By Berl Falbaum
More post-election thoughts…debilitating, very debilitating thoughts…
As I wrote in these pages the day after the election, Donald Trump’s victory revealed the nation’s moral bankruptcy.
I said that the issue of “character” and all the word embodies, was never vetted in the campaign. The mainstream media and their “expert analysts” never focused on how the country had lost its moral foundation, its moral compass, which, as I wrote, led to his victory.
The media basically ignored the issue, thereby implying it was not important. If the media had devoted as much ink as they did in their frenzy on Joe Biden’s alleged mental acuity deterioration to Trump’s character, he may not have been reelected.
I also predicted that the analyses of Trump’s win would similarly ignore his depravity and center instead on Kamala Harris’s “mistakes.”
To make the point as clearly as I can, here are a few examples of moral “compromises”:
--Harris lost because she did not separate herself from Joe Biden so I voted for a man found guilty in two civil trials of sexual assault (the judge called it rape).
--She did not compete in a Democratic primary, so I supported a man who incited an insurrection in which nine people died and 150 police officers were injured.
--She focused too much on abortion so I cast my ballot for a man who tried to overturn the 2020 election.
--She did not pick the best running mate; thus, I backed a man who was convicted of 34 felonies and told thousands of lies.
--She did not participate in enough one-on-one interviews, so I had no choice but to get behind a man who reveled in antisemitism, racism, misogyny, and engaged in the most vulgar campaign rhetoric ever heard in the history of the country.
--Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race too late so I threw my hat into the ring for Trump who was fined $465 million for real estate fraud.
--Harris failed to explain clearly her policies thus I had to go with a man who claimed immigrants ate pets, were murderers and rapists.
I can go on like this -- sadly -- for several more pages, but I think you get the point. Excuse, excuse, excuse.
Bottom-line: All of Trump’s ugly behavior was condoned and Trumpites did all they could to find reasons, no matter how outlandish, for embracing his depravity.
By doing so, they endorsed his corruption, perversion, degeneracy and shamelessness. Of these “qualities,” shamelessness seems to stand out.
But there is one man who understood the erosion of the electorate’s
commitment to honesty, integrity, civility, decency, and the rule of law: Donald J. Trump.
I’ll explain:
When the Access Hollywood tape became public in October 2016, one month before the 2016 election, he debated dropping out of the race with his advisors. Even he understood the repulsiveness of his comments which, in years past, would have disqualified any candidate, even an alderman in a small village.
But he was convinced that voters would not care; he could overcome his vulgarity. He was right and won the presidency.
But even worse: Before the revelation of the tape, in January 2016, he told us that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any support. (That was probably the only truthful statement he made in 10 years).
Trumpites took that as a compliment, that he was grateful for their loyalty. They did not recognize that he believed they would excuse him even if he committed murder.
Indeed, on three occasions he threatened the lives of Hillary Clinton, his vice president, Mike Pence and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army General Mark Milley.
So, what now?
For the next four years, with guardrails all but eliminated by Supreme Court decisions on presidential immunity and GOP control of the Senate, we will have to deal daily with lies, corruption, and continuous assaults on our democracy. (At the time of this writing, the fate of the House was still in question.)
I am trying to be hopeful, but all I can envision is continued erosion of our cherished democracy. Never have I wished more that I am wrong.
Then there are the long-term questions: Even after Trump, how long will it take to restore a political code of ethics, decency, civility, an uncompromised commitment to truth? Can it be done? Can we recalibrate our moral compass? Can we raise the low political bar -- the lowest ever -- to its proper height? Have we created a political environment where anything and everything is acceptable?
Those are questions that will need to be addressed in the coming years. Right now, we have enough to worry about.
More post-election thoughts…debilitating, very debilitating thoughts…
As I wrote in these pages the day after the election, Donald Trump’s victory revealed the nation’s moral bankruptcy.
I said that the issue of “character” and all the word embodies, was never vetted in the campaign. The mainstream media and their “expert analysts” never focused on how the country had lost its moral foundation, its moral compass, which, as I wrote, led to his victory.
The media basically ignored the issue, thereby implying it was not important. If the media had devoted as much ink as they did in their frenzy on Joe Biden’s alleged mental acuity deterioration to Trump’s character, he may not have been reelected.
I also predicted that the analyses of Trump’s win would similarly ignore his depravity and center instead on Kamala Harris’s “mistakes.”
To make the point as clearly as I can, here are a few examples of moral “compromises”:
--Harris lost because she did not separate herself from Joe Biden so I voted for a man found guilty in two civil trials of sexual assault (the judge called it rape).
--She did not compete in a Democratic primary, so I supported a man who incited an insurrection in which nine people died and 150 police officers were injured.
--She focused too much on abortion so I cast my ballot for a man who tried to overturn the 2020 election.
--She did not pick the best running mate; thus, I backed a man who was convicted of 34 felonies and told thousands of lies.
--She did not participate in enough one-on-one interviews, so I had no choice but to get behind a man who reveled in antisemitism, racism, misogyny, and engaged in the most vulgar campaign rhetoric ever heard in the history of the country.
--Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race too late so I threw my hat into the ring for Trump who was fined $465 million for real estate fraud.
--Harris failed to explain clearly her policies thus I had to go with a man who claimed immigrants ate pets, were murderers and rapists.
I can go on like this -- sadly -- for several more pages, but I think you get the point. Excuse, excuse, excuse.
Bottom-line: All of Trump’s ugly behavior was condoned and Trumpites did all they could to find reasons, no matter how outlandish, for embracing his depravity.
By doing so, they endorsed his corruption, perversion, degeneracy and shamelessness. Of these “qualities,” shamelessness seems to stand out.
But there is one man who understood the erosion of the electorate’s
commitment to honesty, integrity, civility, decency, and the rule of law: Donald J. Trump.
I’ll explain:
When the Access Hollywood tape became public in October 2016, one month before the 2016 election, he debated dropping out of the race with his advisors. Even he understood the repulsiveness of his comments which, in years past, would have disqualified any candidate, even an alderman in a small village.
But he was convinced that voters would not care; he could overcome his vulgarity. He was right and won the presidency.
But even worse: Before the revelation of the tape, in January 2016, he told us that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any support. (That was probably the only truthful statement he made in 10 years).
Trumpites took that as a compliment, that he was grateful for their loyalty. They did not recognize that he believed they would excuse him even if he committed murder.
Indeed, on three occasions he threatened the lives of Hillary Clinton, his vice president, Mike Pence and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army General Mark Milley.
So, what now?
For the next four years, with guardrails all but eliminated by Supreme Court decisions on presidential immunity and GOP control of the Senate, we will have to deal daily with lies, corruption, and continuous assaults on our democracy. (At the time of this writing, the fate of the House was still in question.)
I am trying to be hopeful, but all I can envision is continued erosion of our cherished democracy. Never have I wished more that I am wrong.
Then there are the long-term questions: Even after Trump, how long will it take to restore a political code of ethics, decency, civility, an uncompromised commitment to truth? Can it be done? Can we recalibrate our moral compass? Can we raise the low political bar -- the lowest ever -- to its proper height? Have we created a political environment where anything and everything is acceptable?
Those are questions that will need to be addressed in the coming years. Right now, we have enough to worry about.
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