I was enticed to purchase an ADN newspaper the other day by a well-written article about our local building industries’ labor challenges. It was accurate and hit close to home. I was enjoying the entire rare narrative investment until I read a one-sided letter to the editor criticizing Donald Trump and his “disciples.”
A note to the editor: A quick rebuttal to any heated viewpoint is always a good idea to capture maximum audience. It has almost become normal to immediately pile on or jump to one side or the other, but can we please remember when half the country voted for Donald Trump in 2016, there was not a very good alternative? Not to mention, putting America first for a while might remind all of us to put others first as well.
Reasonably minded Americans suspected full well what kind of person Mr. Trump likely was — a loud New Yorker and obviously a narcissistic, self-centered showman. Given the 2016 times and the only other competition, I voted for Trump just the same. I try to be a disciple to only one person — and mostly fail — but I assure you it’s not Mr. Trump. I do cling, however, to the comfort offered by the great American pendulum of responsible governance: if we are not satisfied by our representative choices, we quickly vote them out. The country may rock back and forth a bit but will eventually settle toward the middle of constitutional righteousness.
Yes, as adults, we must exercise patience in an impatient world. However, the rotten response to the 2016 presidential election and subsequent revolts, to be kind, has set a very low bar and resulted in a skewed perception of institutions once held sacred. The absolute rigid posture of some privileged few and their inability to tolerate clearly mirrors their own issues.
Donald Trump is just a man with a sordid past who became president of the United States. He did some good things and some not so good things. Good, smart Americans are watching and hopefully we are learning. I think a couple well-articulated semi-apologies and a few admissions of ineptitude could help defuse things a bit, but I will not hold my breath. Let’s take a deep breath and try to rebound from this embarrassing — but kind of fun — sociopolitical chapter. Hopefully the monster of Trump the privileged few have manifested for their own benefit does not become a monster we all may have to endure.
— Chuck V. Agate
Anchorage
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