Will Somebody Have to Die?

 


People, people, people!  Does someone have to die or do we have to witness a bloodbath to break the spell Donald Trump has over “his people.”  There has been a constant escalation of the violent rhetoric coming from the one person responsible for setting the tone of a political campaign—the candidate, Trump himself!

I don’t usually say the words “I told you so.”  In this case, I feel compelled to point out to you that I have done a pretty good job of reading the tea leaves in this highly unpredictable political campaign.  As early as August 18, 2015, in this Unfair and Unbalanced column, I talked about Newton’s third law of motion “every motion has an equal and opposite reaction,” and how this is relevant to politics.  I pointed out that for every action Trump takes, there will be an equal and opposite reaction.  After months of threats, insults, and denigrating all things we usually hold sacred, Trump has gone beyond the pale.

Additionally, in the following except from my column dated September 15, 2015, I predicted the following:

I don’t see any scenario where he (Trump) will simply quit.  He’s got all the money in the world, now he wants all the power.  I don’t know what more he can say, or whom else he can offend that would cause him to plummet in the polls.  As you may have noticed by now, I have an active imagination and I’ve been trying to conjure up what will cause the end of Trump’s run for President.  I finally figured it out!  One of Trump’s goons is going to get over-zealous, drunk on the power, and do bodily harm to an innocent by-stander or protester.  Then the good people of this country will realize they don’t want a bully for President after all.

At the time I wrote that, I obviously under estimated the power of a narcissistic psychopath to incite violence among people whom otherwise are patriotic, peace loving, and considerate of other people’s opinions and beliefs.  I read a letter of apology written by a Korean War veteran caught on tape shoving a young African American woman at a rally in Kentucky.  His local veterans organization found his behavior shocking. He said everything was calm until Trump took the stage.  Then the shouting started.  At the insistence of Trump to “Get them out” the crowd started shoving and he was pushed to the floor.  Unbeknownst to him at the time, he was surrounded by a white supremacist group and he got caught up in the “moment.”   That’s no excuse, but that’s insight into how fast a person’s mentality can change when they are caught up in an angry mob being spurred to violence by their leader. 

The big question mark in my head my entire life has been “How did Hitler and Mussolini convince so many people to share their evil thinking and carry out their evil deeds so willingly?”  After witnessing the advent of Donald Trump, I now have a better understanding of that ugly time in history. 

A very scary sign that Donald Trump sees himself as more than a presidential candidate is the way he lays a personal claim to his supporters.  When we as citizens vote for someone, we are called a “supporter.”  Trump refers to his supporters as “my people.”  He constantly pits voters against each other by using the term “their people” versus “my people.”  I find this extremely offensive.  I do not belong to a politician.  Only Jesus may consider me one of “his people”. I am not, and never will be a “Kool-Aid” drinker.  

We could be on the verge of another ugly time in history.  Hopefully this column will not prove to be prophetic and nobody has to die before Trump is rejected by all of America. 

The Importance of First Ladies (or First Dudes)

I’m one of those that believe there is a message in everything that happens.  For instance, consider the timing of the death of former First Lady Nancy Reagan.  I think her death, at this particular time, serves to remind us of the role our First Lady plays in shaping our government and the attributes we admire in this important position.  We remember Nancy Reagan as the epitome of a class act.  Regardless of your opinion of President Reagan, you were always proud of the dignity in which Nancy represented us to the world. 

I think you may have already figured out where I’m going with this.  Melania Trump!  Would you honestly be proud to call her our First Lady?  The only class she has is English class.  Several months ago, I shared a photo of Melania Trump on Facebook.  Someone reported the photo to Facebook as “offensive.”  Facebook investigated and notified me that the photo was acceptable and they would not remove it.  I, too, found the photo “offensive” but not because she was nude.  It was because she seeks to be included in the class of the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Mamie Eisenhower, Jackie Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, Barbara Bush, Rosalynn Carter, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama. 

Who will be First Lady should be taken into consideration when deciding whom to cast your vote for as President.  First Lady Melania Trump?  I think not.  Do you want to pay for the gold-plated china that she would purchase for the White House?  Do you want to pay for a gold dance pole in the East Wing? 

Another message we received recently was from the untimely passing of the ultra conservative Supreme Court Justice Scalia.  That message to me is one of “opportunity.”  We now have the opportunity to moderate the Supreme Court by President Obama or President Clinton appointing a Justice that is not extreme in any direction. Contrary to what Ted Cruz tells you, Democrats do not want “unlimited” abortion on demand.  We do not want religious freedom abolished.  We do not want to sandblast religious symbols off veterans’ headstones or tear down veteran memorials.  There’s a reason he is called “Lying Ted.”

The Republican debate last Thursday night was one for the history books.  The discourse has reached an all-time low.  The candidates and audience were so raucous, I thought I accidentally tuned into a cockfight.

I heard the “clean up” of High Falls was going to be discussed at last week’s County Commission meeting so I put in a rare appearance.  (I usually depend on Don Daniel’s column for info on Commission).  I learned very little, other than they are looking for a Code Enforcement Officer without adding another employee.  In other words, add this duty to an existing employee. An enforcement officer must be a certified peace officer in order to write tickets.  I got very uncomfortable in my seat when it appeared the Commissioners had no clue what is required to get certified.  Their major concern was the officer learning the zoning codes.  We have so few zoning codes in Monroe County; major ones could be learned in a weekend.  The rest can be looked up in a codebook.  To become a certified peace officer, one must first meet all the prerequisites and then attend an eleven (11) week course and pass all courses.  Not as easy peasy as it sounds.

If I had spoken at the County Commission meeting, I would have told the Commissioners that the appearance on High Falls Road has deteriorated to the point of embarrassment.  Surely there is a zoning code against railroad cars.  If not, there should be. Commissioners, take a ride down High Falls Road and view it from the eyes of a park visitor.  Then, take a ride over to Indian Springs.  I hope what you see will prompt you to find a way to take action immediately.  At the rate it’s going, in another year, all of High Falls will need to be condemned.  To business owners I say, “Clean up your parking lots and clean up the trash. Plant some flowers.  Plant trees instead of cutting them down.”

High Falls State Park is the destination of more visitors than anywhere else in Monroe County.  My big fear is if the State of Georgia ever faces the decision of closing Indian Springs State Park or High Falls State Park, the unsightly condition of our community will make us the loser.