Why America needs Donald Trump

            It is official. Donald Trump can say anything now. The celebrity Republican candidate and billionaire real-estate tycoon has started a quite remarkably successful campaign with his rallying cry to “make America great again” without any explanation of what made it wonderful before or how he will actually make the country return to its heyday. What Donald Trump seems to be doing so far is to prove his unparalleled ability to provoke the public. Building a human-proof wall, attacking John McCain for being captured during the Vietnam War, implying that a Fox News’ anchor is having menstrual problems, etc. are some of Trump’s outrageous remarks. Trump’s recent calling for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” maybe the final straw. But Trump’s hateful and racist rhetoric is a useful reminder that bigotry still exists in America, and there are still things that can be done to combat this outdated and dangerous mindset.

            Trump’s call to ban Muslims should not be a surprise given the growing Islamophobic sentiment in the United States, especially after 9/11 and the Paris attacks. Islamophobia, of course, existed long before 9/11, but increased in frequency during the past decade. I recently came across this video which showed exactly how anti-Muslim sentiment has spiraled out of control. Just after the Paris attacks, a Virginian civilian engineer named Samer Shalamy came to a small community forum and presented his plans to replace an old Islamic center in town. Then suddenly a man stood up and yelled at Shalamy, “Every one of you are terrorists. I don't care what you say. I don't care what you think." He later added, to the cheers in the crowd “"Every Muslim is a terrorist, period. Shut your mouth."

            This anti-Muslim prejudice is so dangerous, especially with the rise of Daesh. Its recent attacks in Paris showed the brutality of the group and helped inflame the Islamophobia that the community has been trying to quell for years. This anti-Muslim narrative transformed the problems with Daesh into a civilization conflict: Islam versus the West. But ostracizing Muslims means playing into the terrorists’ hands, for they can blame the West on Muslims’ sufferings and recruit more of those distressed citizens. Donald Trump has been the front-runner in further deliberately manipulating the anti-Muslim rhetoric for his political gains. But if anything, Trump has been successful in bringing this issue into the prime-time news and social media. The outrage from the public is incredible. Americans and the world have condemned Trump and showed their solidarity with Muslims. Politicians, talk-show hosts, etc. have also come together to defend the Muslim community. Maybe America does need a reality TV character like Trump to show how ignorance and bigotry still exist, how dangerous those sentiments can be, and how Americans can work together to protect their long-cherished notion of religious liberty.

            So thanks again, Donald!