To those who support Donald Trump – you are forgiven

“As long as the world is turning and spinning, we’re gonna be dizzy and we’re gonna make mistakes.” Mel Brooks

As this blog is about forgiveness, allow me to start by asking for your forgiveness. Some of you have seen me tweet or post articles about my concerns of an American presidency under Donald Trump. Just to be clear, I have never posted a favourable (Canadian spelling) endorsement of his primary opponent – Hillary Clinton. Some of you have attempted to read between the lines and put words into my mouth – that is fine and that is your prerogative. I have nonetheless been against Trump – period. And now for asking forgiveness … I am not an American citizen.

Who am I to stick my Canadian and British nose into your very serious business of a national election?

Some Americans have encouraged my voice – and I thank you for that. But to those of you who are offended in any way, I do apologize for voicing an opinion into your election where I have no vote. But I will ask for your consistency. You will of course refrain from criticizing or showing support of any foreign governmental entity or election outside of your own national jurisdiction.

As you are aware, this has been an election, #Election2016, like no other. The acrimony, the name calling, the anger, the vitriolic accusations have all been an unremitting existence on the daily news and social media feeds flooding our brains and souls for months.

It has been reportedly causing anxiety, depression and as a recent The Toronto Star editorial quoted below says, it has also “ … led to an unprecedented wave of bigoted bullying in schools…” I for one will be glad when it is over, but fret what is yet to come.

I have tried to understand why approximately half of the American electorate are in favour of The Donald. The same goes for non-Americans who too favour his ascendancy to the highest office. I fear what is represented by the fact that so many of you seem to adhere to the clarion call to lockup #HillaryClinton for crimes not only where she has never been convicted but also never even charged. Is this the America we all know and dare say respect? How do you, the rational, intelligent and accomplished, many friends of mine, have the ability to look past the blatant and outright misogyny and degradation of the individual consistently coming from Trump’s mouth and “smartphone”?  I have heard from some of you that it is for religious reasons that you support Trump despite your acknowledgement of his well-publicized and copious deficiencies.

Insofar as small “c” conservative politics / economics goes – most of you do realize that Trump has never been nor is he now a true conservative. He is however, sadly, YOUR GUY! And you are likely to #vote for YOUR GUY. Even House Majority Leader Paul Ryan has reluctantly come out and said he has voted for #TrumpPence and every Republican on his ballot. That is a sad state of affairs when intelligent people park their brains at the door because of partisan politics. Surely there are some exceptional Republican candidates on the down-ballot ticket but likewise some are not.

But as I alluded to earlier, my overarching concern is for November 9th and the next four years. I fear for the demagoguery that I opine is one #DonaldTrump. No other Republican candidate would have whooped up such insanity, as has this man.

I cannot better articulate the distress felt by so many than by the words of that Toronto Star editorial of November 4th 2016.

“Trump has unleashed a flood of nativist feeling and outright racism that will pollute American political life for a long time to come. His attacks on Mexicans, immigrants, Latinos, Muslims and others have already led to an unprecedented wave of “bigoted bullying” in schools, according to one survey. He’s given public permission for the worst kind of prejudice, always simmering below the surface of American public life. Once released, this cannot easily be put back in the bottle.”

Naturally we support one side over another. Too often we fail to see the other perspective. I too in this election am extremely challenged on that front. I admit it. Normalcy – a term coined by then Presidential candidate and eventual victor Warren Harding in 1920, is a state in which I yearn we can ascend. So when this election is done, and regardless of who wins, I hope we all have the desire and intestinal fortitude to reinvigorate relationships with; friends, confidants, colleagues, associates, casual social media followers and family members.

Now more than ever, wise words of almost a century ago ring true today.

“America’s present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration.” Warren G. Harding

 

15 thoughts on “To those who support Donald Trump – you are forgiven

  1. I keep asking myself where did the likes of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are to allow Trump be the Republican candidate. I fear for America. Nice piece Stuart.

    • May – this is a phenomenon that will be dissected and studied in institutes of higher learning (and psych departments) for many years and decades to come. Thank you for participating here.
      Stuart

  2. Don’t take any shit from the Americans. That country has the Olympic Gold record 50 times over for meddling in everybody else’s business…Monroe Doctrine…blah blah blah. The majority of Americans know zero about what goes on outside their borders, much less, care. But their nonsense affects everyone else. How ironic and insensitive! They can vote for one of two hideous candidates, one of whom will (sadly) win and gain power for four years (only) or until the country is torn asunder by civil war or worse. And we dumb Canucks don’t get to escape from it despite the fact we have no vote. I liked America and the Americans I used to know, but that was yesterday. I am fearful not for the outcome but, more so, for what begins on Wednesday, regardless of who is declared the winner on Tuesday.

    • I hear you Peter – as I wrote, November 9th and beyond is the fear. I can’t help but believe that had the GOP had a “normal” candidate we would not be having this debate today – that candidate would have won in a cakewalk over the massively flawed Hillary Clinton and all that Trump dredged up would have stayed latent – at least until the next time.
      Cheers,
      Stuart

    • So your response to Trump’s arrogant and ignorant bullying is . . . arrogant ignorant bullying? So typically Canadian.

  3. As a Canadian living in America, I cannot vote, but have had to listen to countless radio broadcasts and newsfeed of the election. All I can say is I’m moving back to Canada if Trump becomes President, and sadly I don’t have much hope for Hilary either. Although she is a slightly better choice. Either way I feel America is divided as a nation.

    • Emily – thank you for sharing your voice. Regardless of who wins, we will see what true leadership exists in the USA. Healing will be required and vital to repairing the divisions you are an eye-witness to.
      Stuart

  4. Why are some Americans in support of Trump?
    Thoose to ignore the brash, insulting, crass, inarticulate qualities of Trump and vote for a President who is best for America who is not under any FBI investigations. They feel they cannot in good consciousness vote for a woman who has at least 10 cons. They feel the consequences of even one those Hillary cons much less all 10 of those cons are far graver and more dangerous for America than the harm Trump will cause through his less than polished personality.

    10 Cons
    1) Benghazi (She lied to the American people and her carelessness let Americans die.)
    2) Clinton Foundation (She is being seriously investigated for Pay to Play schemes that has made her into a multi millionaire while selling out our country.)
    3) Private unsecured email (She is being investigated again on this matter and may be indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice not to mention allowing classified information to be hacked by foreign entities that can use the information to blackmail her as president.)
    4) Accepted surreptitiously stolen questions before the debate. (No explanation needed but this was discovered from Wikileaks, a credible source that no one denies is real which has exposed the inner working of Hillary’s campaign and led to several resignations of key democratic figures who were proven to be corrupt.)
    5) Huma Abedin’s background (This video may enlighten https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRu3U-nwyhw )
    6) George Soros
    7) Funds from Affluent Arab States (Related to the “Pay for Play” which makes one wonder what does Hillary owe them?)
    8) The Democratic Party’s disturbing shift to the Left.
    9) Choice for VP, Senator Tim Kaine (Supported the Iran Deal, boycotted PM Netanyahu’s speech to Congress and a J Street democrat who could be our next president if Hillary wins and is indicted)
    10) Questions about her integrity (Is there really a question after the first 9 points listed?)

    • Chaim, you may recall from the last Canadian election, I felt unwilling to vote for any of the major parties but firmly believed and respected the process and above all else took my right to vote seriously. See http://lettersandwalls.com/?p=39 . So you list numerous mostly legitimate concerns / flaws with Hillary – fine. I never wrote a word anywhere supporting her. As you implied, there are other options at the voting booth as I exercised in October 2015.
      Stuart

  5. Hi Stuart,
    this is the first time I have commented on your blog; which I read occasionally.
    I have shared many of your thoughts on different issues you have written about in the past.
    This time I was compelled to write, as a Canadian with no dog on this fight, to express my disappointment in your ideas and opinions regarding this election, and Donald Trump in particular.
    Your analysis of this campaign was, at best, shallow, and at worst, totally biased (as evident from your quote in the Toronto Star, from all publications) and false.
    Donald Trump, a man I don’t particularly like, is, with all his defects, a vehicle of change for an American political system that is putrid and corrupt to the bone. That you so easily buy into the media driven hysteria that portrays Trump as a racist, sexist, misogynist, etc, etc and that protects Hillary is very concerning when there is ample evidence through weakileaks and other sources of Hillary Clinton’s own racism, anti-semitism, etc, which apparently, through your lack of reference, you chose to ignore. Not to mention the actions of Bill Clinton which include rape and sexual predatory accusations.
    That you choose to ignore the criminal endeavours of the Clinton Foundation and their influence in American foreign policy while Hillary was Secretary of State, together with the illegal destruction of thousands of emails of government affairs set up in her unauthorized private server, together with the meeting of Bill Clinton with Attorney General Lynch days before the FBI is set to rule on his wife investigation, together with the fact that mounting evidence obtained from multiple other sources including Anthony Weiner have forced the FBI to restart a criminal investigation against Hillary. That you choose to ignore all these facts, just to mention a few, because there’s much more that proves that Hillary Clinton is a liar who has lied, under oath, to the FBI and to Congress, and therefore a criminal, doesn’t mean that those of us who do notice these problems and do care about the fact that a criminal may end up leading the US, are somehow committing some sort of a sin by supporting Trump.
    This election is the choice between a candidate who is a bit of a maniac (Trump) and a candidate who is a morally defective criminal (Hillary). (Jill Stein and Gary Johnson are non-factors and wasted votes). You make your pick without any guilt. And don’t let anyone, especially the misinformed, sway you one way or the other. And my suggestion to you, Stuart, is that, when you write an opinion piece like this, you should disclose your bias, so that people understand better your message.

    • Hi Joseph;
      Thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions on this particular blog and for reading my blog in the past. There are similar and opposing comments to yours posted here as you can see. And that is the key point Joseph. This is a blog, where the writer – me in this case – voices an opinion – mine. By definition an opinion is biased, yours and mine both. This is not a news article where I am paid to objectively report on this or that. The simple fact is that our opinion, yours and mine differs pertaining to Trump. For as you noted, I have not here or anywhere for that matter written about Hillary Clinton only because I choose not to and that is entirely my prerogative.

      Thanks again Joseph,
      Best,
      Stuart

  6. Stuart I think this election was neither about Trump nor Hilary. It was about the failed promises of Obama, and Clinton and The Bushes. They all promised the American Dream but what did the deliver with their failed Socialism? Ever worsening race relations. A hatred (fuelled by Obama’s passive aggressiveness) towards all law enforcement. And a middle class worse off today than yesterday. Has anyone really thought about why Obamacare failed? The answer is in the name itself. It was never for the people. It was so that Obama would have a legacy. Is that truly the best reason to bring in (and model) such an important program?

    You can only promise so much “free” until it’s mathematically impossible to provide it anymore. Trump offers jobs, stability (you don’t have to move to Mexico to keep your job), new investment (repatriating billions that Cisco and others have stashed overseas) and hope that when laws are being made they’ll be enforced! Sanctuary Cities are the Left’s ideas to legally break the law! Let that sink in for a minute. It’s frankly the most ridiculous notion ever.

    Trump is the past has been blah blah blah. The American people are tired of the past. Kilery offered same same. Trump offers a new future. You want to know why he won? That’s why

  7. Just reading this a month later. Hope you are doing well. I am American and don’t mind if Canadians comment about our election. Its not like it doesn’t effect the entire world. It does. That is the truth. Everybody has the right to say how they feel.

    As far as why people support Trump….it goes so much deeper than just what is on the surface. I don’t even think that a lot of the people who support him have a full understanding of why they support him. I think they BELIEVE they know why and they will give you a list of ten facts for why they support him, but then when you give them complaints about Donald Trump that are right on par with their complaints for Hillary, they will excuse them and find some reason why its not as bad coming from Trump’s side as it is from Hillary’s. It can be very confusing for people to understand.

    Its very complicated and I think a lot of it has to do with something almost primal that comes from within us. When Amercians are unhappy, we like to rebel. We like to stir up some trouble. We like to find an “enemy”. We like to pick sides. Nobody loves sports more than Americans and we have turned politics into a sport. I think a lot of us are letting our emotions and our “primal feelings” speak louder than our brains but that is just my opinion. Time will tell I suppose. But Americans are very, very proud people and it will take a LOT for Trump’s supporters to ever admit they were wrong to vote for him, even if deep down they suspect it to be true. He might have to just hand the keys of the country over to Putin before any of them said a word against him. I don’t know. It will be an interesting four years, that is for sure.

    • Hi Lisa;

      I have not written in this space for a month myself – so I am late too. But look back here later today for a new post.

      Let’s say you and I are on the same page. We’ll see if in fact it will be a FULL FOUR YEARS of interesting Trump shenanigans or a different and shorter time period …
      Thanks Lisa,
      Stuart

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