I strongly take the position that Donald Trump is detrimental to democracy and to America. Politically I am and have always been an independent voter. Although I lean toward the democratic side I have voted republican at times and on two occasions wrote in a different name on presidential choice when I could not fully support either candidate. I state this to emphasize that there are ways to evaluate other than through partisan lenses.
Trump accuses others of being prejudice, partisan and bias or on a witch-hunt to deflect from the fact that there are true reasons for opposing his presidency. Obscuring facts is Trump’s way to confuse, distort and distract from reasonable analysis.
Prior to the 2016 election I wrote a blog titled ‘The Danger of Donald’ (11/5/16). In it I stated: “The office of the Presidency can help or hinder the nation’s progress . . . I see the character of the one seeking office to be of prime importance . . . I looked up the word megalomaniac and found ‘delusion about one’s own power and importance and obsession with grandiose or extravagant things’ . . . Donald Trump is only after his own aggrandizement and seeks to undermine public trust in the democratic system that has led our country to greatness. If you listen to the undertones of his rhetoric you will hear the heartbeat of a dictator.”
Now, three years later, I stand by those words. I’ve worked in psychiatric hospitals and clinics and have encountered certifiable megalomaniacs—they believe themselves to be superior to everyone else. They lie with impunity and have unshakable belief that their interpretation is THE truth and no factual evidence will dissuade them. They know more than the doctors and councilors and know they are beyond all laws and normal justice, for they are a law unto themselves. People are only pawns for their purposes. Their skill at manipulation leaves people of normal intelligence confused and sometimes doubting themselves.
Think of some of Trumps public statements—about his knowing more that anyone else (diplomats, lawyers, military officers). He brags about his own superlative intelligence and impeccable wisdom, of his being the only one who can ‘fix it’ (broken America), that he is the country’s greatest president and has done more good than anyone else in office. (Google 50 outrageous Trump quotes) Those kinds of statements don’t come from the mouth of a normal intelligent and respected man.
This man is a compulsive liar, he is incapable of apologizing, he lack integrity, and he is both amoral and immoral. He insults and degrades anyone who questions or challenges him, he lack restraint and regularly and maliciously libels his perceived enemies.
A president carries the image of America to the greater world—he has sullied the image of our nation. He has made concerted efforts to denigrate all of the institutions that underpin our democracy, beginning with our free press (fake news), other aspects of governing (FBI, CIA, etc.), the military (he knows more than the generals), our form of voting (it’s rigged). He has withdrawn our nation from signed treaties agreed upon with other nations for global protection, and his most recent outrageous single handed decision was to withdraw protection from the Kurds—our strongest ally in the fight against ISIS—leaving them to be slaughtered by the Turks and ceding control to Russia.
To say this man, Donald Trump, is a danger is an understatement. This is not a partisan issue; this is a problem we all must open our eyes to regardless of political party.
This is a quote from Time Magazine (7/8/19); from the Southern Baptist Convention 1998: ‘Resolution on Moral Character by leaders of Public office: . . . Tolerance of serious wrong by leaders sears the conscience of the culture, spawn unrestrained immorality and lawlessness in society . . .”
I am not a Baptist but I commend that statement and suggest everyone read it carefully.
