Trump for President: The First Hundred Days
Confession: When Donald Trump announced his candidacy, I dismissed it. Growing up in "Trumpland" (New York City and it's environs) all my life, it seemed preposterous. "The Donald" running for President? Why? Doesn't he have enough power and money? Why would anyone in his position take on the responsibilities and the headaches of President of the United States, a 24/7 job that opens you up to enemies that can come at you from the left, the right, the center - basically anyone from anywhere who can get access to media, who has an axe to grind, who uses you as fodder to promote their ideology and their political careers. Then there's that always-possible assassin out there, whether lone gunman or hired gunslinger, who has successfully killed three Presidents already. Trump for President?
Anyway, those were my initial thoughts way back when. But that was then and this is now. Now - at least for these initial weeks and months, instead of "Trump for President," we'd all be better of with "For President Trump." Hold on to that thought for a bit.
Yes, some of you have become completely discombobulated over his election. We've all seen and heard your hand-wringing, their whining, your protests, your claims that his Presidency will unleash various forces of darkness in our country: xenophobia, jingoism, anti-immigrant, racism - the list goes on and on. Some go so far as to claim his Presidency is "illegitimate." All of this is nonsense, of course; malicious nonsense in many cases, but nonsense none the less. It's spewed by people who are either misguided, or who want to manipulate the gullible so that they can increase their own power and influence. (Politics really is a dirty game.) If you want to go along with all this, I feel sorry for you; I hope you wake up.
As for those who hold up the "hero" Trump, do we really have to point out how silly and possibly dangerous that is? Although I don't know him personally, clearly Trump's a man of business, who's had his successes and failures. Yes, he's an outlandish self-promoter and media hound too. Over time, you get the sense that he's rather capricious, as well as capable of contradicting himself sometimes from one moment to the next, shooting from the hip when the spirit moves him one way, then another. He's certainly not one to champion high ideals (despite his "Make America great again" mantra) as opposed to Ronald Reagan, to whom Trump is sometimes compared and who was the last decent President we had (my humble opinion). That's just "the Donald"; don't expect him to change now.
And don't think he's the savior of America, or Western Civilization, or Christian values, or any other bastion of our society and culture. Not only is that ridiculous, it's, practically speaking, impossible. After decades of turning our backs on our social and cultural patrimony, replacing it with a relativistic, amoral secularism that has enabled the rich to become richer and the more powerful to aggrandize more power in their collective little fingers than the world has ever known, do you think Mr. Trump who is, frankly, one of them, going to simply ask his peers to emulate Mother Theresa? Add to this a welfare state of historically gigantic proportions that spits out enough bread and circus to keep the little people under wraps - at least until recently - by sucking dry the earnings of those dwindling numbers of working middle-class Americans, and you should be able to understand why Trump won't be able to turn things around in one or even two terms as President. We'll need either Divine intervention or a collective willingness to face our folly and begin to change ourselves such that we once again become a "moral people" - the characteristic that our Founding Fathers recognized as essential to our preserving the Republic they endowed and left for us to either preserve. And that would only be a start.
So please, forget the "savior" or "hero" stuff.
Okay, that's where we stand. It's the beginning of a new administration. We wait and watch especially keenly during the first hundred days to see exactly what he pushes and what he neglects of the promises he made. That's how it is with every President. That's how you get a bead on what you can expect for the next few years. It's always the same.
Then again, there is something different this time around. We've never had someone elected President who wasn't a politician or, in rare cases, from the military. Trump has never held office and he never served in the military. He's a business man. We don't know what impact this will have, for better or for worse, on the office of President, or on our country. Just remember that there's no guarantee that his business acumen will translate into an effective Presidency. Then again, it might. It's simply time to wait and see.
Which is why I propose we all put on our "For President Trump" badges and simply give the man some time. Why not? Is it in your interest to tear him down before he has the chance to show his wisdom or his folly? How is that in your or my or anyone's interest? And give him time to show his mettle, without being held up as a savior. That's putting too much weight on his shoulders, and will likely lead to great disappointment.
For now, what makes the most sense for any American worth his salt and his citizenry should be "For President Trump." At least for these first hundred days.
Anyway, those were my initial thoughts way back when. But that was then and this is now. Now - at least for these initial weeks and months, instead of "Trump for President," we'd all be better of with "For President Trump." Hold on to that thought for a bit.
Yes, some of you have become completely discombobulated over his election. We've all seen and heard your hand-wringing, their whining, your protests, your claims that his Presidency will unleash various forces of darkness in our country: xenophobia, jingoism, anti-immigrant, racism - the list goes on and on. Some go so far as to claim his Presidency is "illegitimate." All of this is nonsense, of course; malicious nonsense in many cases, but nonsense none the less. It's spewed by people who are either misguided, or who want to manipulate the gullible so that they can increase their own power and influence. (Politics really is a dirty game.) If you want to go along with all this, I feel sorry for you; I hope you wake up.
As for those who hold up the "hero" Trump, do we really have to point out how silly and possibly dangerous that is? Although I don't know him personally, clearly Trump's a man of business, who's had his successes and failures. Yes, he's an outlandish self-promoter and media hound too. Over time, you get the sense that he's rather capricious, as well as capable of contradicting himself sometimes from one moment to the next, shooting from the hip when the spirit moves him one way, then another. He's certainly not one to champion high ideals (despite his "Make America great again" mantra) as opposed to Ronald Reagan, to whom Trump is sometimes compared and who was the last decent President we had (my humble opinion). That's just "the Donald"; don't expect him to change now.
And don't think he's the savior of America, or Western Civilization, or Christian values, or any other bastion of our society and culture. Not only is that ridiculous, it's, practically speaking, impossible. After decades of turning our backs on our social and cultural patrimony, replacing it with a relativistic, amoral secularism that has enabled the rich to become richer and the more powerful to aggrandize more power in their collective little fingers than the world has ever known, do you think Mr. Trump who is, frankly, one of them, going to simply ask his peers to emulate Mother Theresa? Add to this a welfare state of historically gigantic proportions that spits out enough bread and circus to keep the little people under wraps - at least until recently - by sucking dry the earnings of those dwindling numbers of working middle-class Americans, and you should be able to understand why Trump won't be able to turn things around in one or even two terms as President. We'll need either Divine intervention or a collective willingness to face our folly and begin to change ourselves such that we once again become a "moral people" - the characteristic that our Founding Fathers recognized as essential to our preserving the Republic they endowed and left for us to either preserve. And that would only be a start.
So please, forget the "savior" or "hero" stuff.
Okay, that's where we stand. It's the beginning of a new administration. We wait and watch especially keenly during the first hundred days to see exactly what he pushes and what he neglects of the promises he made. That's how it is with every President. That's how you get a bead on what you can expect for the next few years. It's always the same.
Then again, there is something different this time around. We've never had someone elected President who wasn't a politician or, in rare cases, from the military. Trump has never held office and he never served in the military. He's a business man. We don't know what impact this will have, for better or for worse, on the office of President, or on our country. Just remember that there's no guarantee that his business acumen will translate into an effective Presidency. Then again, it might. It's simply time to wait and see.
Which is why I propose we all put on our "For President Trump" badges and simply give the man some time. Why not? Is it in your interest to tear him down before he has the chance to show his wisdom or his folly? How is that in your or my or anyone's interest? And give him time to show his mettle, without being held up as a savior. That's putting too much weight on his shoulders, and will likely lead to great disappointment.
For now, what makes the most sense for any American worth his salt and his citizenry should be "For President Trump." At least for these first hundred days.
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