.
.
.
Smirking Trump and Hillary Finks
This is the worst, most asininely childish presidential campaign I’ve ever experienced and the blame rests solely on us. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or Republican, you should be ashamed of every single person that acts to represent you and your interests. The sheer ridiculousness and pettiness of both campaigns is beyond the pale. Neither Clinton nor Trump deserve to be the next President of the United States.
Their demeanor has infected an already poisoned political climate that does nothing but pit Americans against each other over something as idiotic and mutable as political ideology. My beliefs have shifted numerous times since I began considering them seriously. Why should someone who believed as I once did be treated with disdain? I was them. I am them. I am the sum of all my beliefs, and those beliefs have been influenced by others. No one comes to conclusions in a vacuum.
We allow these ridiculous caricatures to sway our beliefs by continually electing them to positions of power and influence. The only way they stay in power is to highlight and lampoon the other side, engaging in dangerous demagoguery. Both sides do it. No one is innocent. Hillary Clinton is a liar and a fraud. Donald Trump is a liar and a fraud. They have at least that much in common. They lie to us every day and we gobble it up like the good voters we are.
We cheer when Trump insults Clinton. We laugh mightily when Clinton returns the favor. We encourage mindless destructive habits in our leaders. It’s our fault. It all is. We never demand better. Far too often, in fact, we demand worse. We want our leaders to be as petty as we are. We think that best. We don’t want someone to lecture us or make us think that our reactions are unfounded or uncouth. They are deserved. They always are.
At this point, I honestly feel bad for President Obama. I never really did before. I guess I never really thought about it too much. He got dealt a raw hand. Sure, he could have handled it better, but we as a group didn’t make it any easier on him. He did and still does have a sense of decorum that I respect. George Bush had it too. I think all presidents should have it. All politicians, for that matter. Our political representatives should exhibit the best of our collective selves, not the worst. That we allow them to act like petulant children and reward that behavior with continuous reelection is our failing.
Though I don’t agree with a lot of what President Obama has done and continues to do, I respect the man. He has convictions and at least tries to convey those in a manner that befits a sitting president. He fails on occasion, but I believe he has conducted himself well for the majority of his tenure as president. That’s more than I can say for the majority of politicians on both sides of the aisle. They, for the most part, are insulting reminders that we continue to elect infantile egotists with little to no connection to America outside of Washington D.C.
I don’t have hope that either of these two reckless buffoons will have the same sense of self as President Obama. This has become a battle of egos instead of ideologies. So much hatred has spread since this election cycle began that I don’t believe either candidate will be able to overcome the resentment and disenfranchisement of the other side come November 9, 2016.
We have a daunting task in front of us and, sadly, no leadership to help us along the way. It is up to us. This election should stand as a stark warning to every single American – We have started down a path that can lead to no other destination than that of our own downfall. We must expect more from our leaders. We must expect more from ourselves. Party lines are imaginary. Do you know what’s real? Families. We should seek to do things that benefit all Americans, regardless of whether the person proposing it has a D or an R or whatever other designation after their name.
Labels don’t matter. Parties don’t matter. Life matters. Liberty matters. Happiness and prosperity matter. The color of the boat doesn’t matter as long as it gets us to a safe harbor. Please, if nothing else remember this: we can and should demand better, not only from our politicians, but from ourselves. When we treat each other like garbage, we make it acceptable for our representatives to do the same.
Don’t let it become acceptable. Demand better.
Nice job, Sean.
We elect the leaders we deserve. Absolutely.
“My beliefs have shifted numerous times since I began considering them seriously. Why should someone who believed as I once did be treated with disdain? I was them. I am them. I am the sum of all my beliefs, and those beliefs have been influenced by others. No one comes to conclusions in a vacuum.”
Well said. This is particularly true of those who have had a chance to really see how things work in government.
“The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”
– Muhammad Ali
Cries out for a soundtrack. (Perhaps visualize HiLIARy’s bus tour, rolling out tonight.)
Why mention specifics, when it’s EVERYBODY’s fault ? Can’t offend anyone, right ! WHAT? Remove our noses from Pokémon or FaceBook, and get curious about how things WORK, enough to even ask QUESTIONS? We VOTE for folks to do that!
Go ahead and ask 12 people you meet WHAT DAY is Election Day, or WHO is ANY of their Federal State legislators – Leno’s “Jaywalking” segment of morons WASN’T cherry picked ! All that improvement in 3 months ? HA ! # tragicephiphanytoolate.
Me ? I’ll just be visualizing whirled peas.
*Anyone can be a curmudgeon, a naysayer, a doubter. The truth is that the world seeks the prophets, the teachers and those that thoughtfully answer the tough questions in spite of not making a Red Cent from the endeavor. Those are the creatures we should love and adore and watch carefully for their endless wisdom.
The world seeks Kim Kardashian’s fashion advice.
*No, YOU seek Kim Kardashian’s Fashion Advice. Stand up with a pink pair DZ!
You seek help. Immediately.
This little corner of “the world” seems to instead seek whatever amount of spare change I can be convinced (willingly or otherwise) to part with. Can anyone advise about which corner of the living room maximizes feng-shui for a TARDIS installation ? The help at IKEA haven’t a clue. Got a “Magic 8 Ball” from the office “Secret Santa”, once. Stared at it through three 12-packs, but it still always said, “Ask Again Later” ! Oops, gotta run – smells like those whirled peas have been in too long again – Damn!
I don’t think I have enough weed to navigate your comments.
Attempting anything ill-prepared can only lead to ruin.
*Call any store in China Town in SF. They know their Feng-Shui….
Good points. One can argue that the political ideologies of the elites of both parties are mutable as they share many principles. “Liberty matters” to them as long as profit maximization is preserved, regardless of the social and environmental consequences.
Some of us have demanded better, and in this election cycle Sanders represented our pursuit of “happiness and prosperity”. He was dismissed by many as ” a redistributionist with nutty ideas”. Fair enough if this conclusion was reached based on policies proposals and not whether he is a cranky old man.
So we are left with two candidates, both of them created to a large extent by their parties. One known with a lot of holes and the other unknown in terms of being able to make sensible decisions. This is in the real context of two major parties system, in which voting our conscience will have a tremendous impact in our future.
I agree with your conclusion that “labels don’t matters, in certain contexts. I wrote about it in this blog, in the caterpillar and in the dragon posts.
*Bernie is great. We bought his T-Shirt and into his ideas. Sadly, they need him badly in the Senate or in a Cabinet post. Bernie would have cranked up the base of Independents and liberal/moderate Dems in the short term. Now, it will be tougher…but the thought is that DT will whined up getting the DT’s in the Debates. We will see.
Wow, good stuff!
But then I’m a Pollyanna and I always have been, right down to my white knee socks. 😉