton presidency. Trump is already the most transformational president in the modern era, a political virus attacking the cracks in the system, demolishing the laisse faire attitude that allowed the deterioration of the country's institutions in the first place.

And he isn't even trying. He's just such a disaster that the system is instinctively correcting itself. The surreal combination of incompetence, absurdity, corruption and being profoundly unpresidential has released a societal antibiotic working its way through the system that has been desperate for a cleansing.

Most importantly, this president has caused an awakening of activism across the continent. And while there is a subsection of rabid alarmists likening Trump to Hitler, and a few others overstating his politics as an example of fascism, a majority of people appear to be inspired by the desire to engage in goodwill, especially towards immigrants and the concept of having a health-care system worth protecting.

Take a moment to thank a Trump voter, because they did more for America than a Hillary Clinton administration ever could.

Which leads me to believe that it will not be impeachment that removes Trump from office. Like his several bankruptcy declarations, he will wait until his back is against the wall and then retreat, probably blaming the Washington elite as he resigns from the highest office in the land. His resignation will signal to the rest of the world that America's bender has run its course, and the newly installed President Mike Pence will be too preoccupied with salvaging the GOP's midterm results to attempt any controversial legislative endeavors.

And while Trump's humiliating departure will certainly be a positive for the nation, it will probably be accompanied by mass demonstrations from the right, fervid celebrations from the left. The potential for violence will be high, and America will have to find a way to move forward.

But two years or so of Trump's buffoonery resulting in positive institutional overhauls was a far better proposition than a Hillary Clinton presidency drenched in the usual status quo. It was also a huge gamble, but unless Trump, for the first time in his life, finds humility and a calm, measured disposition, the possibility of him finishing a full term is remote, at best.

So please, all you Clinton supporters, take a moment to thank a Trump voter, because they did more for America than a Hillary Clinton administration ever could.

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