The late Dr. Maya Angelou once said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them. The first time.”
She was right.
I have been listening to and reading some of the more gracious responses and reactions to President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, both from some of my fellow colleagues in the press as well as from President Barack Obama himself and Hillary Clinton. President Obama did what we expected he would do; he behaved like a president. In a brief Wednesday morning address, he appeared as calm as he normally does, assuring the American people that life would go on, and pointing out somewhat humorously that the sun still managed to shine. Hillary Clinton expressed the sentiment that we all owe Donald Trump an open mind, and should be willing to give him the chance to succeed.
I appreciate those sentiments, and I appreciate the intent behind them. Many Americans, myself included, were shocked, terrified and appalled at the results of last night’s election. The reflex of any good national leader is to ensure the health and safety of the nation that they lead. So recognizing the very real fears held by many that this country could be unraveling, or even on the verge of destruction, both Clinton and Obama did their jobs by trying to calm the populace, and thereby (hopefully) better ensuring the health and safety of this country. Similarly, those pundits and commentators who felt compelled to encourage Americans to accept the result, open their hearts, and reach beyond their doubts and fears to wish Donald Trump the best chances for success are also working toward healing a nation that we all now know is significantly more divided and bitter than most of us ever realized or were willing to believe.
But as much as I respect the love-thy-neighbor approach of trying to see the best in a situation and/or person despite all evidence to the contrary, I am also compelled to believe that no nation can ever be healed without confronting its own truth. And the election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States is irrefutable proof that the United States has little interest in listening to the better angels of its nature. In truth, America has made the decision to bury them alive, bloody and screaming, laughing merrily at their misfortune.
This is who we are. This is who we have become. Perhaps it is who we have always been. So I cannot be the one to tell you, like Little Orphan Annie, that the sun will come out tomorrow and that everything will work out. Or that because God’s in control, we’re just fine. Because remember this; the fall of Rome was not fiction. The empire that was Rome did in fact fall, and it fell hard. Because empires come and empires go. Nothing lasts forever, and sin catches up to the sinner. It may take hundreds of years, but the bill always comes due.
Just because God is in control does not mean that all God’s people are spared from horrible things happening to them. Just consider Rome. Or Nazi Germany. Or Uganda under Idi Amin. Or American slavery. Whether you are Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or whatever God you follow, surely you must acknowledge that God is present during the bad times as well as the good, and that He does not always come running to the rescue just in time to save all good people from suffering. Suffering happens, and in this life, actions have consequences. Unfortunately, sometimes the actions taken by even the most misguided among us can force consequences upon those who were in no way responsible for the actions taken.
Once again, consider Rome. Nazi Germany…
Make no mistake about it, Americans did not elect just another Republican. This is not Mitt Romney, nor John McCain, nor George Bush. There is a reason why so many Republicans distanced themselves from Trump as far as they could. Even those who came crawling back did not do so under any sense of having seen the light that is not Trump. Did you see how fast Republican Party Chair Reince Priebus ran off the stage last night after Trump called him up to say a few words during his acceptance speech? Did that look like a man thrilled with his candidate to you?
Last night, an overwhelming number of our fellow citizens, friends and neighbors we thought we knew, chose to elect Donald Trump to be the next President of the United States, purposefully overlooking the reeking mound of evidence that Donald Trump is a racist, misogynist, sexist bully who is not even remotely qualified by any measure to be the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth, or even a neighborhood grocery store. This is a man who was gladly endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan’s newspaper, the Las Vegas Review Journal, and that’s it. This is a man who was caught on videotape gleefully talking about grabbing women by the pussy.
No, not by the p—y. Not by the genitals. And not by the p-word. Because that’s not what our next President said. We need to face up to the reality of how truly crude, sick and twisted this man is. This is a man who has been accused by at least several women of various and assorted acts of sexual misconduct ranging from peeping Tom perverse to sexual assault. A man who has declared bankruptcy six times as part of a business (???) strategy to save himself while screwing those he hired to do work for him. A man who could well face charges while in office for his “Trump University” scheme designed to rip off unsuspecting customers who trusted the fact that he was a billionaire so therefore he must have worthwhile knowledge to impart. Now substitute “customers” with “voters”.
We need to accept the fact that we have not been the City on a Hill for quite some time (not ever, truth be told), but that now we have become a city on fire in the middle of the desert. We need to recognize Donald Trump for who he is, people. Because, like the devil himself, Trump has been introducing himself to us for years in plain sight.
The revelation of America’s true face in this election may well be the beginning of the end of empire.
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them. The first time.”
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