Slumming, Politically: Revealing America's Dark Side

IT DOES NOT, or should not, require any great abundance of high moral character, good judgment, and honesty to recognize in Donald Trump a man whose moral character, good judgment, and honesty are sorely lacking, conspicuously lacking, nearly to the point of being altogether absent. The most accessible conclusion is that those who voted for and continue to support Trump are sadly lacking in such admirable personality traits. A more generous interpretation is that they possess them, but have decided to abandon them in the face of being confronted with untenable circumstances; it was either Trump, or the abhorrent, unacceptable Hillary Clinton. but the choices were many and varied long before they got to Hillary. Sixteen republicans besides Trump ran for president, and many of them were people of the highest quality, intellectually, ethically, with demonstrable good judgment and an impressive records of public and political service. For the evangelical Christian community, Ted Cruz offered a seemingly ideal candidate, one whose devotion go his faith matched anybody who has run for the White House in recent years. Furthermore, his policy credentials sere thoroughly, straight down the line conservative. Jeb Bush displayed his caring and warm personality from start to finish during the republican primary, although he dropped out early; his every word and deed evinced nobility of spirit. He too showed his true conservative colors but with bonuses: Jeb Bush is a man who is willing, able, and ready to listen to others, to give consideration to all points of view, including that of the less fortunate, whose plight he does not blame on them, instead finding social cures and showing empathy, compassion, and understanding. Jeb Bush is a man the entire country could have spoken to, and it may be among America's greatest losses that he failed to generate sufficient support to win the Republican nomination for president. and the list goes on. In 2016, the Republicans presented a filed of presidential candidates as impressive as any in American history, with a wide range from which to choose. but America's conservative Republicans turned their collective back on them, and, listening instead to their lowest impulses, chose the worst possible one, Donald Trump. They were not deceived. Trump showed his true, ugly colors from the beginning. Like many people, I was at first excited about Trump's candidacy; something about a fresh approach from an outsider I, along with many other, found alluring. that lasted bout two weeks. By the time Trump had slandered Ted Cruz fifty times, I was done. Two years later, and Trump's words and behavior have done nothing but continue to reveal him to be a complete reprobate, with no morel character, and a penchant for pathological dishonesty. by now those who voted forhim are trapped; where can they go? that's a difficult question to answer, but the mere fact that they continue to support him, without any attempt to honestly address his constant torrent of vicious, slanderous, hateful lies, and the growing pile of strong evidence that he has engaged in a wide array of criminal activity can only be described as disgusting and reprehensible. It reflects their character, not Trump's. Trump's recent vicious attack on American hero John McCain was perhaps his lowest behavior yet, and yet, you hear no condemnation of from among his supporters, to their eternal shame. The realization that we live in a country in which a huge percentage of its citizens lack basic decency is alarming and depressing, but if ther is any benefit to be gleaned, it is this: at least the dark side of America society has fully exposed itself, so we now know who they are, and what they are capable of.