Whether we like it or not, on Friday, January 20, 2017, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America, the richest, most powerful, and, in my opinion, the greatest nation on the face of the earth now or in the history of the human race.
I freely admit that I did not support Mr. Trump’s candidacy, I voted for Hillary Clinton, and I blanched at the thought of his becoming POTUS. The citizens of the U. S. have spoken with ballots and, for better or for worse, I, and everyone else on this little blue ball in space, must accept the fact that Mr. Trump will become our Leader, regardless of our fears and trepidations. For whatever it is worth I welcome him, wish him well, and hope and pray that his Presidency will be fruitful, well-intentioned, successful, and peaceful. He will be my President, as well as yours, and I pledge my support to him. (“Support” does not necessarily mean agreement.)
The analysis of Mr. Trump’s election victory we must leave in the hands of the pundits, historians, and those who feel that if we insert enough information in a bank of computers, the result will be WISDOM. It is not. (I seem to remember that in the early days of the electronic revolution there was an expression GIGO: Garbage In; Garbage Out.) The geniuses and political analysts on radio, television, and other media stumbled all over themselves trying to understand how Mr. Trump won. The real issue is not how, but the acceptance of the fact and the need for all Americans to give a sincere pledge of support.
All of us, regardless of ethnicity, party affiliation, or depth of interest can probably and should agree on one factor: the process of electing people to major office has become divisive, rancorous, mean-spirited, and just plain old ugly. It seems like the opponent of any elected official from the most modest to the President has been characterized as un-American, subversive, child molester, or terrorist.
Why anyone would even want the job puzzles me. (Does the word “egomaniac” come to mind?) The path any candidate faces is indeed a daunting one. Our first President, George Washington had to deal with just thirteen states. He had a budget smaller than most major cities today. His only major international challenger was George III of England. Today, the Prez must deal with fifty states and whole mess of territories. Does anyone really know how much the national budget is today? How much is a trillion of anything? Moreover, he has to deal with umpteen nations run by fellow egomaniacs that have ascended to power by birth, by election, or by killing a few hundred thousand of their fellow countrymen, women, and children. Some groups even exist outside of traditional national boundaries and controls. Any President must know business and finance inside out, be a psychologist, be a diplomat, be an expert on everything there is know about military life in the 21st Century, and must be willing to put his/her finger on the button that will in moments exterminate the human race as well as a few other species that do not deserve annihilation. Those of us more modest in our ambitions must just hope for the best and wish our leaders well.
Regardless of political affiliation, almost everyone I have spoken with agrees that our election process must be shortened and that the disgusting, immoral amount of money spent must be reduced. (The exception to those who wish these changes lies with, of course, the media.) Perhaps the country can establish a procedure whereby the entire election process must occur within six months, June to November. All candidates can say what they have to say at least three hundred times in that period of time—before it gets too repetitive and obscene.
Perhaps a list of twenty-five acceptable charities could be provided to all candidates. For every dollar the candidates spend, they must contribute a dollar to one of the charities.
To be sure, shortening the season and controlling spending would be contingent on Congress acting on these proposals. Djdfikekdjdfuerksklj (Excuse me, but the thought of Congress acting on anything got me so excited that I could not control my fingers on the keyboard.)
This timeless prose was written November 9, the day after the election. You, of course, are reading it in December. I would like to make a prediction relative to political happenings between November 9 and now. I predict the following will have announced their candidacy for 2020:
FIVE Members of Congress who have never accomplished anything;
FOUR White supremacists;
THREE Defrocked college professors who are Holocaust deniers;
TWO 72 year old men dressed in tattered jeans, tie-dyed tee shirts, with gray hair in long pony-tails, and carrying signs that read “VEGAN LIVERS MUTTER;”
ONE 61 year old woman from Genoa, Italy, to whom Cristofo Columbo appeared in a vision, touched her inappropriately, and told her she was born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and is, therefore, eligible to be POTUS;
AND (sung) A PARTRI–IDGE IN A PEAR TREE.
Oops, I forgot Carly and Bernie
I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKAH, OR HAPPY WHATEVER, AND A JOYFUL, PEACEFUL, AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!
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