OPINION: Look, Here’s The Thing…
By Anna Hessel
A Sick Joke
When I first heard that Donald Trump was running for the presidency, I knew of course it had to be a joke. Who in the world would vote for a egotistical bigot with multiple bankruptcies to run our nation? My friends and spouse all had a good laugh at the very idea of Trump as a presidential candidate.
A Woman’s Nightmare
I have been heavily involved in pageantry. I knew from witnesses “The Donald” thought nothing of walking in a dressing room during a Miss Teen USA pageant, while underage young ladies were in varying stages of undress. His obnoxious and racist conduct was viewed by me first hand at the Miss USA pageants for a two-year period in the nineties in Gary, Indiana. I knew it was impossible for such a man to be taken seriously, his moral code being so corrupt. His raunchy locker room talk of, “grab ‘em by the pussy”, was an unbelievably disgraceful comment. He would never get the nomination. His claim that he would “Make America Great Again”, was a preposterous campaign slogan.
The Great America We Had
America was great with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the helm. We had the Affordable Care Act, finally. Our military had taken out Osama Bin Laden. The auto industry and the banks had been saved. The LGBTQ community finally had equal love and marriage, and our President was a decent caring man that cried for gun victims. He led our nation with dignity, “with God’s grace”; and never even a breath of scandal.
Actual First Families
Barak loved his beautiful wife and his daughters. The Obama’s have been married for 28 years. They brought an adorable Portuguese Water Dog to the White House and we watched the president play in the snow with his girls. Michelle created a garden. This was a First Family that you could not help but love. Our first Black President was stellar. His VP, Joe Biden has known tragedy. He had been a single-parent widower, who put his children first. He found love again and has been married to his second wife ‘Dr. Jill’ for 43 years. He has never been unfaithful to either of his wives. Of course this great team was re-elected, and the Democratic party was making strides at keeping America great through inclusion and acceptance.
Breaking The Glass Ceiling
We had Hillary Clinton ready to break the glass ceiling as the first female President of the United States. Instead of that glass ceiling breaking, our hearts broke. Donald Trump received the Republican nomination for president. My mouth dropped nearly to my neck from shock. Surely, there was no way he could be elected. Hillary was by far the clear, experienced choice and Trump’s low-down, ridiculous tactics about her emails would not be taken seriously, or would they? Why, some of her emails were just simplistic messages about her daughter’s shower. Hillary had nothing to hide in her emails in the least, whereas Mr. Trump continues to hide his debt and blatantly refuses to show his tax returns. All other United States presidents and candidates had released their tax returns. Surely, the American people were not foolish enough to fall for this man’s malarkey.
You’ve Got To Be Kidding
I sat on election night at a colleague’s restaurant, wearing my “I voted” sticker with my husband, awaiting Hillary’s brilliant acceptance speech, when the unthinkable happened. I watched in horror, losing my appetite, as a smug and smirking Donald Trump descended a staircase with his family to make a victory speech. Our nation had just descended into hell. Tears streaming down my face, my husband escorted me to our car. I was literally in a state of shock; I cried for three days. Hillary wrote a beautiful email to all of her supporters; I used a half of a box of tissue while reading it.
God Help Us
Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa were bittersweet because we knew what was to come. I prayed, I cried, I hoped and I feared; emotions ran high during the holidays. Anger simmered below the surface at my husband’s Trump-voting brother-in-law’s house. New Year’s Eve brought tension, not celebration. Never had a bigger deal been made of a President leaving office. President and First Lady Obama would be much missed. I could not watch ”The Donald” take the oath of office. News photos of Barack and Michelle kindly escorted Melania to her seat, while her husband ignored her completely. I vowed to never call Donald Trump ‘president’ and I could not bring myself to refer to a woman who has been seen naked in magazines by half the world, ‘first lady.’ The nightmare had begun.
How Could This Happen?
Should we move out of the country we love as many hyped-up Trumpsters were touting to those of us of decency? I sat looking at the television screen at yet another acquaintance’s restaurant at an Eastern Orthodox New Year’s event and watched once again in dismay as Trump’s first act as “president” was to implement a racist Muslim ban. My tears and my fears were renewed as I saw that a woman was detained just miles away from us at O’Hare Airport. She was coming to Chicago to care for an ill family member. Her family of American citizens, and residents, needed her.
Evil Invades
The terror continued with children in cages, a ridiculous and racist border wall, threat of dictator style military parades, women’s rights on the line. Trump demanded that the late great Ruth Bader Ginsburg resign. Social Security and national security are both being threatened. With an undeclared “white supremacist” in the Oval Office, we have shootings a-plenty, and police brutality toward blacks has reached record levels. How could any of my fellow Christians call this so-called president Godly or pro-life, when he spews such evil?
More Loss Of Life
I was accused by a former best friend of spreading hate when I stood against actual hate. My former home town in my old neighborhood had a horrific shooting. A synagogue that I had socialized at had a mass murder. I shared moments with some of these people; friends knew them. Shouts of the bone-chilling, “All Jews must die”, woke me in the night, a foreboding of what already was and about to come. As a Jewish woman with family and other loved ones still in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I discussed my fears and pain with fellow journalist friends, and again I prayed and I hoped.
Impeachment Failure
I watched the Trumps invade the grief of those sitting Shivah and trying to bury their dead at Tree of Life Synagogue. When would the orange-haired monster’s reign of terror end? Surely his impeachment for treasonous acts against his own country with his open request to have Ukraine provide dirt on Joe Biden. would be more than enough to remove Donald the dictator from office. It wasn’t as if he has ever had more than a 41% approval rate or even won the popular vote.
Not “The New Normal”
But 2020 wasn’t done with us, a pandemic, shut down life as we know it. Deserted streets due to an internationally-raging virus, a society with no one touching, people standing six feet apart with faces cloaked; a world with shuttered places of worship, schools, libraries, theatres, restaurants, beauty salons, spas, and boutiques. Empty grocery shelves, hoarding, and store rationings; no weddings, graduations, or funerals; parks and pools closed, no conversations on corners or porch steps, a world that has become a virtual ghost town with communication only via video chats and other electronic means, as an eerie quiet engulfs the planet. It sounds like a B-grade science-fiction film, one that I would never want to watch, but we are now forced to live. These are frightening days, but the Lord does not give a spirit of fear, but of sound minds and open hearts.
Strong Resolve
Our sense of community is strong, reminiscent of another dark time in recent history, nearly two decades ago, when our nation was brutally attacked by enemy forces; just like then, our resolve is unshakeable. Although we yearn for the freedoms that now cease to exist, we know in our hearts, “This, too, shall pass…”, and that we should never take simple pleasures for granted again.
Hope Over Fear
We long for normalcy: firm handshakes, enthusiastic hugs, children’s laughter in the schoolyard, mask-free days of sunshine in the park, the crack of a bat hitting a ball, picnic birthday parties with melting ice cream, the sizzle of a neighbor’s barbecue, a leisurely lunch with friends, the aroma of funnel cakes at a local carnival, the thunderous applause after a live theatrical performance, boat rides on the lake, the smell of popcorn in the lobby of a local movie house, pedicures on girl’s night out, playing in the rain, long walks at a dog park, children in colorful costumes, Thanksgiving parades, building a snowman, photos on Santa’s knee, the scent of candles when entering our house of worship, hats thrown heavenward as students graduate, June brides, off-key karaoke sung at the top of our lungs, the dentist’s drill (OK, maybe not that…), but certainly smiles not covered by masks.
Choosing Fiction Over Fact
Hundreds of thousands seriously ill and a rising death toll, yet Trump’s supporters choose racism over realism. Ignoring science, including the advice of Dr. Fauci, a renowned medical professional that worked for six presidents, both Democrat and Republican. We had intelligence early on that warned the Oval Office occupant of the dire seriousness impending with the COVID-19 virus but Mr. Trump had removed the pandemic team that the Obama-Biden administration had put in place. Ebola and SARS never reached anywhere near the current pandemic’s proportions because of intense leadership. “The Donald” once again is responsible for horrific consequences to our nation. How is this making America great?
“We Shall Overcome”
On the right, too many people are voting on one issue, a woman’s right to choose. These voters, claim to be “pro-life”, but are actually pro-birth. There is nothing pro-life about children in cages, taken away from their families, or not providing food or medical help for children already born. Racial protests in the streets as if we were still in the 60’s, as though civil rights were never won by those who gave their all for equality. Businesses closing, millions out of work, people not able to pay their rent or mortgage. During the presidential primary campaign debates, now vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris pointed out that Americans need to know who will put food on their table. Food pantries and mobile grocery giveaways are running out of supplies, as families struggle to survive. How is this making America great?
Faith Over Fiction
Far-right extremists invoke fear and division, panic and unrest. Pat Robertson claimed that Donald Trump has been chosen by God to lead us into Armageddon – would this not make Mr. Trump the Antichrist? Biblical scholars will remind us that, “But of that day and hour no one knows…” of the Second Coming of Jesus. During the Obama administration, the right wing harped, “Doesn’t matter who is President, God is in charge”.
Praying For Trump Loss
We certainly felt the presence of the Supreme Being during the Obama-Biden administration. That particular comment certainly rings true today, with an incompetent, egotistical racist in the Oval Office. It’s truth will continue as our prayers are answered with a Biden-Harris presidency. As God said to Paul when he pleaded for the proverbial thorn in his side to be removed, “…My grace is sufficient…” (II Corinthians 12:9); it certainly has brought us through these four years of treachery and treason. Hypocritical, blasphemous commentary equates a white supremacist, multi-divorced, adulterer, who brags of sexual immorality, to the Lord. As a woman of faith, this appalls me.
Blue Wave For Biden
As we gaze out our windows, much like a cat stretching in the limited sunshine, with fall upon us, we pine for carefree days. With hope and a new administration of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, fear and isolation will be replaced by hope and optimism. We will get through this helping one another, because, “united we stand, divided we fall”. For we know that our spirits are solid, our sense of camaraderie unified as we come together in the expectation and the knowledge that, “God is watching us from a distance”.
Dump Trump
We must end this nightmare. There is no excuse to not vote Biden/Harris: Joe is only three years older than Trump, way more wiser and in far better physical condition; Kamala is 55 to Pence’s 61, and Ms. Harris is robust and energetic. Age doesn’t matter but integrity does. How we vote in this election affects the outcome not only for COVID-19, but for future generations. As Vice President Biden points out, “We’re in a battle for the soul of this nation”.
A Return To Dignity
We need to hold Donald Trump accountable – we cannot tolerate another four years of his incompetence and corruption. This reign of terror must cease. We need the return of class, dignity, and decorum to the presidency. I personally am “ridin’ with Biden”, and so is my spouse. We are voting Biden blue, because he is the only choice to bring our nation back from the brink. With intelligence and compassion, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will lead this nation, at the ready from day one: “Our best days still lie ahead”.
https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2020/03/15/biden-not-who-we-want-but-who-we-need12096/
https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2020/04/17/dr-jill-biden-a-worthy-and-empowering-woman/
