LONDON – What happened to you America? As one person wrote on Twitter, “I can’t believe what I’m watching now.” Indeed the extent of my shock is akin to watching the attacks of 9/11 as they unfolded on TV.
Not only do I wonder how a presidential candidate for the United States can be so unpleasant, but I wonder why there are still so many who support him.
In the third and final presidential debate, Donald Trump spoke like an irate child in a playground insisting that he cannot do wrong. And yet, his own words expose him for the fraud that he is. An irrational con artist, playing on the emotions and whims of the disenfranchised, it was like watching an awful attempt at a self-help guide.
With one breath he says, “Nobody has more respect for women than I do,” with another Donald Trump says of Hilary Clinton, “Such a nasty woman.” It is true that taking money for her foundation from nations which do not grant women certain rights may be questionable, but more so than an American Presidential candidate who believes that disrespecting women with ‘locker room talk’ is an acceptable norm?
When Hilary Clinton mentions that 17 intelligence agencies have confirmed external espionage, Donald Trump dismisses their integrity, swatting away the efforts of thousands of men and women who have sworn their allegiance to protecting their nation. Of course in recent weeks we have learnt that the Pentagon had spent over $500 million to a UK firm to create fake ISIS videos, even though we know how bad ISIS are. Espionage is happening everywhere, even where it is not needed.
How any human being with an ounce of decency could object to better standards for gun ownership, especially in a nation where more toddlers murder with guns than terrorists, is beyond the very spirit of the 2nd amendment, which grants those who seek the right to bear arms, the right to do so. Better regulation does not mean a denial of a right, it means better safety and it is a genuine shame that people’s fears are being misrepresented by so many American politicians.
Donald Trump did speak a certain truth, that we should never have had ISIS. An extension to which is advice, nay, a plea, to the American people.
No nation is, nor will ever be, perfect, but some of the standards that you have held in recent generations have had a positive impact around the world. For all of our sakes – including your own – take Donald Trump’s advice, do not vote for ISIS. Do not vote for an Incoherent Sexist Idiotic Scumbag.
Running a Nation
Donald Trump will be a regression to a time that did not exist. He speaks of a time that was better. He speaks of ways to reach that time. Do you know who else speaks in this way? The ‘Radical Islamic Terrorists’ he is always speaking of.
While none of these groups represent any variation of mainstream Islam, these groups do the exact same thing, they have created an identity and image of a reality which never existed, a time when things were ‘better,’ then rationalize injustice towards other human beings as a means of trying to recreate their false paradise.
Consider the man who wants to run your nation the same way he runs his business. A man who is so concerned about America’s declining industry that instead of supporting it, instead of helping keep factories open, he buys cheaper steel from abroad. He then hires the same undocumented workers that he wants to expel from your nation, to build some of his properties. And worst of all, while half of undocumented immigrants do pay federal income tax, he does not, and gloats about not doing so.
In her closing statement Hilary Clinton spoke about reaching out to everyone, irrespective of their political allegiance. The best Donald Trump could muster, “I can do more than she can do in ten lifetimes.”
You would expect this behavior from perhaps a drunkard at a bar, who is convinced that he is invincible after a few drinks too many. You would not expect this behavior from a man running for the highest office in your country.
Donald Trump suffers from the same misplaced idealism that is exploited throughout the ages by men who have little to offer other than schoolyard bullying tactics designed to misdirect.
His cavalier approach particularly to weapons of mass destruction, America’s nuclear arsenal, along with the relationships and alliances that America has built over many years, after many difficult negotiations, is as arrogant as it is foolish.
Dismissive Trump
Donald Trump’s mockery of a disabled reporter, his dismissive nature towards anyone or anything he cannot control or influence, is not in the least statesman like. His continued disrespect for the American electoral process – particularly failing to acknowledge that while voter names may be on a database – that doesn’t mean that they are actively given a vote – as a means of claiming electoral fraud is a reflection of a petty mind unable to discern the subtle facts of a matter.
When Donald Trump looses to anything, instead of honorable accepting defeat, he spars controversy claiming that everything else is rigged. People, this planet, the universe, everything, is rigged. Nothing can ever be right if it doesn’t agree with him.
Some may feel this is a form of positive empowerment but this is the most explosive warning sign. If this is how Donald Trump behaves when he is not in power, imagine the harm he will do to Americans and the rest of us, should he have power.
In days gone by, when Baghdad was the center of learning and civilization, the historians document an account with a judge. One day he overheard a man say to another that wine does not taste good, this is why we do not drink it. Some days later the same man was in court as the main witness in a case, but the judge dismissed his evidence. When asked why the judge replied that he heard the witness speak a lie. We do not drink wine because it does not taste good, we do not drink it out of obedience to God. That the witness lied saying that wine does not taste good proves that his testimony is not worthy.
Just because a man gives the impression that he is speaking good, or positively. Just because a man plays on people’s fears and presents an image of being strong. Just because a man dismisses criticism of his own actions which have been recorded on tape demonstrating his personality. Just because a man spouts populist diatribe to appeal to the insecure. None of this means that he speaks of anything beautiful.
And if the world’s leading democracy caves into a not even smooth talking con artist, I fear that all of humanity may suffer through his foolishness, just because they chose to vote for him.