By Sheri Burns—As the campaigning begins for the 2020 election, I feel compelled to express something that apparently no one else has the courage to say: I don't much like Donald Trump.
I realize that this may come as a shock to my fellow Americans, who would never dare to entertain such a thought, but I have spent too long keeping this to myself, and I have reason to believe that there are perhaps dozens of others out there who, like me, do not entirely like the way that the president has handled things while in office.
In spite of the great risks I am taking by openly criticizing the president, I simply cannot live with myself any longer without speaking my mind on this matter. Yes, I understand that everyone else has too much respect for the office, and for the sake of our country's unity would never dare speak a word against the elected leader, but if I do not stand up and share my disapproval, then who will?
No, please don't call me a hero. Just because I am taking the path less traveled, while the rest of society cowers in their blissful ignorance of the less-than-palatable things the leader of the free world says and does. Sure, I could be the most popular woman on the block if I simply joined the ranks and chanted about how much this president is loved and admired by the world, but no, I can't succumb to that groupthink anymore. I will share my unique and individual thoughts about him, even if I am the only one doing so: I don't think that Donald Trump is a very good person, and I would greatly prefer that he behaved differently than he is currently.
There. I said it.
Yes, I have much to lose with this open admission. I may never get a book deal now. I doubt that I will ever be invited to host the Oscars or get invited onto a morning show to share my views, but at least this way I can hold my head high, knowing that I did not just follow the social media crowd, or willingly lap up what the talking heads in the media were telling me. I chose this path based on objective fact and reason.
Now, if anyone wishes to also express any degree of disapproval of the president, I urge you to do it now. Don't hold back! Feel free to point out flaws in his policies, his character, his private life, or even in the lives of people he knows if it comes to that. These things may fall upon deaf ears, but if enough of us do it, perhaps someone may notice someday.
Now I leave you with this closing thought: Isn't it about time that someone had the courage to support some of these free-thinkers on the left side of the aisle? Their agenda has been ignored for so long by the academics and celebrities who could give them some air time. Why can't we hear what they have to say once and a while?