Abject Failure (pt. 2)

Donald J. Trump is a master of deception, an actor, deceiving people into believing something is real that isn’t. His whole life has been a play, an act. Elected to a job he was uniquely unqualified for; that job would expose him for what he truly is. And erase permanently, perhaps, the illusion he had spent a lifetime creating.

His behavior since losing the election to President-elect Joe Biden has been at best bizarre. He has basically abandoned his job as president, and spent the month plus since the election running around ranting and raving about how he actually won, and the election was stolen from him. This despite the fact Biden won the popular vote by millions, (Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton as well), and like his opponent received 306 electoral votes, the precise total Trump received in 2016, which Trump, at the time, labeled a landslide. Now, after four years, Trump is clinging to a job he never really wanted; a job he never was able to fully grasp or perform, a job at which he has been an abject failure. 

He has never in the course of four years in office stepped up and been a leader. He accepts no responsibility for any of his actions, or anything that happens that does not shed a positive light on him. Instead he has used the “Bully pulpit,” as President Theodore Roosevelt called it, to disparage everyone from our staunchest allies to Hollywood actresses. To downplay the virus, and Russia’s ongoing interference in our elections and other areas. To appear to praise groups like the Proud Boys and denigrate people seeking only equal rights. All the while spinning lie upon lie, ignoring facts, and instead spreading fear in an attempt to divide and conquer. Former President, George H. W. Bush, talked about a 1,000 Points of Light. No such vision ever occurred to Trump. President Obama’s eloquence in speaking was beyond Trump’s understanding, let alone ability to emulate.

He has been unable to deal with any person or group who dares to stand their ground or question his beliefs. Lacking even a rudimentary knowledge of how government works, or how to create and advance policy, he has stumbled through four years in office much like the proverbial bull in a china closet. Whether it be repeated attempts to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, or feeling that the pandemic will simply disappear, he has failed at virtually every turn. The list of people he has fired, or have resigned, is too long to enumerate here. Another factor contributing to the bull in the china closet analogy.

While he has not yet conceded defeat in this election, he is none the less making plans for a run again in 2024. The two seem to contradict each other, but one only need consider why Trump is talking another run in 2024…quite simply to enable him to still collect millions from his supporters. He will be in his 80’s by 2024, and much as I don’t see President-elect Biden seeking a second term, nor do I see Trump doing so, but again, his talk of running in four years is a money making prop, not a serious bid for another 4 years in the Oval Office. And his supporters seem more than willing to fall for his charade.

While Trump is seen by most as a failure as president, his four years have not been without accomplishment from a personal perspective. After all, his goal from the start was to increase the Trump brand. Never was Make America Great Again anything more than a catchy slogan. Once elected, the presidency became a way to enrich himself, and his family. Be it ensuring business was directed to Trump properties, or putting his family members in jobs they lacked even the most basic qualifications for. And then there were the repeated trips to play golf, of course, at his own properties. More money funneling into, however indirectly, Trump’s pockets.

But let us not think that pocketing some money was all the benefit Trump has derived from his four years in office. There is also the fact that the office of the president has shielded him from numerous legal issues that now await him once he leaves office. Be it the State of New York, the many women seeking their day in court over Trump’s alleged sexual misconduct; all of that lies in wait once Trump leaves office, however that may occur.

And so the presidency of Donald Trump draws to a close. The whole first act was a tragedy, wherein the main character was placed in a position where he was without the knowledge or temperament to perform in any sort of satisfactory manner. His unexpected success in attaining the presidency, a surprise even to himself, rather than embellishing his brand, likely has tarnished it. Tarnished it so that no amount of polish, even by a master manipulator like Trump, can make it shine like before. But even that shine was an illusion. For Trump was never more than an actor, making people believe there was more there than what met the eye. Reality TV allowed for Trump to sustain the illusion, the presidency did not.

No encore, ladies and gentlemen, the final curtain has been drawn.

An abject failure (Part 1)

On June 6^th, 2015, then presidential candidate Donald Trump opened his campaign by denigrating Mexico. Saying of our neighbor to the South, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crimes. They’re rapists…”

That is how our 45^th president introduced himself to the American people. It introduced to us a methodology that Trump would continue to use throughout his time in office, up to the present day. Attempting to sow fear and division. To pit one American against another, and America against the world. What he called America First, which really translated to America alone. All of this aided and abetted by, though he would never admit, an overwhelming inferiority complex.

He alienated countries that for years had been staunch allies, preferring instead to heap praise on brutal dictators, and autocrats. Denigrating Merkel of Germany, and the Mayor of London, (a Muslim), while heaping praise on Putin, and professing his love for brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un. At one point taking Putin’s side when American intelligence agencies clearly saw Russian interference in the 2016 election. He stated, “I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong in his denial today.” He saw it as part of attempts to delegitimize his election. His high sense of insecurity led him to one of his first lies of his presidency, (now numbering in the thousands according to some sources), when he made an issue out of how large his inaugural crowd was.

While his denigrating Mexico may have been the first sign of the underlying racism that is at the core of Trump’s character, another issue also fed his racist underpinnings. His dislike of his predecessor, President Obama, whose policies and achievements he spent his entire administration trying to erase. Whether it was repeated attempts to wipe out the ACA, or his withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Accords, or the Iran Nuclear agreement, it all can be traced back to his dislike of his predecessor. A dislike, mirrored in the actions of many in the Republican Party, who he seems now to largely control.

Then, of course, we had the Mueller investigation and subsequent impeachment and trial. Attorney General William Barr doing a masterful job of spinning, (or was it lying), the results of the Mueller probe to make it seem as if Trump did no wrong. Hardly what the probe said, but with McConnell and the Republicans controlling the Senate, the idea of convicting and removing Trump was basically dead on arrival. Unlike Republicans during the time of the Watergate hearings, no facts were going to move this group from their staunch allegiance to Trump. Not a surprise, when you recall how President Trump played fast and loose with the facts on many an occasion.

And never was President Trump better and more consistent about ignoring facts than when it has come to dealing with the pandemic. He downplayed it from the start, and is seemed the worse the pandemic got the more he pedaled the same long disproven lies. Science and medical experts just didn’t fit with the narrative Trump was trying to spin.

The above is more than enough to mark any president a failure, but in Trump’s case I have found it necessary to spread my indictment of Trump over two articles. Such is the reality of the abject failure that has been the Trump presidency.

Our Work is not yet done

George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Aubrey, are names you may well know. Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wells, Carole Robertson, and Carol Denise McNair; perhaps not. Nor may you recognize the names, Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney. Perhaps if I had attached the ages of the four girls whose names I listed it would ring a distant bell in your memory. They were the victims of the 16^th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963. The three gentleman listed were Civil Rights activists murdered by KKK members in 1964 Mississippi. More on the last two groups follows. What do all the names have in common? All were black, all victims of violence. They all represent an ugly current that has run through American life for some four hundred years. That of systemic racism. If not in the actual act, in the way the acts were treated and perceived. Let’s take a moment and look back at two older incidents.

On September 15^th, 1963 with the bombing of the 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young girls; Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, and Carole Robertson, all 14, and Carol Denise McNair, age 11, died in the attack, and 20 others were injured. It was the third bombing in Alabama in a span of 11 days following a federal order to integrate Alabama’s school system. Thousands of black protesters showed up, causing Governor Wallace to send in hundreds of police and state troopers. Two black men were killed, one by police and the other by racists. When the funeral was held for three of the children, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to a crowd of some 8,000 mourners.

KKK member Robert Chambliss was charged with murder and cleared, receiving only a 6 month prison sentence and a $100 fine for possession of dynamite. Three other men, Bobby Frank Cherry, Herman Cash, and Thomas E. Blanton Jr. were also charged, but then FBI director Herbert Hoover, blocked the prosecution. In 1977Alabama’s Attorney General reopened the case and Chambliss was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Cash died, but in 2000 and 2002 respectively, Blanton and Cherry were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for their part in the killings.

In June of 1964, three Civil Rights workers were murdered in Mississippi. Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney were returning from Philadelphia, Mississippi when they were pulled over by Deputy Sheriff Cecil Price, ( a Klan member), for speeding. Price held on to the three to allow time for other Klan members to plan for their murder. After finally being released, the three men were overtaken by Klan members and murdered and buried in a remote section of woods.

When Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney were reported missing, the FBI got involved. With the help of an informant they were able to locate the bodies. Eighteen men were charged with violating the Civil Rights of the three men. Cecil Price, Sam Bowers, (the Imperial Wizard of the Klan in the area), and five others were convicted. Of the remaining eight, 5 were acquitted, and 3 others’ trial resulted in a hung, all white, jury. In 2005, Edgar Ray Killen, a known white-supremacist, was convicted of 3 counts of manslaughter, and sentenced to life. He died in prison in 2018.

As indicated, justice was slow in these cases, but they did help lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and Voting Rights Act in 1965. While progress has been made, one only need look at the first three names listed in the beginning of this piece to know we are a long way from home. Justice has yet to be served in any of their deaths, and in some cases may never be. An attack on the equal rights of any American, should be viewed as an attack on all Americans. We have to step up. We have to make ourselves heard. By making clear that Black Lives DO Matter.

I will close by quoting from the eulogy Martin Luther King Jr. gave at the funeral for the young girls killed in the 16^th Street Baptist Church bombing. Words that are still relevant.

 “They say to each of us, black and white alike, that we must substitute courage for caution…

They say to each of us, that we must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers.

Their deaths say to us that we must work passionately and unrelentingly for the realization of the American dream.”

Our work is not yet done.

STONEWALL

Have you heard of Stonewall Inn? Do you know its significance? What about New York City, 1969? If you are a baseball fan like myself you may well think of the ’69 Mets, and their Amazin’ season! But, that was not the only headline grabbing event in New York City in 1969. While the Mets were busy chasing the Chicago Cubs in the National League East, a bar in New York City was making news for a very different reason.

The bar was called the Stonewall Inn. It was not a particularly well known bar, but rather a bar that catered to people who belonged to the LGBT community. (The Q was added later.) Even featured dancing, when the local police were not busy checking up on the place. The Mafia, a few years earlier, had purchased and cheaply remodeled the Stonewall Inn, turning it into a gay bar. Not out of any great affection for the members of the LGBT community, but because it was a low cost investment for a good return. Besides watered down drinks, one of their ways of turning a profit, was by threatening to expose wealthy clients if they didn’t make a contribution. There was also no running water for washing glasses behind the bar, or a fire exit. The idea was to turn a profit, not worry about health codes. It wasn’t known for the quality of its liquor, or for its ambience, but it was a place where people as mentioned above could hang out and have a good time. And at the end of June of 1969 it became an early symbol of the Gay Rights movement, though hardly the beginning of it.

Regular “payments” were made to the local police precinct to ensure the bar was left alone. When a raid was planned, the bar would get a heads up so that any illicit activities going on could be stopped before the police arrived. Illicit activities included same sex couples dancing, kissing, or even holding hands. And then of course, there were the Queens strutting their stuff and entertaining.

In the early morning hours of June 28^th a raid was conducted, this time with no advance warning. Previously the raids would occur in the evening before the bar got “active.” This allowed for the bar to quickly reopen after the raid was completed. But this raid was different, possibly instigated by the FBI with only last minute notification to local police. Instead of the cursory check of ID’s and harassment of those individuals who were dressed as other than what they were, (men in female clothing for example), this time the police meant business. While some patrons were allowed to leave, thirteen were arrested, including bar staff, and led to a waiting wagon to be hauled off to the local clink. But, just as the raid wasn’t typical, the reaction of the patrons, and others in the area was not as typically occurred either. Usually the patrons, (gays, queens, etc.), were more than happy to scatter when the police arrived. This time they did not. They resisted, and what started out as a couple hundred people in the bar soon grew into a large crowd, and quickly overwhelmed the police. Even the calling in of the TPF, (Tactical Patrol Force), a highly trained, riot control unit, did little to control the outbreak which only increased in intensity over time. Finally the streets were cleared, but as it turned out, just for that evening. Even a heavy police presence did not prevent a repeat the next night, some stating it was actually more violent than the first night. Unrest would continue through most of the week.

The Stonewall riots were not without ramifications. It served as the force behind LGBTQ activism. Organizations such as The Gay Liberation Front, Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), and PFLAG, (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), all owe their existence to one extent or another to Stonewall and the activism which followed.

While the rights of the LGBTQ community have advanced since the 1960’s, including the right of same sex couples to marry, true equality has yet to be reached. Members of the community are still subject to discrimination in many states, including in the work place. And with the court now decidedly conservative, the marriage right is not a sure thing. There may be a light at the end of the tunnel, in that with the election of Joe Biden, the LGBTQ community will likely have a far more friendly voice in the White House. We can no longer afford to ignore entire segments of our population, be they members of the LGBTQ community, blacks, women, immigrants, or even those incarcerated. Not, that is, if we wish to live up to the ideals expressed in Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. Foremost among them, that “all men are created equal.”

Hail Mary, Full of Grace (and my Mom)

If you are Roman Catholic you likely know today is what is known as a Holy Day of Obligation. In this case, The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It celebrates the idea that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was born without original sin. I duly attended Mass this morning, in part because of it being a holy day, but also in no small part because it is my Mother’s birthday. That the two dates coincide, I do not attribute to coincidence. Thus the title for this blog.

When I was a child I can distinctly recall my grandmother, which would be my mother’s mother, saying that my mother was a saint sent down from heaven. Closing in now on a decade since her passing, and reflecting back, I do believe my grandmother may have been on to something. And it is not because my mother was a devout Roman Catholic, or that she went to church every Sunday and holy day, but rather because she lived what the bible taught. Mary, the mother of Jesus, would have understood my mother, and my mother her. They spoke a common language. No, my mother did not speak Aramaic, nor do I suspect Mary spoke English, but they both shared a more important language, the language of Love.

My mother lived and breathed the bible. No, she did not go around preaching to people, rather she lived a life that exemplified what the bible teaches. She spoke kindly of most everyone. Rarely did an unkind word pass her lips. And profanity was a foreign language to her. Even as she suffered with Alzheimer’s the latter stages of her life, the basic goodness, kindness, remained. The staff at the home where she spent the last years of her life would say that she was one of the easiest patients to deal with. Even the horrible disease that is Alzheimer’s could not touch my Mother’s spirit. Because that spirit was God given, perhaps with an assist from Mary, our heavenly mother, and the mother of our savior Jesus.

Today would have been my mother’s 97^th birthday. I am confident she is in her heavenly home, surrounded by loved ones. For those of you who are Roman Catholic I am including the Hail Mary below. For all of you, especially those of you blessed enough to have known my Mother, if you could give a little wink and a nod in her direction, I am sure it will bring a smile to her face.

Hail Mary full of grace

The Lord is with thee,

Blessed art thou amongst women

And blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Holy Mary mother of God

Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Amen

P.s. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you.

Life in prison and a sandwich?

Over 50,000 inmates are serving a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole. This means basically that they are serving a death sentence. Granted, not the same as if they had been sentenced to death, but none the less, they will not experience freedom again in their lifetime. I have long been opposed to the death penalty, and with recent reading have started to question life sentences. Not in all cases, some crimes are so heinous as to merit nothing less than a life behind bars. But, some are facing life in prison, having committed no such heinous act. Including those convicted as juveniles.  Is justice being served in their case?

Pope Francis, in a recent encyclical entitled, “Fratelli Tutti,” defined life in prison as a “secret death penalty.” Life in prison for murder? Rape? Other violent offenses? Not surprising, but how about life in prison for stealing a tuna sandwich? Snatching a purse? Selling $40 worth of cocaine? The latter three, while certainly crimes, hardly seem offenses that merit a lifetime behind bars, but in fact that is what the perpetrators received. (ACLU: Rachel Myers, 8/2012)

When a person is imprisoned, what is the goal? Punishment? Revenge? Correction? I would hope, in the vast majority of cases, it is the latter. We even refer to them as CORRECTIONal facilities. But what part of a 45 year sentence is aimed at correction when the offense was snatching a purse? It should be the goal when a person is sentenced for a crime to rehabilitate them. To show them a better way. To CORRECT the behavior. Not to hope that if their punishment is harsh enough they will repent and do better. Studies have shown this simply is not an effective deterrent.

A person without hope has little incentive to improve. They see themselves in a hopeless situation. And a country who has the highest incarceration rate in the world has to wonder what is wrong? Is this not evidence that the system is not working? That perhaps we need to change our approach to how we treat those who for whatever reason wind up in our criminal justice system? Especially when some of those are facing a lifetime behind bars because of sandwiches or a snatched purse? Is that justice?

We need to refocus our criminal justice system. A place to start would be with the types of sentencing we hand out, and to whom. A fourteen year old should not receive a life sentence at a point when he barely understands it. Felonies like those listed above should not cause us to throw away a life, simply because they made one too many mistakes. There are some who probably deserve to spend the rest of their life behind bars, but it should not be until every other remedy is exhausted.

The United Negro College Fund used to run an ad saying, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” So is a soul. And that is precisely what we do when we “throw away the key.” We sacrifice a soul.

Sanctity of Life

The term Pro-Life is bandied about when talking about abortion. Those who are Pro-Life are, of course, opposed to abortion. But what does it really mean? It seems to me Pro-Life has a very narrow construct. For many of those who profess to be Pro-Life appear to abandon the title once the child is born. On the other hand, those who choose to call themselves Pro-Choice, seem concerned about the child once it is born, but the fetus is not a life, at least not a meaningful one, if it isn’t convenient, or cost effective, or…fill in the blank. While life of the mother, rape, incest are often sighted as legitimate reasons for having an abortion, they represent a very small portion of abortions performed in the United States. Many would like to see a laws passed restricting abortion, or eliminating it altogether. It seems to me that both sides of the abortion debate are missing out on the central issue. LIFE.

I have reservations about those who are pro-choice. While the Catholic Church’s stand that life begins at conception, may seem to many, extreme; when does it become a life if not then? And for those who profess to be Pro-Life, why does it seem that your Pro-Life stand seems to end at birth? Does the sanctity of life have an expiration date, e.g. at birth; or conversely does the sanctity of life only begin when the child emerges from the mother’s womb? Neither side, in this writer’s view seems to have bragging rights in regards to cherishing the sanctity of life.

Pro-Life people wish to protect the fetus, it is a life after all, they argue. How can one simply have a procedure and snuff out that life? Is not the taking of a life wrong? A moral absolute? What value is placed on life if it can be so easily discarded? What message are we sending?

Before the Pro-Life forces start feeling victorious, what about George Floyd? Is his life somehow less valuable than that of the fetus you are so anxious to protect? Breonna Taylor? Or, though they are not deceased, how about the record number of people incarcerated in the United States? Many of whom have never had their day in court. Whose number is disproportionately people of color, or the economically disadvantaged? What value is placed on their lives? Are they simply out of sight, out of mind?

If one truly believes in the sanctity of life, that person should not perceive a beginning or an end date. What is a 6 week old fetus if not a life? How about a 12 week old? 24 week? A woman who desires a child finds out she is pregnant at 8 weeks. Is she not carrying a baby, a human life? Or is whether or not the fetus is a baby simply a matter of perspective by the person carrying the child?

And Pro-Lifers? Where is your Pro-Life stance when unarmed blacks are killed by police? Or where is your Pro-Life stance when you ignore the humanitarian crisis at the border? Or when you try to take away benefits from people who are disadvantaged, often through no fault of their own? Was your Pro-Life stance just a sort of limited warranty, expiring upon birth?

It is a complex and emotional issue, not lending itself easily to discussion. But discuss it we must. And life must be the core belief, whether that life be encompassed in an 8 week old fetus or a 40 something year old adult. The sanctity of life should not have use by date, nor should it have a not until….date. The commitment to life should never expire. That is respecting the sanctity of life.

All About The Donald

When Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, he had no real anticipation of winning. It was a huge publicity stunt to build the Trump brand. To build up HIM. Nothing more, nothing less, simply to make the Trump brand bigger. There was no great vision for a future America. Oh, there was the slogan, “Make America Great Again.” But even that had a sort of backwards ring to it. The message seemed to say, things were better before, let’s go back. Perhaps to the days of Jim Crow? Prayer in school? (Prayer meaning Christian), pre-Civil Rights Act and Voting Act? What America was Trump seeking? But, no matter, I digress. For Trump has always been about one thing, and one thing only, The Donald.

And now having lost his bid for re-election to former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump is again taking steps to ensure his brand stays in the forefront. He is doing this in no small part by trying to use the courts to reverse an election already decided. His lawsuits, which so far have been tossed out faster than last week’s newspaper, are on the surface a challenge to the election results. But really, they too, are publicity stunts. Senators McConnell and Graham both know Trump was defeated, as does Trump himself, although he likely will never admit it. We are not talking Gore in 2000, where a few hundred votes in one state were determining the election, and where Gore had also behind him the fact he had won the popular vote. No, there is no parallel. Trump is losing by thousands in multiple states, and the popular vote is not close. So we are again back to Trump and his non-stop self-aggrandizement.

While he refuses to acknowledge Biden’s victory, and may, in fact, hide out in Mara Lago on January 20^th, 2021, do not think that life after the presidency is not on his mind. Even while his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, laughably talks about a smooth transition to a second Trump term. All his actions now are, as his initial bid for the presidency was, attempts to expand, and keep in the forefront, the Trump brand.

Whether he be destined for network TV, or another outlet, soon to be former President Trump, will be seeking the limelight. And he needs his base to follow him, to applaud when he rants about the presidency being stolen from him, or when he denigrates anyone who dare to think other than he does. And any other means he may have to attempt to disrupt the American Democratic system, which undoubtedly, his mentor, Vladimir Putin, will be much appreciative of.

Undoubtedly, Trump will face any number of legal challenges after he leaves office and the protection of the presidency, but it will not stop him from trying. They too will likely serve as further evidence, in his mind, of how he is being unfairly persecuted. He will need his base to echo the lies, much like they did with Lock Her Up, and other Trumpian harangues.

I do not know where President Trump will be a year from now, besides out of office, but assuming he is free to roam the country, and the airwaves, you can count on one thing; it will be all about

THE DONALD!

71 Million Said NO to Joe

Over 75 million Americans, a record, voted for former Vice-President Joe Biden for president. Much has been made of the record total. Biden has every right to be proud of the accomplishment. (Unless, of course, you are one of those who believe dead people, such as former heavy-weight champion Joe Frazier who passed away in 2011, also participated in the election. Credit former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for raising the former heavy weight champ from the dead to vote. Though, in fairness to Rudy, he was not sure how Smokin’ Joe voted in 2020.)

While Biden set the record for most votes received by a presidential candidate, it should not be overlooked that the second highest total in history were cast for his opponent this year, President Trump. Some 71 million votes. Come January 20^th, 2021 America will inaugurate a new president. Trump will leave, joining one of the world’s most exclusive clubs, former presidents. Who will remain, however, is the 71 million Americans who voted for him. So what does this mean for Biden and Harris? Who are these people? What caused them to vote for Trump?

It is easy to dismiss them as made up of white supremacists, or gun nuts, or poorly educated, or any number of other neat little terms used to dismiss others with differing views. And while it may be true, that one or more of those terms may apply to a fair number of Trump’s base, it hardly explains a vote total of over 71 million. As I am sure many of you do, I know a number of persons who voted for Trump in this election. I have fictionalized the names, and blended characteristics of more than one individual into one person. But the descriptions below, I’ve no doubt, could be applied to any number of Trump supporters, including, to one extent or another, people you may know personally.

One lady, we will call her Jane, is deeply religious, with a wonderful family, college educated, and when I recently lost a close family member did not hesitate to offer her support and caring. She is also the mother of a gay son, of whom she could not be more proud. Another gentleman, we’ll call him Rex, is also, though divorced, a dedicated father, religious, and very actively involved in the Special Olympics. To dedicate oneself to a cause such as the Special Olympics is hardly the trademark of a person on the fringe of society, out of touch with the real world. Another woman, we’ll call her Marie, is a rancher. A job which means a lifetime of hard work. Again, hardly a person on the fringes of society. Another friend, Jacob, is a technology wizard. And when it comes to being educated, he can hold his own with anyone. All of these are decent, hard-working, people. They could be my neighbors, yours, the neighbor of anyone. All voted, as far as I know, for President Trump; as did others I know.

I am sure they all had their varying reasons for why the voted as they did. From fear of big government, to law and order, to immigration, to gun rights; any number of reasons. All of those reasons as important to them as the reasons of those who chose to vote for Biden. So why do I mention these people?

Because they, and millions like them, are your fellow Americans. Teaching your kids, maybe performing surgery on a loved one, serving in the military defending your freedoms. Again, they are our fellow Americans. Let us hope that President-elect Biden lives up to his rhetoric, and is indeed, not simply a Democratic president, but an American one. This does not mean that Biden has to sacrifice his principles, but hopefully aim for an America with room for all of us.

Can Biden be a uniter?

Joe Biden will be the 46^th president of the United States. The American people have spoken, whether President Trump choses to accept their verdict or not. I suspect it will not be a smooth transition, as it is not in President Trump’s nature to graciously accept defeat, or to aid someone who has basically forced him out of a job, and more importantly forcing him to relinquish the power he so relishes. But, leave he will; having been an abject failure, whose legacy will be one of division and despair. There will be no three cheers in the history books for Trump. He may in fact finally remove from James Buchanan the onus of being perceived as America’s worst president.

But his leaving will be just the first step. As of January 20, 2021 Joe Biden will face a herculean task; putting the United States back together again. A task that may well dwarf President Ford’s when he took over in the wake of Watergate and the resignation of President Nixon. Biden does have one thing going for him that also benefited President Ford. A reputation as a decent, honest, dedicated, public servant. It is a card, if you will, that if played correctly over the next four years could serve the country very well.

Just how does Biden play that card well? It starts with reaching across the aisle. If he has not made contact already, one of the first calls I’d make would be to Mitch McConnell. Not to discuss policy, but perhaps a simple congratulations on your being re-elected and that he looks forward to working with him. The call may only last 5 minutes, but its affect could be of immense importance. Am I so naïve as to believe a five minute call will cause McConnell to become Mr. Congeniality? No, but it can lay the ground work toward at least a productive working relationship.

But, reaching across the aisle involves far more than playing nice with the opposition. I think it is imperative that the Biden administration have at least someone(s) from the other side of the aisle in his cabinet.  Biden served for years in the Senate, and as Vice-President he dealt frequently with its members. I am sure he knows Republicans whose views may be such that they could fill a vital role in a Biden administration. Unlike Trump, who appeared to want only Yes people around him, Biden would be well served to have people who will not be afraid to challenge his positions. A member or members of the loyal opposition in his cabinet would be a good place to show how he is open to hearing other’s opinions, and could aid in bridging the divide, not only in Congress, but in America as a whole.

It sounds cliché, I’m sure, to say, but, we have far more in common than what divides us. When I was taking classes to become a teacher a professor gave the class some sage advice. He said when you call a parent about a problem you’re having with their student always end the conversation on a positive note. Even if all you can say is, Little Johnny was on time for class today. Biden, if his goal is unity, would be well served to follow that advice; the country is counting on him.