Winston Churchill once proclaimed that the failings of democratic government can best be illustrated in a 5 minute conversation with the average voter. He also stated that democracy was the worst form of government except for any other that’s been ever tried. The election of 2016 in the United States is now proving just how true Churchill’s prophecies were. Two of the worst possible political candidates ever, were somehow (almost by magic) chosen to be their respective parties nominees. One will become president, to the future chagrin of the American populace. The public discourse has been cheapened, vulgarized and degraded beyond anyone’s imagination from where it was a mere decade ago. And, as the beat goes on, it will probably get even worse in the remaining month until election day, when it will finally, mercifully end.
Lets start with Trump’s lewd, vulgar and profane remarks caught on tape 11 years ago. The vile and demeaning manor in which he characterized women should come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention thus far. This is who he is, and I’m certain the he’s been offering similar remarks to people within earshot his entire adult life, including right up to the present. The fact that he was willing to offer such profane utterances while being taped, only further illustrates his supreme narcissism which I’ve written about many times previously. In the narcissistic world his ego inhabits, women are to be objectified as play things, and to be always available to satisfy the sexual needs of one so magnificent as he believes himself to be. One should ask the Trumpinistas still supporting his candidacy as to whether they truly want someone as deranged and unhinged as he shows himself to be, to have his fingers on the nuclear trigger.
Of course, the diehard Trumpinistas will never be persuaded to abandon their guy. It didn’t happen when Trump stated that Fox news host Megyn Kelly “had blood coming out of her whatever” during a contentious debate forum. It didn’t happen when Trump uttered the incoherent statement that he “likes people that weren’t captured” in reference to John McCain’s hellish 6 years as a prisoner of war in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. It didn’t happen when he accused Senator Ted Cruz’s father of abetting Lee Harvey Oswald in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It didn’t happen when he defamed an American born judge because of his Hispanic heritage. And it sure as hell didn’t happen when he unleashed a torrent of verbal abuse against an American Moslem couple whose son had sacrificed his life fighting for the U.S. in one of the Iraqi wars. Even endorsements from Bikers of America (motorcycle gangs united) or the KKK has failed to dissuade any diehard Trump followers from supporting his candidacy.
Ergo, Trump supporters on right-wing whacko talk radio and Fox News are now defending their man by stating that his vile utterances are merely “locker room” talk that “real” men engage in from time-to-time. Well, in answer to that, let me say this. I’ve been going to the gym at least 5 days a week for over 20 years. It’s probably the main reason I’m still sucking in oxygen after spending over four-fifths of a century on this planet. It goes without saying that during these gym visits I spend a fair amount of time in the men’s locker, showering after my workout and such. Never once in over 20 years, however, have I heard a single discussion between any men in the locker room using the type of verbiage that Trump uttered on that now infamous tape. Not once. As for myself it would be unthinkable to use such demeaning language under any circumstance when referring to a women or to any man for that matter.
I’m certainly not a paragon of virtue and I detest people who pretend to be holier-than-thou. But, I believe that I have too much self-respect to descend into such filthy, Trump-type degradation. I try to abide by the by what I consider the 3 cornerstones of life- honor, integrity and compassion. I believe if one lives according to those 3 principles, it’s a life worth living, no matter how bad a hand one may be dealt. And some people are dealt a very, very bad hand indeed, right from the beginning. If, however, one becomes as totally narcissistic as Trump has allowed himself to be, honor and integrity are out the window, and compassion is totally an alien concept.
With such a flawed and demeaning Republican candidate, one would think that the Democratic opposition would be miles ahead at this point. Such is not the case, however, because Hillary Clinton is so damaged and scandal-ridden herself. Not only does she have self-inflicted wounds to contend with, like processing classified emails thru an unprotected server in the basement of her house; she also has to answer for husband Bill’s sordid philandering with various women in previous years. Like being caught between a rock and a hard place. So the race is still exceedingly close, and any number of factors could still swing it in Trump’s favor. Which would probably mean the end of the 240 year experiment in democracy still on-going in the U.S. Even with all its flaws as Winston Churchill so aptly described.
When he ran for president in 1988, George Bush The Elder, said that he looked forward to a “kinder, gentler world” with a “thousand points of light.” Now less than 30 years later, it’s remarkable how far we’ve gone in the opposite direction. Into a vile, coarse, vulgarized world as we continue to slide down unabated, into the slimy rabbit hole of mud and filth. Bush, the Elder, by the way, now in his 90s, said he was voting for Hillary Clinton.
realityincorporated 