A long denied fact has emerged amidst the handwringing and eye-rolling of the first two-and-a-half years of Donald Trump\’s presidency. The racial divide, glossed over during the Obama presidency while black men were being shot down in the streets, is now having the ugly scab ripped off. The puss of racism and white supremacy is infecting the American psyche as near-weekly racially-motivated massacres happen in cities around the country. We are a nation at war with its identity and don\’t know what to do about it. As the Democratic party scrambles to find a suitable contender, there\’s one inevitable truth that haunts them to their very soul; Donald J. Trump could win a second term and maybe that\’s just what America needs.
So, why does America deserve a second dose of Trump? The answers are quite simple.
1. Much like medicine doesn\’t work to its full potential unless you take the full dose, American needs the full dose, 2 terms, to flush itself of the toxins created by this presidency. There\’s also a generational aspect to it as well. It\’s time for younger leadership not as tainted by a race-based past. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years so that the generation that fled Egypt could die off before they reached the promised land. We are at that stage in our current journey with racism. It\’s time for younger leadership to set the path forward. It will have its moments as well but once the racism fever breaks the true recovery can begin. We\’re about two generations away from breaking this cycle but if we continue to delude ourselves and ignore reality, it will take much longer.
2. If Trump loses his re-election bid America will pacify itself to believe that Trump was an anomaly or aberration. He\’s neither. He\’s the manifestation of that grotesque monster that lives under every Klansman\’s hood. We\’ve worked with them, lived with them, and shopped with them every day as they hid in plain view, waiting for the opportunity and license to rear their heads.
3. Next, we have come to realize that the Constitution isn\’t infallible. The framers could never have predicted that Congress and the judicial systems would simultaneously abdicate their responsibilities in favor of political gain. Anybody that thinks the systems are holding has missed the boat. They\’re not! We can only pray that they can recover.
4. Finally, the soul of America is at stake. Throughout its history, America has taken pride in bringing down authoritarian regimes, spreading democracy, providing humanitarian support, and curing the world of perceived evils while often neglecting its biggest nemesis at home; racism. There\’s a saying that \”The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing\” – Edmund Burke. Well, there are a lot of supposedly good men and women sitting on their hands, doing nothing right now. History has a long memory and is always recording. These short 30 months will echo for generations to come.
Enough said. Let me leave you with this final thought from one of my favorite movies; Shawshank Redemption (1994). My favorite line is when Red (Morgan Freeman) describes his friend Andy Dufresne\’s (Timothy Robbins) journey to freedom. \”… Andy crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of shit smelling foulness I can\’t even imagine, or maybe I just don\’t want to….Andy Dufresne, who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.\”
America will come out clean on the other side as well if it takes its full dose of Donald J. Trump.