Tweeter US President takes oath of office

The new president of the United States and Twitter mainstay, Donald Trump, has arrived at the White House. It’s been over four decades since an underdog like Donald Trump of the Republican Party won the presidency in America and I think there are still many that shocked that it actually happened. After all, the man was almost a caricature of what a candidate should not be all throughout his campaign, and yet somehow he managed to win the most coveted position in the country.

Most voters in the United States thought candidate Hillary Clinton would have it in the bag. After all, she had the most experience, she had the pedigree, she was always heavily prepared, and she was well on her way. In fact, before the US elections, Newsweek magazine already called her Madame President in a special election issue. It came as quite the shock that the candidate who seemed most suited to the role lost out to the candidate who seemed least suited.

It was a missed opportunity to make history again. After the first African American president in Barack Obama, Hillary would have been the first female president in the United States. I guess in the end it seems as if the US was just not ready for the first female president. Hillary had her cons – I don’t deny that – but I don’t think they were so big as to warrant such a win for Trump. Perhaps all those “cons” coupled with the fact that she is a woman was just enough to push her over the edge.

Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with a woman leader. There have been so many great ones over the years. I don’t think this is something that should be feared. Even today, there are great women leaders in Germany, Great Britain, Taiwan, and South Korea. And we’ve had our fair share of women leaders here too who have done a good job. I don’t think putting a woman in the presidency is something that should be scary. If she is intelligent, experienced, honest, and hardworking, why couldn’t she do the job as well as a man?

I suppose in other parts of the world – the US now in particular – there is still a stigma that exists between men and women. This is especially true for men in powerful positions. The emergence of a president like Trump has rightfully made many women fearful of what the future holds for them. Fighting for equal rights has been difficult enough throughout the years, but fighting under the leadership of someone who has repeatedly been sexist and inappropriate makes it that much more difficult.

That is why women marched in protest on January 21. And not just women, but representatives of all groups that felt marginalized by Trump’s campaign rhetoric. In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump hammered home the promise he made during his campaign – that he would “Make America Great Again”. And in the exact same spot the next day, protesters gathered to say that they remembered America’s past – the past which included less rights for women, no women’s reproductive healthcare, and gays being persecuted openly and regularly victimized – and that they were not going back.

I understand their fear. It is not without cause. In the end – we hope that Donald Trump does a good job because that means progress for everyone involved – but at the same time that does not mean turning a blind eye to the things he does that are wrong, hateful, or discriminatory. At this point, it is up to the people to be vigilant now. Here’s hoping that making America great again means making it great for everyone, not just a select few.

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The latest news about the Islamic State (ISIS) gaining a foothold in the Eastern part of Mindanao is truly scary and frightening. I am thankful that nothing untoward happened last week during the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo and Luneta Park, but being more vigilant and aware during big events like these should be the new norm now with the terrorist groups building up in the country.

It’s truly sad that we live in a time when we can’t let our guard down for even a second. The country has already experienced its share of terror with the Abu Sayyaf, now that they have aligned with the ISIS this is only going to get worse. The warning about ISIS being more active in Asia stems from the fact that ISIS has lost so much ground in the Middle East in 2016. In fact, the group lost nearly a quarter of its territory in Iraq and Syria last year.

The prediction is that radicalized fighters from Jakarta, the Philippines, and other Asian countries will have to return home and target their home countries instead. The Philippines has actually been named as the biggest danger zone for these types of attacks because there is already a foothold here for ISIS with the Abu Sayyaf. That makes it easier for them to come into the country and lay the groundwork for their continued reign of terror.

I really hope the government is taking this warning seriously and is already looking into this and is planning on ways to be prepared. The goal of ISIS is to spread fear and terror and they do so in the worst ways possible by kidnapping and killing for ransom. We need to be ready and firm in our policy for dealing with them or they will quickly get the best of us.