The Précis
On November 8th 2016, we, the American public, must suffer the most grueling of decisions. Should we punch the ballot for Hillary Clinton or Donald J. Trump? When assessing the trait that most accurately sums up the totality of their character, it becomes clear, they are horrendous monsters. Their monstrosity is born out of their belief system. They believe they are superior to us and should not be shackled by the laws meant to govern the common people. They are extreme elitists.
We have again become an extremely divided nation. We have become blinded by our party platforms and the monster standing on the other side of the aisle. However, we need to send the politicians a message. Since Hillary and Donald are at the top of the ballot, we need to vote for “none of the above!” Let’s honestly consider the other candidates vying for the presidency and vote for them.
The Exposition
A monumental decision patiently awaits your careful consideration. The decision could quite conceivably be the worst decision you, the American public, have ever had to face when staring at an electoral ballot. One analogy, offered up to illustrate the dreadfulness of the decision, paints the election of 2016 as a dumpster fire. While that colorful illustration correctly captures thoughts of noxious odors seeping from the electoral ballot and melting the sinuses with the potent toxicity, the truth lies still deeper and more heinous.
Why should the concerned citizen paint the presidential election of 2016 with such revoltingly colorful rhetoric? Because when taking an honest step back from our political platforms and scrutinizing the true nature of the individuals standing before us, it becomes apparent the monster on the other side of the aisle has blinded us to the monster standing at our side.
While branding Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton monsters may seem naïve or a senseless idea wrought with hyperbole, sincerely consider what you’ve currently read about them and heard from them, and then ask yourself, how extreme is their elitism?
For this letter, it is important to define the word elitist and elitism, and then expound upon the idea attempting to be communicated.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines elitist as: being or characteristic of a person who has an offensive air of superiority and tends to ignore or disdain anyone regarded as inferior. For the purpose of this letter, the idea attempting to be communicated by the word “elitist” is that of a person who feels he or she is innately superior to others. That, in fact, many of us are closer (in evolutionary terms) to apes and chimpanzees then we are to them. The word “elitism” is meant to convey the idea that the elite believe they are to rule over the inferior.
Therefore “monster” and “extreme elitist” are synonymous.
One unfortunate concession: elitism shows to be a consistent characteristic among many politicians. The idea of public service has been replaced with a concept of ruler-ship. Conceding that many politicians now suffer this monstrous trait does not remove the heinousness of the trait, nor imply the trait should be tolerated; rather, we must call out elitism whenever witnessed, and aggressively seek justice when it is used to oppress the governed.
During this political cycle, several observers have compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. While that comparison stands at the edge of the extreme, the thread of truth woven within the analogy is colored by elitism. It has become clear that Donald believes he can say and do anything without consequence. His arrogance smacks any listener square on the forehead any time he open’s his mouth. His disregard for human dignity may be best exposed when confronted by those who disagree with him. Disparagement, mockery, hatred, spewed from the heart of a man who believes the disagreeable are beneath him and irrelevant. They are to be considered worthless and ignored, and presumably cast from the public forum into the dung heap of the rejected. It boggles the mind how he ended up on the Republican ticket, but at least major voices within the party have stood up and placed their endorsement elsewhere. Where wanders the courage of the Democrats to turn away from their monster?
If Donald Trump’s lineage is traced to Adolf Hitler, then Hillary Clinton is kin to Joseph Stalin. If ever a politician has deserved a life sentence in prison for her actions, Hillary Clinton does. No credible argument exists to exonerate her for her actions in the email scandal. No clear minded individual will argue against the fact Hillary Clinton put our country’s national security at risk with her actions. The only question worthy of consideration is the severity of the risk, but alas, her wretched arrogance wiped away the evidence. The monstrosity of Hillary most clearly reveals itself in the decision she has asked us to make about her actions. Regarding Hillary’s knowledge or lack of knowledge of classified emails on her private server, we are to believe she is either so incredibly foolish she has to be personally told what is classified and what is not classified or she knew and is lying to the FBI and us, and assumes we are so incredibly foolish that we will believe her pathetic lie. World-class fool or wicked, deceitful charlatan, neither of which exemplifies a person worthy of the Presidency, and only an extreme elitist would think we don’t care.
With both of these individuals screaming incompetency with their words and actions, why are we even considering either of them for the office of the presidency? Perhaps part of our focus is on the Supreme Court and the fact that the next president of the United States will get the privilege of making a nomination to the Supreme Court. It is constantly stated by the media that the next Supreme Court Justice will determine the balance of power on the Court. Will it hold to the Constitution and look to the writings of the Founding Fathers to better understand its intent, or will they look outside the Constitution and even to other countries to determine what should be the law of the United States?
Further blinding our woeful decision is the chasm that has formed between the major political parties. The country has become irrevocably divided and the principal parties representing this great country echo that division. There is any number of ideological facets on which to focus the disparity, small government verse big government, etc. From my observations, one party views you, yes, you – sitting in your chair reading this letter, as incredibly special. You have been endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. With that understood, the party has chosen to represent the individual, to work to ensure government does not stand between you, your freedom, and all that you can achieve. The other party also views you as incredibly special. That is not where the contrast resides. Rather, there is an addition to what is special and thus a natural demotion to the individual. One party believes we must look to the collective good. That, at times, personal liberty must be set aside for the benefit of the collective. They believe government should be utilized to achieve this end and protect you by protecting the collective.
Of course, some historians may argue that the division described above has been with our country since its inception. Regardless, there is a more significant divide that separates us, a divide that has only more recently begun to develop within the masses of the American public and which some scholars trace its roots closer to the early 1900’s. What is the human being? Are we nothing more than time plus chance plus matter or is there something about us that elevates us above the animals such that human life itself is deemed sacred? Philosophers have asked these questions for centuries, but governance without the assumption of God’s existence and moral absolutes has never truly threatened the United States of America. While most of us don’t delve into the philosophy and apologetics required to navigate those questions, at some basic level we have made a commitment to one answer or the other. Ironically, party affiliation does not guarantee where one believes he or she stands on the issue even though the foundations of the party platforms do rest upon specific answers to the questions. And there lies the deepest of divides. The party platforms have reached the point where one party advocates for governance under the assumption of God’s existence and moral absolutes, and the other advocates for governance under the assumption of God’s nonexistence and moral relativism. And now we have invested so deeply into our party’s platform, we refuse to look into the heart of the candidates who stand up to represent the platform. And what’s more, we completely ignore the other two candidates representing platforms we do not fully endorse.
When sitting here stressing over the decision to come, I long for a reprieve from this incessant nightmare and wonder if somewhere out there a Montgomery Brewster might rise up in order to encourage us all to vote for “None of the above!” How sweet that would be and what an incredible message from the masses to those who look to govern us.
I don’t envy the decision any of us have to make regardless of party affiliation. This election is an abomination and will leave another permanent stain on the history of this great nation. However, all does not have to be lost. Though the likelihood may be infinitesimally small, we have the ability to send a message to Washington as there are other choices for president on the ballot. Read up on the choices and learn where they stand on the issues important to you, and if you feel the pull, vote for them on Election Day. Just do the country a favor, vote for anybody but the monsters on the ballot.
As far as my vote, my worldview affords me another reasonable choice which will be far less mainstream. I am going to place my full trust in God and believe even this “dumpster fire” is all a part of His glorious plan. Because of this, I feel free to mark my ballot by selecting an eligible write-in candidate I feel most qualified to lead our great nation. Of course, I recognize that other Christians out there squirm at that notion and equate a “non vote” to that of a vote for the opposition. I can understand their consternation for it seems impossibly difficult to reconcile this action to one of extreme faith. But to change the Trump/Clinton analogy from Hitler/Stalin to say Judas Iscariot/Satan, one must recognize that at some point a line in the sand must be drawn. And when that line has been crossed, a Christian can feel called to stand up and say “No, I will not cast my vote for evil regardless of the platform on which it stands!”
When the results of the 2016 election become final, many around the nation will breathe a sigh of relief and feel saved from the monster on the other side of the aisle; how ironic will it be when their relief subsides and they begin to focus on the monster standing next to them…who they helped bring into power.
