Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have risen victorious although over half of their own parties view them as unfavorable. At no other time in history has any nominee for the office of President of the United States been disliked by most of their party. In the aggregate, the overwhelming majority of voters have expressed their disapproval of both candidates consistently for months in almost all polls. Yet the majority of voters are lining up behind them to ensure that one of them becomes president. This has to fit the definition of lunacy. Why is it happening?
Media pundits have made this voter masochism a national sport. Reasons they give for it include the disgust Republicans voters have for the do-little establishment and the Democratic voters’ appetite for the status quo. Republicans want radical change, and Democrats want to protect their liberal agenda that has mushroomed under Obama. These opposing rationales are supposedly leading both sides to accept candidates they don’t like, but who will do what they want done. This is a dangerous position to be taking. It is especially troubling, since the main thing the voters don’t like about either candidate is his or her proven lack of integrity and character. Why do the Trumpsters and Clintonians think the nominees will ever do what they say? Maybe there is a better explanation of this phenomenon.
I don’t believe any of the pundits have really hit on why the majority is electing a disliked, disrespected, president. Oh, I agree that Americans are mad and many are going radical to make their point. My dad used to call it cutting off your nose to spite your face. But until recently, Americans seemed to always vote for whom they at least thought would lead them with character and integrity. Our values and principles have ultimately won out even if we initially flirted with extremists like George Wallace, Ross Perot, and such. So, what has changed?
For the past half-century, our nation has been in an exponentially steepening and accelerating dive in standards of morality, character, civility, and consideration of others. This lowering of civic standards seems to be reaching critical mass of recent. One needs to look no further than our toleration of perverted sex, marriage, and gender, as well as acceptance of racism, hate speech, foul language, and lewd entertainment. We have become numb to disgusting behavior as one becomes numb to pain after a while.
In this presidential primary, many either hardly notice or don’t care about the lies, the spewing of hateful words, the cursing, the filthy accusations, the flaunted egotism, and even the probable unlawful activity of both candidates. Are we now so hardened to depravity that it is hardly a consideration in selecting the one who will lead our nation and the free world? Have we lost our moral center? Has our history of sacrifice for the greater good given way to accepting whatever will provide immediate personal gratification? Apparently, yes.
This summer, America will show the world what we have wrought as we experience the nastiest presidential campaign in our history between two candidates that most of our citizens voted for, yet find repulsive. One will move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in eight months. And, accompanying him or her will be the character and integrity that he or she modeled throughout the campaign. Then, may everyone remember the good men and women–true and honorable patriot leaders–who were left wounded on the primary campaign battle ground. But, by gosh, we showed ’em.
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