My ten-year-old son, like many kids his age, often sees things in stark black and white terms. Good vs. evil, Iron man vs. Thanos. I often find myself telling him most things in life do not exist in such stark terms. Instead, everything is a lot more ambiguous and nuanced. I’ve always adhered to the idea there is no such thing as good and evil in real life, just gray areas in between. We all have it in ourselves to be raging assholes, though thankfully, we reign that shit in most of the time. I used to joke that I try to keep expectations low for my children and I’d be happy with how they turned out as long as they weren’t serial killers or Republicans. These days, I’m afraid this joke falls flat, as I truly believe it’d be an absolute nightmare for one of my boys to grow up to be a Republican. It would break this mama’s heart. Under the leadership of Donald Trump, the Republican party has managed to morph into the party of evil. Sure, if my kids grew up to be serial killers it wouldn’t be ideal, but I might learn to live with such an outcome. However, considering the current state of the GOP, I doubt I could ever come to terms with either of my sons becoming a Republican.
We are now less than two weeks away from election day, 2020. I can’t imagine being undecided between the two candidates for president, as they couldn’t be more diametrically opposed in what they stand for and in the content of their character. I truly feel like this election is pitting good vs. evil and its outcome will have a direct impact on all our lives. It is the epitome of the stark black and white situations I once thought so rare. It is a fight for the soul of our nation, as this race has become more about fighting for basic human decency than simple politics.
At this moment in history, doing good by society means voting Trump out of office. When it comes to this election, it’s simple — good vs. evil. Which side of history do you want to be on? The side that leads to the collapse of democracy and the rise of the Authoritarian States of America? Or the side that embraces facts, logic, expertise, science, inclusion, equality, human rights, dignity . . . oh the list goes on and on. Just reading those beautiful and amazing words makes me realize how lacking they have been these past four years under Trump, and how badly they’re needed now as our country faces the unprecedented shitstorm of a global pandemic, an economy in shambles and massive social unrest. We need a government that actually cares about and looks out for its citizens. A government that actually gives a shit that more than 200,000 of its citizens are dead. I can’t recall ever hearing the president saying anything resembling condolences towards the families who have lost someone to Covid. There’s been no national day of mourning. He demonstrates over and over again that he only cares about himself and only talks about himself. Most of the time it’s in one of two forms — steeped in hyperbole regarding how great he is and all the tremendously great things he has accomplished — or full of bullshit regarding how he’s the victim of _____________ (fill in the blank - fake news, the deep state, a witch hunt, etc.). I’ve never once heard him take responsibility for anything or admit to making a mistake. Ask yourself, how is that even possible? Even my 5-year-old will take responsibility for his mistakes once in a while and apologize. The buck stops with William!
The halcyon days of politics involving binders of women and baskets of deplorables are long gone. We’re now facing pails of white supremacists and vats of Nazis. In all seriousness, we’re at a point in history where our nation is teetering on the edge of fascism and a scary number of people — fellow Americans — seem to be okay with this. Or worse, they’re actively cheering it on. We are fighting against an administration that propagates fear, hatred and divisiveness. It feels like most Trump supporters are too far gone to be reasoned with, and honestly, are not worth the time and effort to attempt to get through to. I doubt most would bother reading my pleas written here, and if they did, they’d only scoff at them. But, if anyone out there reading plans to vote for the human piece of garbage who currently resides in the White House, please take a look in the mirror and ask yourself what kind of future you want for your children and grandchildren? If you support him, you support all that he stands for. All of it. And, seriously, how can you live with yourself? Good vs. evil, Iron Man vs. Thanos. The choice on November 3rd is that simple.
The Deplorables - Trump's America
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