By: Wanda J. Lee | Oct 31, 2024
In less than one week, Americans will vote for their 47th president. This can probably be considered the most consequential election of our lifetime. It is by no means an election of ordinary circumstance. As a matter of fact, it feels more like a fight for this country’s soul and its continuance as the great nation we know it to be and whether it will survive as a democracy or devolve into a fascist state or pseudo-Christian theocracy.
Although there are two major party candidates’ names on the ballot, their names represent so much more than the two individuals themselves. This is a vote of good vs. evil, love vs. hate, unity vs. division, freedom vs. fascism, democracy vs. dictatorship, liberty and justice for ALL vs. unchecked power for ONE.
Although there has never been a perfect candidate in any presidential election of this nation’s 200+ years, this is the first time that one candidate has so clearly and obviously shown himself to be grossly unfit and unqualified for the job due to his enormity of character flaws.
Who in their right mind would select someone to be president (regardless of one’s position on policies and issues) when his character is so deeply flawed that you wouldn’t want your children to emulate him? Who could vote for a president who lies continuously? Who would vote for a president who constantly belittles his opponents with childish nicknames? Why would anyone vote for someone to become commander in chief of our armed forces when that someone devalues patriotism and calls serviceman “suckers and losers”? Why would anyone vote for a president who speaks on a fifth grade level and has the temperament of a 3-year old? Someone who thinks about himself first and most… someone who mocks the handicapped… and someone who brags about grabbing women by their private parts (and assumes when you’re famous you can do it) His words exactly: “I moved on her like a bitch,” and “I don’t even wait; I just start kissing them.”
Why should you trust someone who claims to be a billionaire but refuses to show his tax returns? Claims he’s smart, but no one can see his college transcripts? Claims he’s healthy, but won’t release his medical records? Claims he’s a successful businessman, but has filed for bankruptcy SIX times, (and not only that, he has a long litany of failures and debunked business ventures and products like casinos, steaks, wines, hotels, and a self-titled university) Claims he’s a Christian, but he can’t give you one favorite verse or any verse from the Bible, has never asked God for forgiveness of his sins, calls Second Corinthians, TWO Corinthians and poses with an upside down Bible for photo-ops? Claims to be the best protector of women, yet has been found liable for sexual assault and owes E. Jean Carroll 80 million dollars for defamation of character after he claimed she was lying about his sexual assault against her, and he has cheated on all three of his wives, the mothers of his five children. He also has been found guilty of stealing from his own charity. And if that isn’t enough, he’s a convicted felon found guilty of 34 charges.
The man is unfit and he’s unqualified. His treasonous act that took place on January 6, 2021, his 2 impeachments during only one term in office, his 34 felonies, his stealing top secret documents and refusing to return them until the federal government raided his home and retrieved them —any single one of these acts alone should preclude him from running for president. If former president Barack Obama had been guilty of just one of the above infractions, he would have been barred from running as dog catcher, let along for the highest office of the land.
Is this what we want our children and grandchildren to look up to? Do we want our sons and daughters to grow up to be inveterate liars? Do we want our children to be bullies? Do we want our daughters’ male figures of power to be womanizers and serial sex offenders? Do we want our children to never admit when they are wrong and then whine and complain when they lose and throw temper tantrums until they get their way and never admit when they’re at fault for anything? Do we want our children to take all the credit when things go well and none of the blame when things go wrong? Do we want them to think they are above the law and that they are always right and everyone else is always wrong? Don’t we all want what’s best for our children? Don’t we all want our children to grow up to be men and women of character, compassion and empathy? Enough Already.
Why is there such hypocrisy and double standards? This writer erroneously thought when Barack Obama won his first presidency, that this country was finally ascertaining Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream and that we as a people were finally learning to judge people not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. This election cycle, however, is proving that we still have miles and miles to go before we reach that destination. Anytime one candidate is far more qualified, ready, and fit for the job, but SHE happens to be a woman and a person of color while her opponent is a man and white, yet they remain in a dead-heat, neck and neck race to the White House — this tells us, we have triple standards for people who are not white and not male. The woman of color has to be practically flawless while her white male opponent can be completely lawless (literally), and both candidates are still deemed equally qualified. Hmmm.
Fellow Americans, please listen to what both of these candidates say about how they will govern our great nation and how they will treat their fellow American citizens regardless of their race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, social-economic status, or national origin. Look at each candidate’s character. CHARACTER FIRST. Not their gender, not their color… just their character. Then VOTE Your Conscious. Character should matter most, especially when there is a contrast as stark as day is to night and good is to evil. God Bless the U.S.A.
