Donald Trump for president . . . yet again?
Trump isn't
responsible for all the injustices and instabilities, brazenness and
corruptions, afflicting the highways and byways of America’s ongoing political
journey. But, behind his noisy suppositions, there's gritty truth this
ex-president unwittingly exposes: He is truly the poster child of our
unraveling, the role model for our government’s ongoing disparity. He is not
the cause. He is the continuation: the undo-er of indispensable, viable
governing needed at a time of evolving worldwide desperation.
The answer is both
simple and complex: We all know the mechanics of voting.
How did we get
here? And more to the point, how did he get THERE?
Well, there was an
election, right? And he won. Yes, thanks to the Electoral College. Thanks first
to those reigning Congress-persons who “opened this door when he banged
on it.” Was it from their party’s fear of loss in quest for executive power? Of
course! From that embryonic, decisive-divisive moment, they have edged into
their sycophantic or manipulative behavior . . . and dismissed or avoided his
obvious evidences of incompetence. His divisive callousness became
theirs.
We allowed a range
of conditions that invited him into escalating our national dysfunction—a
heritage of which he is seemingly oblivious. In 2016, he simply barged into the
Republican’s wannabe line-up for the Oval Office (Of course the Dem’s had their
own.) . . . the postulate-imposter, luring us down his own winding side-street.
When the ballots were counted, he had arrived at his destination—with handy
electoral college advantages. We were Trumped.
The presidency
shouldn’t be anyone’s first political foray. A president should be formed
by constant maturing, informed by current development, and consistently
judged well before the day of election to office . . . before seeking the
authoritative, world-focal position. Our political structure, designed as a
timeless pledge of balance in governing, has often resembled an oral war zone.
Or a football field? In the midst of this smattered playground, our untamed,
unashamed president-in-the-re-making sauntered. Our Wizard of Odds. He knew the
game.
This would-be
Emperor defies standards that too many of us already ignore, and too few of us
comprehend as mandates based upon honor—personal and communal and yes,
universal. Respect. Tolerance. Truth. Our president’s responses defy it by his
hubris. It seems to be “catching.” Nearly pandemic. His key to surmounting
inexperience in “impossible situations” is to avidly seek out those who will
validate him and accept his misguided antidotes.
Perhaps
this untempered one will do himself, and us, and the watching world, an
unintended favor: force us into sudden focus, exposing his and our own
unequivocal trail of lies. The answers stretch far back before his pretense and
reach far ahead.
If you are a
resolute Trump supporter—perhaps valuing his strong penchant toward nationwide
and worldwide financial “adjustments”—you have been willfully primed by a man
who apparently sees all things in terms of dollars. Billions of them. You/we
who checked the square next to his name on the 2016 and 2020 ballots had
reasons to hope for positive results—if financial stability and incremental
wages alone were the underlying keys to better life ahead. Many grasped at this
hope, despite reservations regarding his character. Few of us realized that
Trump would deny the undeniable and revoke the irrevocable.
It is the mandate
and virtue of leadership to be balanced and humane.
Would you . . . I
ask those of you who oppose my accusations, or who offer moderate “yes, but’s”
for a man who lives for the sake of his well-being—will you, I plead,
stand solemnly for a moment—before a panicked world of our fellow humans, and
grant that someday, without our powerful and innovative intervention, we—or our
heirs—will face our final devastation?
We must add this:
the opposition party deserves no kudos. Their plots are often sprinkled with
half-truths—garnished with verbal embellishments. Holier than any Republican thou.
We must agree
that both political parties have basic truths to retrieve about their call to
high purpose, and much to gain by rethinking. And yet another crucial move
forward: we voters each need to examine ourselves, as voters, or
discouraged non-voters—for signs of self-deception. We as individuals and
collectives. Our personal and national insight are critical; they grant the
legitimacy born of and borne by ethics. We must rethink the roles and rules of
opposition and the essential function of political parties—and the incentives
of our often insistent and unchanging but indefinite party loyalty. The
political parties must begin again.
Let us dare to
rethink our tomorrow, today—that we may personally-collectively, hopefully, and
adamantly alter the future. That a more sustainable society will become a
gradual reality, from the heart and hands of a determined and responsible
president and congress . . . worked up jointly and handed down to us soberly.
We each must agree to learn how to thrive safely, honestly, openhandedly, and
reach each other there—to be taught by and teach each other. And yes, moving
beyond our smallish nationalism and bringing together our valid needs and
creeds.
Now is our Moment
in the spotlight—not because of our wise and prudent ways, but because
the world citizens are watching us falter and stutter. We will soon decide
whether the next election is an awkward, uncertain, but determined step toward
our tomorrow—or a casualty for humanity forever.
Judith Deem Dupree, author of four books: Going Home,
living with what remains, Sky Mesa Journal, and I Sing America, has
retired from teaching at writers’ workshops and conferences, including her own
artists/writers retreat, Ad Lib. She lives east of San
Diego, CA.
