Reflections and a Lesson for 2025

A major event of 2024 was undoubtedly the Presidential election. Some people are happy with the result, while others are not. Some are puzzled as to why Trump won, while for others, it's clear. I'll outline why I think Trump emerged victorious.

I believe Trump won because people perceived or experienced enough of the corruption, immorality, and unethical behavior within our supposedly trustworthy societal systems to grant him a broad mandate for change—whether it involves politicians engaging in grifting and insider trading, government entities collaborating with businesses, big pharma's actions, harmful food ingredients, increasing autism and illnesses, punitive legal actions, dishonest news media, indoctrination in schools and colleges, rising mental health issues, doctors facing repercussions, men using women's bathrooms, government financial waste, children transitioning, government censorship, social media cancel culture, rising inflation, political hoaxes, and more.

Those who didn’t vote for Trump primarily chose Harris for four reasons: they dislike Trump’s personality; they were led to believe certain things about Trump that were later debunked; they struggle to accept that our societal systems are as corrupt as they are; or they simply voted Democrat out of habit. The Democrats also contributed to their own defeat by selecting a candidate who failed to present a vision for America distinct from the chaos of the Biden years. Kamala Harris was unable to propose any policies that weren’t either borrowed from Trump or seen by voters as clashing with their social and cultural values. She was an ineffective candidate, and it’s hoped she will exit politics.

A lot of people who voted for Trump actually feel personally violated by the last four years of Biden and they blame the party in power—the Democrats—and frankly after four years many will never believe Joe Biden legitimately won 10 million more votes than Barack Obama. Enough people voted for Trump in 2024 because they are tired of being abused and most importantly fear the future for their kids and grandkids.

Anyone who doesn't understand this is missing the reality of Trump voters and their desire for change. It's no surprise to me that Kamala Harris supporters don't see this, given how our perceptions of reality are shaped. Some of our perceptions are based on truths, while others are based on falsehoods. Many people accept their perceptions of reality from the news and social media they consume and the people they associate with. What they read or hear often becomes their reality, regardless of its truth. I'm not saying people can't think independently, but many are convinced of a reality that doesn't actually exist. Anyone who thinks they're not at least somewhat influenced is likely quite influenced. I openly acknowledge that I believe some things to be true that probably aren't.

The challenge for all of us in 2025 and beyond is to question everything we are told is true, as well as what we are told is false, regardless of whether it comes from Democrats, Republicans, Conservatives, or Liberals. When there is significant money, power, or control at stake, the information presented by authorities as true is often misleading or false, and the opposite is also true. The truth eventually emerges, but not before some have gained materially, and by that time, the damage is already done.