Donald Trump and the psychology of blame

The commentary I chose was something that really caught my eye. It was located on CNN and titled “DonaldTrump and the psychology of blame." This commentary was written by Robert Klitzman whom is a professor of psychiatry. In this article, Klitzman explains how most Americans understand and view politics from a psychological perspective. He used the previous election as an example for his argument, and makes clear how people who were running for office, like Donald Trump, are very much aware how people think in such setting. In result, people like Trump often do things and say things in order to make people believe what they say. He mentions how Trump built a simple narrative that made sense of all the current issues going on in our world at the time, which voters wanted to hear and in return made them believe what they were hearing. In my opinion, I think Trump is excellent at this. It seems now after the election is over, a lot of what comes out of Trumps mouth is “I didn’t say that” or he just makes up excuses. However, in the process of election, candidates just say whatever they want in order for the people to elect them. Klitzman made his argument more credible by incorporating examples he had done in his own research on this topic. The end results were all the same; people made their decisions based on what made sense for them and not on the actual facts. We the people need to pay more attention to how psychology plays a huge role in our decision making and how it can be misused by not only Donald Trump but many other politicians as well.

Should Police Be Allowed to Keep Property Without A Criminal Conviction?

I chose to write an article I found on The Huffington Post which was titled “Should Police Be Allowed to KeepProperty Without A Criminal Conviction?” In summary, two friends had set off for a weekend road trip to Cincinnati with intention to gamble. On the way, they were stopped by a police officer and their vehicle was searched for no reason at all. The officer found $16,500 in cash, which was money the two men had saved up only to gamble. The officer took they money, and they were taken down to the station without even being charged for a crime.  Years later, after thousands of dollars spent on attorney fees, the men finally got their money back. Statistics say that in 2015 net proceeds from civil forfeitures across 14 states more than doubled between 2002 and 2013, jumping from around $100 million to $250 million. This is something we should all be aware of. Officers are jumping to conclusion that maybe the money was being used for drugs or other related crimes. However, search and seizure and having probable cause in order to seize property is a right all Americans deserve.