Like many, I have been genuinely concerned about the future of our
Democracy and the state of our nation. Witnessing the growing division and
growth of partisan vitriol on both sides of any given issue was painful. The
outcome of the election has produced an entirely different painful reaction. It
feels like what a cancer patient must grapple with when they are informed that
a new, experimental treatment can push their cancer into remission, but it
could come back even more virulently. Do they rejoice and celebrate the good
news or fear the possible return of the disease?
I have tried to understand how a large proportion of our
citizens could overlook the obvious flaws of #45 and still endorse and embrace
him. What could possibly prompt good people to decide that lying, cheating,
bullying, abusing, manipulating, etc., etc., etc., were less important than
(fill in the blank). I know many Trump supporters and I know they are not
racist, misogynist, cheaters, liars, dishonest people. But they are willing to
support someone who undeniably is. Why? What was so compelling that they looked
the other way? What cancerous malaise invaded our population so that a man so
narcissistic that he cannot recognize his own incompetence could not only
aspire to the highest office in the land, but gain it?
I believe it was that very narcissism that clouded our ability to see
beyond the boisterous braggadocio. We came to believe that it was about HIM. We
failed to look behind the man, to excise his person from what his supporters
think he represents for them. They did not vote for lying and cheating. They
voted for what the lies promised them. Because his announcements were always
about himself, about how great he is, how astounding his intelligence is, how
respected he is, we failed to extract him from the lies and genuinely consider
the reasons the lies resonated. Over 70 million people voted for a deeply
flawed man AGAIN; that’s over 70 million people who wanted to believe the lies,
KNOWING they are lies. If those who worked and prayed for an end to what was
clearly a nightmare for us want to ensure that the cancer does not return, we
must search for ways to treat the source of the cancer. We must root out the
carcinogens that threaten our collective well-being. Those ranting, chanting hoards
of rally goers are still out there. They still believe that government status
quo ignores them. We better not.
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