![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
What hurts about this election
... even if the Forces of Basic Decency and Competence win, is in a sense worse than what hurt about the 2016 election: I'm so deeply disappointed in the American people and their commitment to what I thought were American ideals. Why is this even close? We needed Trump and his closest enablers to be not just beaten, but thoroughly repudiated, so the Republican Party (and the Democratic Party, as a warning shot) would learn to Never Do This Again. We've had four years to see him in action; there's no benefit of the doubt any more. We know he's going to "drain the swamp" by outsourcing it to alligators; we know he's not going to "grow into the job and act Presidential", but only grow more paranoid and self-serving; we know "the adults in the room" aren't going to keep him in check because they've all been fired. But from a squeaker of an election, the lesson is instead "next time we need to suppress a few more black votes, and pick a fascist-racist candidate who's a bit less personally offensive."
I thought the American people, by and large, believed in the system of checks and balances, in not concentrating too much power in one person, and in at least occasional bipartisanship.
I thought the American people, by and large, wanted their leaders to make reasoned decisions based on facts.
I thought the American people, by and large, wanted their leaders to serve the public rather than their own pocketbooks.
Most of all, I thought the American people, by and large, wanted to think of themselves and their country as good.
Most of the world's great religions, and most non-religious people, agree to some extent on what constitutes "virtue":
If you're concerned about character issues in choosing a leader, you probably want somebody who exemplifies many of those virtues. Even if not, you might want your country's policies to exemplify many of those virtues, and your leader to be competent at implementing those policies. But Trump ran for election on a specific promise to not be charitable, kind, compassionate, generous, or merciful, and on a long record of lying, breaking promises and contracts, acting rashly and impulsively through anger, insulting and bullying anybody who disagreed with him, and so on. (He ran for re-election on no promises at all except to keep doing what he had been doing and to keep the country out of the hands of radical Socialists like Joe Biden.) Why did 63 million Americans vote for that in 2016, and 68 million in 2020?
I thought the American people, by and large, believed in the system of checks and balances, in not concentrating too much power in one person, and in at least occasional bipartisanship.
I thought the American people, by and large, wanted their leaders to make reasoned decisions based on facts.
I thought the American people, by and large, wanted their leaders to serve the public rather than their own pocketbooks.
Most of all, I thought the American people, by and large, wanted to think of themselves and their country as good.
Most of the world's great religions, and most non-religious people, agree to some extent on what constitutes "virtue":
- Catholicism: prudence, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope, charity.
- Orthodox Christianity: faith, hope, knowledge, wisdom, honesty, humility, obedience, patience, courage, faithfulness, self-control, kindness, gratitude.
- Islam: charity, forgiveness, tolerance, honesty, kindness, justice, humility, trustworthiness, patience, keeping promises and contracts, decent speech, truthfulness, anger management, respect.
- Judaism: justice, truth, peace, compassion, kindness, humility, mercy, faith, honesty in business.
- Hinduism: truth, kindliness, austerity, purity, forbearance, discrimination, control of mind and senses, respect, peace, compassion, contentment, detachment, and piety
- Buddhism: generosity, proper conduct, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, honesty, determination, goodwill, equanimity.
- Confucianism: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, fidelity.
- Zoroastrianism: purity, uprightness, charity, generosity, benevolence.
- Boy Scouts: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
If you're concerned about character issues in choosing a leader, you probably want somebody who exemplifies many of those virtues. Even if not, you might want your country's policies to exemplify many of those virtues, and your leader to be competent at implementing those policies. But Trump ran for election on a specific promise to not be charitable, kind, compassionate, generous, or merciful, and on a long record of lying, breaking promises and contracts, acting rashly and impulsively through anger, insulting and bullying anybody who disagreed with him, and so on. (He ran for re-election on no promises at all except to keep doing what he had been doing and to keep the country out of the hands of radical Socialists like Joe Biden.) Why did 63 million Americans vote for that in 2016, and 68 million in 2020?
no subject