Can you believe it? Election Day is here!
We have waited so long for this day. We know what it is like
to anticipate a holiday or a birthday, but this is different. We have been
looking forward to this chance to take our country back from the big orange sociopath-in-chief
for four long years. And, yes, I know that we probably won’t have definitive
results by the end of the day, and I know that some dark elements of the
Republican Party have plans in place to keep Trump in office, no matter what
the vote, but the more people who vote for Joe and Kamala and the senate
Democrats (not to mention all of those very important downballot races) the
harder it will be for any dirty tricks to keep democracy from happening.
So, this is for the people who
(a)
Have not yet voted and aren’t sure they should vote
today,
(b)
Are leaning towards voting for Donald Trump, or
(c)
Are undecided –
if there are any of you left out there.
Voting is expressing an opinion and some people seem to
think that this is a tomato / tom-ah-to thing. You see it your way and I see it
mine.
With some issues – even political issues – that approach might
make sense. But in the case of this election – today’s election – the stakes
are just too high.
Trump is an incompetent conman who was elevated way above
his meager level of talent and ability.
Trump seems to score some points on the right for his confidence
and patriotism, and his willingness to fight.
But Trumps arrogance goes beyond confidence to the level
where it endangers the safety and health of the country. Trump's nationalism is
not patriotic, it is xenophobic. He has hurt our relationship with other
countries we used to have as allies. I hope they will be our allies again,
after he is gone. A dictator, who breaks rules and goes back on his word to
increase his power is now a leader, he is a cheat and a coward.
He is not a fighter, he is a bully. He mocks the disabled
and promotes violence on those who disagree with him. He is a coward who mocks
the military. Trump is childish, because he throws tantrums when he does not
get his own way. He has the vocabulary of a fourth-grader, and a dull
fourth-grader at that.
He has told more lies and spread more disinformation than
any other US president, ever. Those people with much more patience than I,
whose who count those things, say the count is up to 25,000 more than lies and
misstatements. Even if it were half that number, it would be a very impressive,
but not in a good way.
So, maybe you dislike Trump. He know he is bad for the
country, but you aren’t sure about Joe Biden. Maybe you (like a lot of us)
started out supporting another Democrat for nomination, but saw Biden take the
lead with emotions somewhere on a spectrum from dread to acceptance, or maybe
even indifference.
But, please consider these positive attributes of the
Biden/Harris team:
(1) Biden actually has plans to provide healthcare to
everyone who does not have traditional insurance. Obamacare is imperfect, we all know that. Please keep in mind that most
of those imperfections were the result of having to compromise with Republican
lawmakers when the plan were being written.
(2) Biden will do away with the Trump tax cuts for those
making more than $400,000 per year. It is not true that it will raise taxes on
everyone.
(3) Biden actually believes in science and logic. He
understands that much of climate change is due to human activity. He has not
endorsed the more radical tenets of the Green New Deal (I actually think he
should go farther, but you gotta take what you can get), but he does understand
that we need to produce more energy from renewable sources. Rather than going
on some stupid rampage to save dangerous and obsolete coal jobs, Trump is
working on plans to lessen atmospheric carbon-dioxide and methane, and to
create good jobs in the process.
(4) Biden wants to be the president of all Americans, not
just those who go to his superspreader rallies and chant stupid things like
"Lock her up!" and “Fire Fauci!”
(5)
Biden realizes that the US is part of the world
economy. He understands that he will be president of the US, but he also knows
that the US needs to be a world leader and not shut itself up in some
isolationist's silo.
(6)
Biden has served in public office before. Every single
president this country has ever had, from Washing thru Obama, has either served
in the Military or has served in elected public office, or both. Trump is the
first never to have done either, which is just one of the reasons he is so
absolutely unqualified to be President. So, there are lots of reasons to
vote for Biden besides the fact that he is not Donald Trump, but I tend to
think that most people are good, and I think you could just draw a random adult
out of the US population and you could make would have a very good chance of
choosing a better president than the one we have now.
That's right, Trump is a worse president than an average
American just picked off the sidewalk on a Tuesday afternoon. Most Americans do
not have the legacy of greed and selfishness that the Trump family has
exhibited for the past several decades.
Some praise Trump for being unpolished. I would not mind
seeing an unpolished politician. Both Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson were less
than stately and dignified in certain situations,
and I am sure you can name many more presidents of which this is true. But Trump’s
lack of decorum goes to an extreme we have not seen in modern times. His manner,
which his supporters have labeled a “breath of fresh air” is in actuality am
ill-wind of worse things to come if he is should be re-elected.
We have seen crooks and con men before, but we haven't
elected one quite as openly crooked as Trump
The Office of the President deserves respect, but Trump does
not. The best way to restore respect to the presidency is to get Donald Trump
out of it and make sure that we never, ever, ever, even elect someone who even
comes close to being as selfish or unqualified or incompetent or criminal as
Donald Trump again.
So, if you are registered to vote and you have not, please
do so today. Do it early, do it safely, and vote for Joe Biden to other Dems to
start the healing process that we so badly need.
