LETTERS: Respect the choice of the American people

Editor, RE: “The Trump Lesson: Information is the only buffer against those threatening everything we have built” (The New Times, November 9). As a non-American, my knowledge of the person of US President-elect Donald Trump is from the just concluded presidential campaigns. Based on my limited knowledge about him, I almost felt that Hillary Clinton would have been a more suitable choice for American Commander-in-Chief. However, judging from the election results, it is clear that both candidates enjoy a huge support from the American society but Trump carried the day. As a non-American, therefore, I should be careful not to judge Americans as having erred in bringing Mr Trump to the White House. Owing to the importance of the office, Americans ought to know better than anybody else what is in their best interest. Of course, in one way or the other, America can mean the whole world in some respects; when the Americans err, the whole world suffers in a number of ways. Nevertheless, the Americans and the President-elect should be given time to prove us right or wrong in this instance—time is the best litmus test. This is important for me because, oftentimes, this is the way Africa is superficially judged by the West—“They [Africans] can never be right!”, even before any benefit of the doubt is given. Such perceptions can be tantamount to insults to other communities. Donart

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LETTERS: Respect the choice of the American people