The Upcoming Presidential Election – November 5, 2024

I must proclaim at the outset that this election cycle has been the most bizarre, surreal, unsettling and disturbing environment for a national Presidential election that I have ever experienced. I never would have imagined the current political, social and cultural milieu that we are in as a people and nation when I first was eligible to vote.

It has taken on a distinctly Orwellian character where lie becomes truth and truth lie. Where misinformation and purposeful misdirection has become the norm. Where one candidate Donald Trump, in particular, is seemingly incapable of even a glimmer of personal integrity – devoid of any recognizable moral compass. Where social media has become a conduit of falsehood, overt bigotry, hatred and mean-spiritedness. This aspect has gotten so severely distorted that death threats directed at those who hold differing views have become commonplace.

In this nation’s relatively brief history as a democratic republic, it would have been unthinkable that a person of Trump’s character, diminished intellect, morally bankrupt aspirations would have ever been considered as “presidential material.” This is a human being who has clear and unambiguous clinical symptoms of suffering from mental illness. This is an individual who is a convicted felon and actually attempted, as a lame-duck president, to unravel the results of a presidential election that he clearly lost.

To add to the apparent national insanity is the fact that a majority of the Supreme Court, two of its justices have shown clear evidence of conflict of interest and unethical behavior, have ruled that a sitting president apparently has the authority to take actions aimed at undermining the very foundations of democratic government. This ruling effectively supported the ability of Donald Trump to run for re-election thereby giving the fox free access to the chicken coop.

How did all this come to be? How is it that we could be on the threshold of electing a person totally unsuited and incapable of being in a position to use such power and authority? How is it that we could, as a people, consciously choose to put into power an individual who has clearly asserted with pride and determination his natural affiliation with autocratic rule – with national leaders of the likes of Vladimir Putin of Russia. How did we come to this place where we could effectively participate in our own undoing as a free and democratic people?

There is no singular answer to these questions. We do know, of course, that this type of convergence of forces is clearly recognizable in the history of human civilizations. Also, it is patently clear that a sizeable proportion of the American people have been effectively excluded from the “American Dream.”

We do know that national wealth is skewed heavily towards those who have a hold on wealth and power. We do know that our perception of ourselves as a prosperous people is more an illusion than a tangible reality. Too many of us have felt excluded for too long. This reality has left a residue of fear and insecurity that can be readily exploited by those in positions of inordinate wealth and power. Those in such a position who are decidedly unscrupulous understand how to manipulate these feelings to their own advantage.

There are additional aspects of the American character and psyche that are contributing factors. As a people, our emphasis on the primacy of the individual has had a marked impact on the sense of our participation in community life i.e. the Commons. This proclivity to pay overweening attention to self has diminished our capacity to care for others.

Also, our tendency towards the use of aggression and violence to address personal and communal problems has made us insensitive to the plight of others. This has been made apparent as exemplified by the overwhelming personal possession of arms and armaments and their use or threatened use.

Lastly, the continual use of horrific violence in our history from the institution of slavery, the near genocide of Native American populations and foreign policy objectives that have exploited our vast national arsenal of weapons of mass destruction has, in my mind, exacerbated our capacity for violent aggression as an accepted means to resolve problems.

In conclusion, if we possess any real aspirations to address and correct these underlying issues there is hope that we can restore a sense of sanity and purpose in our lives as a people of these United States.

My Worst Fears

If my worst fear becomes real and a clear majority of American voters choose the likes of Donald Trump as their leader, then I have no real choice but to surrender to this new reality – for the people have spoken. However, I reserve the right to speak out for what is right, just and fair. I reserve the right to speak out against lies; against blatant violence and aggression directed against minorities, the innocent, the enfeebled and the weak. I reserve the right to remain true to myself.

In just a few days, it will become vividly clear whether the American people choose a path for the future that encourages truth, reason, intellect, compassion, fairness and justice, or one that finds comfort in bigotry, outrageous and provocative lies, repression, violence and hatred. That latter choice will certainly bring many days of darkness, chaos, senseless retribution, vengeance and grief.

It is not only in the United States that these kinds of stark choices are evident. It is my contention that the real source of this potential for unnecessary social chaos and dislocation lies within the architecture of the human brain. As humans, we have collectively failed to learn how to discipline the innate tendency of our lower brain to react violently and without reason to the conflict that necessarily comes with living in community with others, especially within a complex human environment.

I am inundated by great sadness and often overwhelmed by the undeniable reality that humans continue to make choices that ineluctably lead to unnecessary pain and suffering. Where the simple recognition that all peoples are members of the same human family would change everything.