During the past few weeks, I’ve been reminded of my childhood when a kid who was older, bigger, and stronger set the rules of a game and then reset them in order to win. It wasn’t uncommon for the bully to change the rules in the middle of a particular game if he felt a loss was looming. I recall my utter frustration and confusion over unreliable rules that ensured my loss and the other child’s win. My cries of unfairness were usually ignored, laughed at, or provided with a bogus excuse. However, the result of the rule changes always lead to my bewildering loss and a gloating winner. I wondered how someone who won by cheating, could be so happy with the win. I’m still puzzled by that. The sad part is that I didn’t know how to stop the shameless cheater then and I can see that we collectively don’t know what to do about the shameless cheaters in our politics now.
It frightens and frustrates me that there are adult human beings in political leadership positions who believe it is acceptable to lie, cheat, suppress the vote, conceal evidence, and steal to win an election to remain in power. For these people, winning means everything. I don’t know if they feel they must win to satisfy personal ambitions or because they truly believe that the policies they will enact are best for the American people. It could be a bit of both. But with 200,000 dead Americans, I’m tending to believe that they simply egotistical power hungry politicians. With the level of COVID-19 spread, the economic disaster, the racial unrest, White House corruption, and a climate that is screaming at us to change our ways, how can these power grabbers genuinely believe that their ideas are better than their oppositions?
If it is true that they believe that their ideas are better for Americans, then why don’t they make the case for those ideas without resulting to lying, cheating and tactics to steal two Supreme Court justice seats? It appears that their personal integrity, their honor, their credibility, goodwill, and actual fairness mean less to them than winning in the moment. I want to hear about how they will improve healthcare, protect the lives of the living not just the unborn, provide equal protection under the law, equitable opportunities, and how they will prevent climate change from ending civilization.
How does a nation move forward and effectively address pressing issues when its political leaders show themselves to be this unscrupulous? How do people trust anything that comes out of their representatives’ mouths? The better question is how do we rid ourselves of political leaders who do not deserve to lead us?
I think the answer is to be as unrelenting in calling a lie a lie as they are about lying. It is to expose the cheating on a massive scale. It is to shine a bright light on the thieves as they are trying to steal. And then it is to ban together to vote them out by overwhelming majorities in all fifty states by helping each other to overcome every obstacle they put in our way. I applaud Michael Bloomberg and LeBron James for paying the legal fines of 32,000 ex-felons in Florida so they can retain the right to vote. This is one way the cheaters can be dealt with.
When I was a child, I felt helpless against the older and bigger cheater. It didn’t occur to me that I had options. I could have called for a parent or teacher to enforce the rules. I could have quit and refused to play with that child. Or I could have announced to all the other kids that this particular child was a cheater and not worth playing with. I did none of those things and suffered unfair losses. What will we do as we are now faced with Republicans who will tell any lie, make it difficult for Democrats to vote, conceal any ugly truth, and change the rules when it suits them to the detriment of the country and the environment? If we do nothing or very little, we will continue to lose.
My thought. Why would a Team Captain, from a safe boat, challenge his adoring little “winners” to jump into shark-infested waters in a pauper’s display of willingness to do anything he asked of them, again & again? His Varsity Team is mute, but for a few (seeking extra credit) who repeat his foolishness, while those (like you & I) who refuse to play, wonder how & why he seems to be deliberately leading his followers to slaughter. I love your 5th paragraph. Rigged results? Prove it. I plan to watch the debate Tuesday with interest – I expect that will be the only debate 45 will do. This is a “Trumpster Fire” that needs to be put out. Vote.
As the great John Lewis said, “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, say something, do something.”