30 July, 2016 - The West Wing and Doing What’s Right
I think anyone who is concerned about this election cycle about who cares about who is “presidential” should 1) listen to all voices and not just the loudest, and 2) watch on Netflix the special “The West Wing” episode where it focuses on former presidents and staff (prior to 2002) - it’s Season 3, Episode 19 “The West Wing Special Episode” (aired 4/24/02). Everyone has flaws and the POTUS makes tough decisions while being at the trial of public opinion, in good times and bad. Good presidents transcend their own flaws, political gain, and ego; instead they act on what they believe is the best thing for the country. (If I had a legal way for you to watch, I’d link it, but it’s still proprietary, and I’m not in the market to pirate anything for anyone’s benefit.)
“It’s ultimately: you have to do what’s right. The most difficult thing, really, was when the hostages were taken… I could have been very popular, I think, if I had launched a military attack on Iran… But my decision was to be patient. I had to negotiate and ultimately, my goal was to preserve the integrity of my country. Although I maybe lost the election partially because of that, every hostage did come home, safe and free. And we didn’t kill innocent people in Iran. Well… it looks easy in retrospect, 25 years later, but it was very difficult at the time.” - Jimmy Carter in that very episode referenced above, and I don’t see how the same thought process has changed in the last 40+ years, regardless of most people holding that rank. Politicians, while not “popular” because of their record (some, more than others because they have a longer tenure), still give a damn about the citizens of this country and of this world.
If you think Donald Trump has the same attitude towards the nuanced nature of the office he is seeking to hold, you can unfriend me right now, because no self-respecting Republican can stand for what he is asking you to fall. He doesn’t want to be president of the United States of America. He wants to win… to acquire… to be superior. That is the mentality of a demagogue, and is especially true with the hate, fear, and vitriol he spews (yet it boggles my mind that this is the platform of the party who has never intrinsically stood for a self-proclaimed savior or still had the wherewithal to understand that they alone are not infallible). That is the mentality of someone who could not care less about you, me, or anyone but himself. This is not a poly-sided argument when it comes to Donald Trump. It’s a mockery of our political system and I am done with someone who does not take my brethren on the other side of the spectrum seriously.
Now, the fight goes beyond political parties. I don’t care if you’re Republican, Libertarian, undecided, or (like me) a bleeding heart Democrat (or Liberal… to me, this election, it’s one in the same): it’s time we wake up and realize that we are facing the man who could and will likely incite WWIII. I’m not ready to take that gamble. Let’s work together.
