Poli-ticks

The U.S. is no longer 'us'

By Arlene Violet
Posted 10/27/16

Recently, a friend was bemoaning the fact that his support of Donald Trump’s candidacy was causing a rupture in his marriage. Would that his experience was a totally unique one. Regrettably, …

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Poli-ticks

The U.S. is no longer 'us'

Posted

Recently, a friend was bemoaning the fact that his support of Donald Trump’s candidacy was causing a rupture in his marriage. Would that his experience was a totally unique one. Regrettably, more and more folks are fracturing relationships over the support of one candidate or the other. Social media is rife with ongoing battles among voters.

What is the cause? While it takes two to tangle Donald Trump has set the deprecating tone of this election. He doesn’t delineate any policy but instead intones for the public to ‘believe him” — things are going to be different. He revels in conspiracy theories and attacks the voting system without a scintilla of proof of widespread fraud. By tearing down the very structure of democracy and accusing the media of bias (with some outlets pro-republican or pro-democrat) he undermines the role of the free press. He is a misogynist, and engages in racist invective and cruelty toward handicapped citizens. His bromance with Vladimir Putin is unimaginable given the latter’s totalitarian rule. He is easily goaded and can never admit that he is wrong. Everybody else is the problem for any hiccups in his campaign. Most concerning is his eschewing of the Constitution and his reliance on factoids rather that fact.

It’s hard to engage in any discussion of the upcoming elections. Some of my closest friends are Trump supporters. I try to make it clear when he comes up in conversation that I am not dissing them since they truly are concerned about the future of this country and the economy and foreign policy. Yet, Mr. Trump has seized on their fears and somehow convinced them that he can solve a problem. Recently, I listened in astonishment as one of my best friends argued that Trump will close the tax loopholes which afforded him the opportunity to avoid income taxes for many years. I asked if he thought that his candidate would actually do this since it would mean that his children would then be worse off financially since they would run the Trump businesses and be taxed in a way that Mr. Trump never was. After it came out of my mouth I felt badly since he retreated into silence. Another friend opined about those women who want only to be in the spotlight because of their late accusations about his sexual misconduct. I asked him if he believed the Bill Cosby women, or any of those dastardly altar boys who had the temerity to accuse “Father” years after the reported incidents.
Hillary Clinton is no prize either. While I think she has some skills which qualify her for the job, her character also leaves a lot to be desired. The major parties should be ashamed of tendering candidates who have only a fleeting acknowledgement of the truth. Yet, Mr. Trump is singularly unfit for office.
When this election is over there will be no "us" in the U.S. Brickbats will continue to fly about fraud and conspiracies etc. . . . and this country will never be the same. Being torn apart in this election will have lasting ramifications with some harboring ill feelings toward the “other side” as though we are not all Americans who should rally around the winner. The damage is already done regardless of whom wins. It’s a sad plight.

Arlene Violet is an attorney and former Rhode Island Attorney General.

Arlene Violet

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