Sunday, September 18, 2016

Rejection of an amoral candidate

I've always considered myself a moderate on most things political. I may have differences with some candidates, but at the same time recognized the potential value of a presidency led by Mitt Romney; I might have voted for John McCain if he hadn't sold his soul for 30 bags of tea; George Bush was inexperienced but not a bad guy (unlike Cheney), while Al Gore's experience and blunt honesty made him a reasonable candidate; Bob Dole was a great American and Bill Clinton was a true leader (despite his philandering); George H.W. Bush was perhaps the most resume-qualified candidate before this year; Dukakis was naive but had potential; Mondale was certainly qualified to be president. None of the candidates in the last 40 years was a bad candidate.

So it is with stunned amazement that we have a major party candidate this year who has no redeeming quality to justify his elevation to the highest office in the county - perhaps the most powerful in the world. His is a multiple-failed businessman with a personal-profit centered philosophy who displays nearly every personality flaw  that offends liberty, justice, equality, and the essence of what it means to be American, making his call to "make America great again" an absurdity.

The roll call of Republicans affirming his inappropriateness both as a candidate and as a potential victor in the election is stunning. The roll call of distasteful ideologies supporting him is equally stunning. Given those two roll calls, it seems incredulous that anyone is supporting the Republican candidate. I consider it a failure of my teaching that some of my students have publicly expressed support for him -- apparently they didn't learn critical thinking. It hurts my heart to see family members fall for his fascist ideology.

This is not to affirm the Democratic Party candidate - herself flawed in some political sensitivities. But when faced with a choice between an amoral Republican and a resume-qualified Democrat the choice is so very simple.