We are a few days from the election. The people who will vote for Mr. Trump are convinced that he, despite his many flaws, erratic temperament, and treatment of women is the man who can bring needed change to Washington and our democracy. Some of these votes for Mr. Trump will be out of confidence and conviction in the man, many out of fear or dislike of Mrs. Clinton, some out of frustration and anger at the economic and immigration decisions made by the politicians of both parties, some for fear of future Supreme Court appointments, and finally some will vote for Mr. Trump because that is what we do. After eight years of one party we like to mix it up by voting in someone from the other party.
Those voting for Mrs. Clinton will do so because they think she, despite her flaws and ethical problems, has the experience and skills to be President; others will vote for her because they fear Mr. Trump is temperamentally and morally unqualified and will do damage to the republic, a number of people think it is time for a woman to be President, still more think President Obama has done a good job and wish to continue his policies, finally there are many who would have preferred Mr. Sanders but will hold their noses and vote for Mrs. Clinton.
Is this a strange election with strange candidates? I do not think so. Is it a matter of the lesser of two evils? No. Hitler was evil. Stalin was evil. The Holocaust is evil. Let’s be careful about our language. Over the past 220 years of our republic, candidates for office have sometimes been more or less qualified. Some were of high purpose and integrity, some of low character and not much wisdom. Such is the nature of our democracy. The best qualified do not always run or win. And by the way, “less qualified” is in the eyes of the voter. The question is qualified for what???
And why are so many people so angry these days? It should not come as a surprise. They have been angry for many years. This is called populism, the common people raising their angry voices against political and media elites and the intelligentsia. Between the Tea Party on the right and the anti Wall Street people on the left, we should not be surprised that people are unhappy with government. Think about it. Even before the corruption and resignation of Richard Nixon in 1972, George Wallace carried five states in 1968. And After Nixon, for good or for bad, most people were and are less and less naive about politics in Washington. Think about it. They have tried again and again to send outsiders and mavericks to the Capitol to save us all from corruption and the so called elites. There was Jimmy Carter from Georgia in 1976, Ronald Reagan elected in 1980 as the one who would fix the problems of large and corrupt government; independent candidates such as, Ross Perot, Steve Forbes, and let’s not forget the Newt Gingrich Republicans in 1993 elected to oppose Bill Clinton and finally fix what is wrong; George W. Bush was elected to keep us out of foreign entanglements and avoid bad trade deals, Barack Obama was elected as someone new, the first African American, who would change the world, and now Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton.
I must admit I am concerned and somewhat frightened of these two candidates and the state of our country. We seem, as a culture, to be in decline and that is sad. But I keep reminding myself, democracy is a messy, incremental, imprecise, sometimes ineffective process no matter who is elected. That is the nature of democracy. For all our messianic hopes every four years, we are electing people who are quite human, doing what they can in an increasingly complex and dangerous world. Mr. Churchill was right and perhaps we need to learn/hear it again and again: “Democracy is the worst form of government but better than all the others” And whether Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton is elected, we can vote them out in four years and correct our mistakes. Anyway, either of them will probably not be able to get through most of what they propose since the Congress and the courts will stand in the way, as they should, checks and balances being at the heart of our system. At least, we hope so.
And, since this blog is about religion, what does God have to do with our election? I certainly do not know. But after all these years, I suspect God, whatever that word means, is well aware of the nature and character of democratic politics and is not surprised. God will do what God will do. What can I tell you? Vote and stay sane out there. This too shall pass.
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