This week, every single news outlet has been popping out story after story about the State of the Union address that President Trump delivered on Tuesday evening. In his speech, he made several nods to many of the current political issues that we have found ourselves arguing about as of late as well as his prospective, upcoming agenda that he plans to take action on with Congress and his Administration. Last week, I went on a little rant about how disappointed in this nation that I am vis-a-vis the New York state abortion law that was passed on the anniversary of Roe v Wade (and the plethora of other things that demonstrates our world’s incredible lost and hardened state). This week was a bit better–there was not any particularly alarming news, but instead a continuation of the disappointment of last week’s grim reality. I think that the statements that Trump made, as well as the responses to them, may have added a bit of light to our darkening world. I think that using the reaction that occurred in response to the entirety of the address may have jumpstarted a new era of restoration and growth after a long period of a declining state. In this post, I will be outlining several aspects of the State of the Union evening that took place and explaining why I think that they will add to a positively growing change that is beginning to occur in the United States.
Photo by Snopes
First of all, the Dems actually showed up.
Tweets made by Democratic Representatives such as Earl Blumenauer, Steve Cohen, and John Lewis declared proudly that they would certainly not be in attendance at the President’s address–calling out to their Democratic congressional coworkers to do the same thing. Although there was much call for ignoring this event and a lack of attendance, many of the Democratic congresspeople did, in fact, show up.
Photo by The Daily Wire
On Tuesdays, We Wear White.
I personally do not buy into the idea that women are undervalued or restricted in their abilities to succeed in this country, but many Democratic women feel very much the opposite. Possibly the reason why there were so many Democrats in attendance, a large number of Democratic congresswomen made quite the appearance–wearing all white as a nod to the suffragette movement of the early twentieth century. This large section of white-clad women stood and collectively cheered exactly once during Trump’s speech when he said, “No one has benefitted more from our thriving economy than women, who have filled 58 percent of the new jobs created in the last year. All Americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before — and exactly one century after Congress passed the Constitutional Amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in Congress than ever before.”
A Step In the Right Direction
In response to New York’s late-term abortion legislation, Trump made a very clear statement: “Lawmakers in New York cheered with delight upon the passage of legislation that would allow a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth. These are living, feeling, beautiful, babies who will never get the chance to share their love and dreams with the world. And then, we had the case of the Governor of Virginia where he stated he would execute a baby after birth. To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb. Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life.”
Not A National Emergency, But A National Necessity
In his speech, Trump made a strong statement regarding the border wall. “This is a smart, strategic, see-through steel barrier — not just a simple concrete wall. It will be deployed in the areas identified by border agents as having the greatest need, and as these agents will tell you, where walls go up, illegal crossings go way down. San Diego used to have the most illegal border crossings in the country. In response, a strong security wall was put in place. This powerful barrier almost completely ended illegal crossings. The border city of El Paso, Texas, used to have extremely high rates of violent crime — one of the highest in the country and considered one of our nation’s most dangerous cities. Now, with a powerful barrier in place, El Paso is one of our safest cities. Simply put, WALLS WORK and WALLS SAVE LIVES. So let’s work together, compromise, and reach a deal that will truly make America SAFE.” This offered a new piece of evidence for the wall–something that was projected to the nation to become common knowledge: where a wall exists now, there is little to no illegal immigration.
Medicare-for-All Is Not the Best Plan
With the upcoming election, the biggest issue that Dems are pushing for at the moment is Medicare-for-All. Since the beginning of Obama’s administration, healthcare has been a hot button issue that has been talked about and talked about by Democrats, but not effectively legislated in any way. Trump, setting in stone his position on this issue, delivers the results of his administration in regards to health care: “The next major priority for me, and for all of us, should be to lower the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs — and to protect patients with pre-existing conditions. Already, as a result of my administration’s efforts, in 2018 drug prices experienced their single largest decline in 46 years. But we must do more. It is unacceptable that Americans pay vastly more than people in other countries for the exact same drugs, often made in the exact same place. This is wrong, unfair, and together we can stop it.”
Comment below your thoughts and opinions.
Over and out.
-Courtney