It’s A Lot Easier To Breathe Now

I am alive and well. I missed a couple of posts in the last few days. Part of the reason is that I’ve been writing furiously. For no good reason, I’m working on my second book. Sales of the first are dismal. I read somewhere that more than one book is needed to get seen on amazon. I also wonder if the somewhat kinky content of the first book is turning people off. More likely, I’m not that good.

Yesterday was one of the most important days of my life. Power was peacefully transferred here in the United States. For the first time in my lifetime, an American president was openly corrupt. Domestic and foreign groups desiring to get Trump’s ear had to either stay in his DC hotel or contribute to his campaign. This sort of thing isn’t new. Most presidents sell contact to campaign donors. Those donors don’t put money directly in the president’s pocket. Trump changed that.

That’s small potatoes compared with the damage done by focusing on his power base. He encouraged extremists to wage war on moderates. He vilified anyone who disagreed with him. He even fired the most abject flunky in his administration, his Attorney General, who had the audacity to affirm that the presidential election was honest and fair. Trump argued that any election he lost had to be rigged. Banana republic dictator, anyone?

Before he took office, I was convinced that our constitution would protect us from a toxic president. I reasoned that Congress would prevent him from doing too much damage. I was wrong. He embarrassed us by sucking up to the world’s worst dictators and alienating our staunchest allies. He promoted racial hatred and praised neo-nazis. He even tried to stay in power by declaring martial law. The Pentagon made it clear that our armed forces would not support such a move.

All of my dismay dissolved when Joe Biden was sworn in. I don’t consider Biden a strong, inspiring leader. He isn’t. He is a run-of-the-mill politician. Obama selected him as VP because he is so bland and inoffensive. He was a white guy who could complement Obama’s ground-breaking run for office. Similarly, nominating him to oppose Trump provided a welcome contrast. Joe Biden has no political baggage. He is a moderate Democrat. He has never been controversial. We need that now.

As far as I can see, Biden favors motherhood and apple pie. He wants to unite the American people. His party stands for some things that upset the Trump supporters. It favors more open borders, citizenship for illegal residents, more available healthcare, and government support for those (like me!) who lost work because of COVID. He also believes in global warming and supports reducing the US carbon footprint.

I support all of those things. I imagine that even the relatively uneducated Trump supporters can see that none of those ideas will hurt America. Yes, they will increase the presence of government in our lives. But I don’t think anyone’s rights will be taken away in the process. It’s time to understand that everything Trump supported led back to help him personally. I don’t think Joe Biden will have sufficient charisma to inspire us all to hug each other and move as one. Even a JFK couldn’t do that now. He does have the respect of many members of Congress in both parties. He has a good heart and little need to support special interests.

At this point in time, we need to look for things we have in common, not amplify differences. We all want to get back to normal. We need to defeat COVID. We all have to understand that people like Mrs. Lion and I, need help that can only come from the government. One way or another, we need to get more people medical help. My point is that it is just dumb to politicize supporting basic human needs. I’m confident that Joe Biden can manage to help us do just that.