This weekend I chose to read The New York Times article, “The Man the Founders Feared.” This article was in reference to presidential candidate Donald Trump. While I normally try not to involve myself in arguments and discussions of politics, I still have been following along closely since the first GOP debate when there were 17 candidates because I like to stay informed so that I can be a knowledgeable voter. I tend to avoid certain articles that are obviously strictly one-sided but this one struck my attention because I was interested in knowing the author’s interpretation of what the founding fathers may have thought of Donald Trump. To summarize, the article stated the nation, including all Republicans, should fear his popularity and his (supposed) encouragement of political violence, passion, and love for the country. He spoke of the founding fathers concerns of a political strongman and what Aristotle described as, “the insolence of demagogues.”

While this article/topic may not directly impact my life right now, I still feel it influences my life a good amount. The presidential election is coming up this November and I have to decide which candidate to stand with. I generally see myself as a peacekeeper, so seeing this issue (violence as a result of politics) spur from a presidential candidate is very upsetting to me.  The author’s argument gave me an interesting point of view of this concern. In addition, this issue helps me identify who I am as a person and as a voter and represents what kind of issues I will support or disagree with.