2024 promises to be a year filled with high and low expectations, judicial decisions affecting American democracy, trials of one especially ignominious former President, war in Europe, war in the Middle East, and a host of other undesirable scenarios, including a battle between two gerontocrats for an office that turns people gray and demands youthful vigor. Except they already are gray, if Trump shuns the hairdresser. Trump used his vigor to pour fuel on a bunch of Fox news brainwashed pseudo patriots, demonstrating their loyalty to the constitution by invading the capitol and hitting capitol police with shovels and crowbars. “Hang Mike Pence,” patriotism writ large. Biden has shown his vigor by announcing today that Trump is a threat to democracy, his voice modulating between a normal rasp and a shout. He needs to get out and talk to young people.
Over the past few years, it seems like people do not care about threats to democracy. They have bought into the “good-old-days-were-better” argument.
But were they really? Yeah, we had Elvis and the Beatles, Cecil B. DeMille, and “out of my cold dead hands,” Charlton Heston, but we also had Segregation, the Cuban missile crisis and nuclear brinksmanship. Civil rights were on the back burner. Forget about accommodations for disabled people or being inside a restaurant with clean air. After all, tobacco was good for your T-Zone, said the Lucky Strike hucksters, as they lied about tobacco’s dangers, or that your T-Zone might have to be irradiated or need a voice box and a hole in your neck or your tongue removed. You get the picture.
The Supreme Court is about to rule whether Trump should be kicked off the ballot.
It’s rich that Trump argues that kicking him off the ballot will disenfranchise millions of Americans when he tried to send his slate of fake electors to the capitol. The argument is that it is anti-democratic to deprive the voters of their say. Well, so is not allowing felons to vote, not allowing people under 35 to be President, not allowing Johnny rebs to return to office, and keeping a narcissistic charlatan from being qualified to run again. Protecting minority rights is also not democratic. That is why we have a constitution and a bill of rights. A government of Laws, not men (or women or of whatever pronoun you want.)
Some people think we have made progress in perfecting the Union. In the 1950s Americans were petrified about the communist (Soviet) menace. Children in elementary schools did drills hiding under their desks to avoid being vaporized by an H-Bomb. Black school children had to be escorted to class by the national guard. Racism was rampant. “Segregation forever,” cried George Wallace. George got a lot of votes until someone shot him. Everyone has a gun, remember? And let’s not go back to a civil war or enslavement, which Nikki Haley did not mention and had to be called out upon. Nikki wants Trump voters.
People nowadays are concerned that we have no attention span, purloined by the little screen we carry around, people sitting at the dinner table, their phones at the ready, to look up a fact or check a movie while their real-life companions are ignored, feeling the frustration of abandonment. How can we solve global problems when we do not talk to each other?
If Franklin Roosevelt were running for office today, CNN would be doing close up pictures of his leg braces and wheelchair, asking questions if he had the stamina to be President. FDR was only 63 when he died in Warm Springs of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by blood pressure of over 220. He was running a war, dealing with Churchill, Stalin, and the Manhattan project. Trump is running so he can avoid the slammer.
Biden might be old, but he is not feeble. He only seems feeble. You do not have to be quick to be President. You only must be quick to participate in a Presidential debate with a deranged lunatic. Being President, you need to sit with your army of advisors and have the wisdom of years of experience to make wise decisions. Things have gone well for Joe, aside from his Hunter problem. Joe has known pain, is compassionate, and the respect of foreign leaders he has known for many years. That seems like enough to be President.
On the other hand, Trump is blessed with many years of fighting court battles, screwing workers, removing classified documents from the White House, defending himself against rape charges, fraud accusations, and 91 felony counts. Remember the Obama birth certificate scam? Any other candidate would have stepped aside for the good of the country. Not Trump. He is running to stay out of jail and to make America great again. This is like Captain Hook taking down the jolly roger and putting up the stars and stripes.
