I called Trump, in a column a wrote some weeks ago, a social experiment. His Muslim and refugee ban builds up on this claim. The man should be given credit for staying true to his word. He managed to surprise us with his victory. Before his presidency, many republicans insisted that his words on the Muslim ban must not be taken too literally. He won’t ever do that, they sternly coxed anyone who insisted otherwise. President Trump, has done it again. He surprised all those who were still hoping an iota of sanity from him. He imposed a ban on seven countries with, more to follow. Moreover, he also put a ban on refugees. The man is indeed as obtuse as he claimed himself to be.

Why is he, one might contest, a social experiment? Well, the fact that hordes of Americans, of all ages and colors, swept into the airports on Sunday with banners and loudspeakers is an answer. The fact that numerous lawyers set up their office in the airports furthers the argument. And then absolutely any and everyone in the celebrity world, talk show hosts etc., continue to mock him for his policies. That does not stop there, no. The American media has been composed and much mature with their response to the onslaught that is the Trump presidency.

As Trump builds up his defenses behind the ever-confused Sean Spicer, the news media has taken upon itself to not lose hope. They’ve urged peace to each other, deciding firmly not to compete in a hapless run for ratings. Instead, they have decided to do what is right which is to expose the president for all his mistakes and confusion. They have taken upon themselves to collude where necessary, to share resources and indeed conclude joint investigations in order to highlight how bizarre the America of today is becoming. Information is indeed an important ingredient in our lives of today. Trump, as was observed, even during the run to the elections, is addicted to misinformation or, as they are not called, alternative facts. The newspapers want to counter this by making sure that he is not able to spread more misinformation. How successful that would be is anyone’s guess. After all, Hillary tried to do the same with tons of facts on her website to prove him wrong. America still chose Trump over her.

It’s not just the media though. There has been much hustling even within the government. Trump infamously fired his acting Attorney General, Sally Yates, when she refused to act upon the Muslim ban. There have been numerus cases when bureaucrats, politician, judges, have tendered their resignation as a protest to Trump and his policies. Rogue accounts of environmentalists government organisations are countering all the ‘alternative facts’ Trump and his brigade throws on them. Indeed, there is an obvious war at play, one between information and misinformation. It is for time to tell who wins this bout. The reality of Trump is cruel in its bareness; a man who is in no place to hold any authority is now the head of the mightiest nation in the world. The worst part is that he comes to power due to popular vote. Democracy does not seem the best revenge.

And now we head home.

Imran Khan, our own local Trump insists that America must ban Pakistan too. His rationale is this: this would impede brain drain. Imran Khan is a funny man.

Much like Mr Trump, Imran too speaks any and everything that comes to his mind. This is not a good thing, especially when you are in a power to influence others. IK needs to be reminded of the many realities of Pakistan’s situations. He needs to be updated on the boring numbers. The simple things, such as, remittances, specialisation, education, happily-ever-afters etc. Many of our students today study in the US and will return to the country to contribute in its betterment. IK wants them to lose the possibility to finesse their skills and talents in an internationally competitive environment and instead harp onto educational standards that have since a very long time, disappointed their cadres. One cannot be forced to avoid brain drainage. The only way to make it so is to encourage an inviting environment back at home. Of course IK does not care about such things. Addicted to shortcuts, this too would fall neatly within his assertions. The world will be better off without such bizarre influentials.