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Tuesday, November 6, 2018

The 2018 Midterms Arrive Following Violence and Division (Where Do We Go From Here?)


Donald J. Trump has been a major player on the political scene for over three years. Therefore, the world has known Trump, the politician, for some time.

In the light of the recent racially, culturally and politically inspired criminal attacks against targeted persons and institutions, it is foolhardy for us to imagine that Donald Trump will lead the nation in rebuking such actions, except for his usual staff-inspired robotic teleprompter denunciations. Trump limps through these “robotic” readings because he does not feel the sentiments he states in his heart. Most of us realize that Trump is about Trump- period! He has shown that time-and-time again. He is not a president who represents all of the people, and that is all there is to it! Some have said that Trump is not capable of sympathizing or empathizing with others. I don’t even know if he ever “cries” like the rest of us.

Following the Cesar Sayoc bomb threats directed at former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former Attorney General, Eric Holder, former Vice President Joe Biden, and others, there have been no personal calls made to them by President Trump to convey to them the nation’s concern, and to inform them how the Trump Administration intended to handle the situation.

The recent mass shootings by Robert Bowers (killing eleven worshippers) at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, reminded me of Nicholas Kristof’s statement in a recent New York Times online article. It read: “More Americans have died from guns in the United States since 1968 than on battlefields of all the wars in American history”. This statement is startling, and you may read more about it in my article entitled “Gun Violence: In America and Our Schools”. Yes, we have had gun violence in the USA for many generations. However, compounding the current problem are the assertions by many citizens that President Trump continually “stokes the flames” of violence-especially at his rallies.

Last week in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, a white man named Gregory Bush tried to enter a predominantly Black church- but the doors were locked, and he couldn’t get in. He then went to a nearby Kroger store where he shot and killed a Black man and a Black woman. He bypassed a White person saying “Whites don’t kill Whites”.

It is fruitless to decry the lack of etiquette and decorum related to this president.  Folks say, “Let Trump be Trump”. By saying that, they are giving Trump an “etiquette/decorum pass” that most of American leaders have not gotten. To be frank about it, we have a crass person in our highest office that lacks the ability to care; and he demonstrates that on a daily basis. His staff has to hold his hand and walk him through various sensitive situations in order to keep him “civil” and “in line”. This sounds more like the handling of an ornery pre-teen schoolboy, than the leader of the free world.

Trump is well-known for his tendency to continually prevaricate. His “word” is never his “bond”. God help us if there are international crises of major proportions when the trustworthiness of all allies is paramount. Can we expect our allies to trust in him and have faith in him in such instances? Many have answered- not likely! Again, America has a history of citizen-on-citizen violence.  However, as a concerned citizen, I have no doubt that Trump’s divisive and incendiary rhetoric may well have added  the “fuel to the fire” that resulted in the recent uncivil acts mentioned in this article.

With the midterms upon us, given today’s tribal political environment, who will win the day? President Trump has been rigorously campaigning on the behalf of his party for many days now. Back-to-back campaign stops has been the recent “order of the day” for Trump, who has predicted a victory for his Party on Tuesday. He was not more specific as to what “victory” meant to him. Did he mean a “red” wave? Did he mean several Republican wins? I don’t know.

Many pundits predict that the Democrats will win the House and the Republicans will maintain control of the Senate. However, no one has a crystal ball powerful enough to predict the actual outcome of the midterms. The most positive thing that voters can do is to make sure they vote.

Like many, I see Trump as a divider of Americans, not a unifier of Americans. This is very bad for America because we cannot survive as a country by imploding upon ourselves; in other words, self destructing. That is why past presidents have endeavored, in earnest, to bring all Americans together after their election victories.  A unified America is essential to a strong and successful America. Trump is not so blind or uninformed that he cannot see the benefits of unifying all Americans. Therefore, Trump’s attempts to do otherwise make his motives suspicious at best. Does he really have America’s best interests at heart? Why has he not divested himself of his business interests? Why has he not revealed his tax returns as past presidential contenders have done?  Furthermore, does Trumpian politics reflect our age-old American values that have stood the “test of time”, or does Trumpian politics reflect a new era of personal benefit politics that may well result in a more tenuous future for most Americans?  If there is even a sliver of doubt about Trump’s purpose, his values, or motives, the reasonable person’s vote should reflect such doubt by voting against Trumpian candidates. A vote against Trumpian candidates will signal to the world that Trumpian values do not reflect who we are, and we are not going to further empower him by selecting his slate of Trumpian puppets that will fearfully cater to his every wish.

Well, I voted on the first day of early voting. If you haven’t voted, you must get out and vote as if your future depends on it; because, to a large extent, it does.  Trump is not on the ballot, but a rebuke of Trumpian candidates is an initial step to eventually “Dump Trump”. Be well, and join me in my hope for a better tomorrow for all Americans.


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