There are, of course, many reactions on social media to the upcoming Trump presidency. They’re varied, across multiple spectrums, and I think it a folly to lump them together as either protesters or supporters, as there are exceptions to the general composition of those categories. Trump gained a lot of support from the Alt‐Right and proponents of a Christian theocracy for America. As an apostate, I have my set of reactions. That I am writing some of them up, in attempted civil fashion, on National Openly Secular Day, is somewhat fitting.
The first thing I found disappointing, though not entirely confusing, was how people were enamored with Trump simply because he is not a career politician. They have their set of negative characterizations, but at least they have experience in politics. It seems people do not realize that it is possible to have experience and not be a corrupt professional. It seems they think anyone can play the game, and that it is even a game. I agree that power corrupts, though I do not agree that being a politician makes a person an evil, blood‐thirsty, war‐monger. Also, I do not see anything that involves access to nuclear launch codes a game but moving on.
Apparently, a selling point was that Trump is a business man instead; therefore a fresh perspective. I can understand that. However, I also know Trump is not exactly successful and employs deceptive tactics such as foreign manufacturing facilities, undocumented workers, and refusing to pay for jobs completed. Maybe that is all, how do you say it, wrong, but that is what people are telling me. These things do not seem to matter, though. Some part of me is still prepared to swear that people honestly believe Trump can just walk into a United Nations meeting and tell a few choice diplomats that they are fired, thus fixing everything. Then those representatives will blow teary‐eyed kisses to the camera while social media explodes with fangirls expressing undying love for them, yet forget about them overnight. Those countries then fall into oblivion, and the world is ready for the Second Coming. Some say Trump is the Antichrist. I can see where that comes from, too. Though, according to Dispensationalism, the Antichrist is supposed to be beautiful and a unifier. Trump is neither.
The Antichrist is supposed to be deceptive. I can say Trump had that covered. He appears to be changing positions on some issues. I understand compromise, but compromise does not necessarily mean that your personal opinions change. Such flip‐flopping and bait‐and‐switch tactics are what the dreaded career politicians and shifty business people do. Trump is a real rock and a hard place. If he tries to unify, he will lose the support, trust, and respect, of the extremists. Thus making it nearly impossible to unite the country. As an atheist, I do not agree with his idea of unifying under one deity. The extremist supporters remind me of the side chicks who become girlfriends and believe their man will be loyal. Similar to the kind of person who only cares about his image, Trump seems not to care too much about America. He may believe he does, but what he cares about is a misrepresentation of America and her history, lauded as truth. Diversity and trade are a big part of what makes any nation great. America is not a Christian nation and was never intended to be. Like a narcissistic man, destroying and attempting to rebuild his girlfriend into an image he likes, Trump insults what America truly is and claims to be making her better by turning her into something not good, kind of like the Dark Ages. He does not care about her well‐being, just that she reflects well on him, if she does not, he is off to the new side chick, and America is fired, left to wonder if she was ever great. But let us hope it does not come to that.

In addition to the Antichrist, politicians are often compared to Hitler. There are the tired arguments in regards to what religion, if any; he was, but it remains that he empowered bigotry and touted nationalism, manipulated fear in a grab for power. If you are vague enough, any comparison can be made, but Trump’s platform was disgustingly obvious. Of course not all Christians, then and now, are haters. But, No True Scotsman Fallacy aside, I see that apologetic defense as anything but, since it indicates incoherence and thus an apparent lack of a clear, perfect, and loving message. But, even all that aside as well, there have been enough psychological experiments with humans to show that people will go to dangerous extremes with which they disagree just to follow an authority figure or a
group. Every apostate has experienced the wrong end of this at some level. Even if all legislation, or the repeal thereof, is stonewalled, fear and hate are alive, well, and empowered in America. Trump’s casual call for harassment of minorities to stop means as much to me as the narcissist occasionally mentioning to his girlfriend that he loves her, with the least amount of effort possible.

Whether Trump wants such abuses to stop remains to be seen, as do his intentions regardless. President Obama gave a press conference yesterday. He said that the job of president mostly wakes you up. Will that happen for Trump? Is he capable of change? I honestly do not know. I have seen a lot of weird conspiracy theories this election. Seems a complicated mess to come back from, but I know it is possible. I rather followed some once. They made sense with the information I had. I even knew my information was limited, but I did not have access to more. So I sought it, found it, changed my mind. This was not the first time. Will not be the last. Will Trump be open to new information? Will any of his followers? Will he renege on his promises like a career politician? Of course, there are hurdles, so every politician breaks their promises, whether they intend to or not. However, using that statistic as a free pass for aptitude does not make sense. Every situation is different because the times and people are different; though, in a way, that makes every situation the same. With such simple requirements, though, anyone could be president, fit or no. A friend and I were talking about this, and we decided that it was like everyone was trying to herd a different kind of cat in a dog world.
Some people say they respect the office of the presidency, so they respect Trump. I respect the office, but having an office does not garner you obligatory respect. I see the reverse as possible that the dignity of and office can be tarnished and mocked by whoever holds it. Actions and words speak more truth than titles. Being treated fairly is a fundamental human right, so Trump has that by default. The more far‐reaching a position, the more fit the officiate has to be. Trust and respect are not freely given. They are earned, fought for if they have been lost. Trump has not received such accolades from me.
That is not to say that I am in denial. I can accept something as inevitable and still not like it. Though that does not mean we should all just move on as if nothing bad happened. Ignoring a problem does not make it go away. Mentioning it in passing is not to say it was discussed and settled. If you follow that path, the next bad thing will be worse. Like the narcissist’s girlfriend, America will eventually believe she deserves the abuse and to be torn asunder. Some say the system is broken. Others, that it has always been like this. However, just as it is more important to be safe and then analyze later, it is important to maintain the peaceful transfer of power, lest a poor precedent is set. Social analysis can be done later. It is more important to maintain stability when emotions and tensions are high. I believe President Obama exemplified that in his press conference.

The nation, though, is still divided into tense and arbitrary lines of “us” and “them” groups. In a way, I can agree, but not on which “us” is the victim. They say Trump tapped the sentiments of those who felt ignored, put down, or what have you. To me, that is just as ridiculous as saying there is a war on Christmas just because different religions and Nones also want to be represented in various aspects of the community, as is their Constitutional right. These supporters are not victims of atheists promoting Evil‐ution while partaking in Satanic blood rituals at CERN in order to hide the flat earth truth and open portals to hell so that demons may be unleashed and turn everyone gay as a New World Order population control tactic because the chemtrails and GMOs are taking too long ‐‐‐ as I have heard a few times is what is really going on. Well, I did not get my invitation. I feel ignored. As far as groups that are ignored, I have yet to see a candidate openly pander to atheists, and it is still illegal in some states to be an atheist and hold public office.

Though I would like it if the office of president woke Trump up to actual individual ills in this country, to be open to new information, to lead instead of a just rule to flatter his ego. But that is not what I have seen.
Carl Sagan said that one difference between science and religion was that science admits when it is wrong, that it has a self‐correcting mechanism built into it. He said that ego still gets in the way sometimes, but that self‐correcting hardly ever happens in religion. Trump has apparently mixed religion and politics, which is against the Constitution, and I have doubts about him changing for reasons other than personal gain. I am often reminded of Carl Sagan’s words in “Cosmos” about nuclear war and the responsibilities of world powers. As an atheist, I hold no belief in an afterlife. Hitting the button does not mean a shortcut to eternal happiness in heaven. It means the end of everything forever. Nuclear war is apparently still avoidable. Bigotry has always been present, under the guise of religious freedom for a while, and then proudly displayed. I have been near that end. I understand the mindset. But I am not there anymore. Its existence bothers me. Its legitimacy via a Trump presidency frightens and saddens me. As a humanist and atheist, I have my ideas for how America can be great. As far as Trump doing anything unifying and ushering in new glory days for America, I refuse to rely on faith in his promises and will believe it when I see it.