All Bad Things Must Come to an End – but When?
Thank God the long presidential election campaign is coming to an end. If you are like me, then you are probably tired of the political ads cluttering up your mail box, and tired of the mindless reality TV show masquerading as a political campaign.
This Tuesday, Americans will vote to decide who they want to be president for the next four years – Joe Biden or the incumbent president Donald Trump. This shouldn’t be a difficult choice when you consider Trump’s self-defeating performance and unprecedented presidential behavior.
If there was an award for president that squandered four years of their presidency, Trump would be the undisputed winner. His presidency has been plagued by political malfeasance and scandals. These include the Russian interference of the 2016 election, the Ukraine quid pro quo plot, the detention of undocumented children in cages, and the failure to manage the coronavirus crisis.
Trump’s failures are not limited to policy failures, but also to the failure to provide leadership that is essential in unifying the country…
Trump’s failures are not limited to policy failures, but also to the failure to provide leadership that is essential in unifying the country and inspiring Americans with hope and optimism in a world where these things are badly needed. The past four years have been one with increasing racial conflicts triggered by police fatally shooting black people. Instead of ameliorating these conflicts, Trump with his vitriolic rhetoric has made them only worse.
There is no doubt that Trump’s first term in office has taken its toll on many people. The daily grind of uninspiring tweets, insults of people who criticize him, blaming others for his failures, and his narcissistic self-adulation is irritating to people’s sanctity.
The old cliché, “nothing lasts forever” might give us hope that Trump’s presidency will come to an end sooner or later. Tuesday’s election gives us hope especially with Biden maintaining his lead in the national polls. However, elections don’t always go the way that the polls predict them to go and this could be 2016 election déjà vu again – God forbid.
If Trump is reelected for four more years, then the focus should not be on why he was elected, but what has changed in America…
We have to be prepared mentally and spiritually to deal with the possibility of four more years of Trump in the White House. It is hard to imagine that if he gets four more years as president, things will get better or his behavior will change. One thing we know is not going to go away anytime soon with a Trump’s presidency is the coronavirus. In the early stages of the virus, Trump personified it so that he could treat it the way he treats people he doesn’t like. He declared war on the virus but without any real plan he could not manage the virus. In classic Trump style, he abandoned the fight against this pandemic and would spin the story to make it look like he had won the war.
If Trump is reelected for four more years, then the focus should not be on why he was elected, but what has changed in America that despite his glaring failures Americans still believe in him? Trump’s colossal leadership failure in managing the coronavirus pandemic should’ve made Americans realize that he is not a leader who can solve problem.
Maybe a Trump reelection might be what can be termed the Barabbas syndrome. Recall that the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate gave the crowd a choice of freeing Jesus or Barabbas the criminal. If they choose Barabbas then Jesus would be crucified and Barabbas pardoned and freed −they chose Barabbas. The moral of this story is that people will choose a bad person over a good person if they perceive that there are certain benefits to be gained. Jesus was being mocked as a king of the Jews and the Romans did not want to give the Jews (who were hated) an opportunity for them to acknowledge Jesus as their king.
Because of Trump’s notoriety and flawed character−which is not comparable to Biden−his reelection could be seen as the Barabbas syndrome. His base and white Americans like what he is doing to help maintain white supremacy. In other words, “Make America Great Again,” a coded message to ‘Make America White Again.”
History has shown that great civilizations were not destroyed by outside forces, but from within. America today is in that situation. With Trump’s presidency, the foundation of America’s democracy and institutions have been badly compromised. We can only repeat the old religious cliché, “May God help America.”
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- What Lessons Will America Learn From Donald Trump’s Failed Presidency?