No Matter Who The President Is

Don’t bother reading this column!  ‘Cause I ain’t got notin’ to say!  Due to newspaper deadlines, I’m writing this column three days before the election, and it won’t be out in print until the day after the election.  If you chose to read anyway, I guess you’ll have to use your imagination as to how I’m feeling at the moment you read this…. I’m either crying tears of joy, or tears of fear.

I thought of writing with the assumption that Hillary won, complete with a banner headline “Hillary Wins!”  However, not that I’m that old, but I’ve seen the collector’s framed newspaper headline all my life, “Dewey Defeats Truman.”  I decided not to go down that road.

There are a few things that can be said no matter if there is a President Clinton or (as my fingers tremble on the keyboard), a President Trump.  November the 8^th will not be the end of the ugliness and hate that has reared its head in our country.  In fact, it is just the beginning.  There is a deep polarization in our country and that gulf won’t heal at the inauguration of a President.  Our country will be engaged in a feud far worse than the Hatfields and McCoys.  My biggest fear is that our nation will accept this divide as our new normal. 

Another fallout from this contentious election has been the divide that exists in many families and many friendships.  I have heard many stories about the dissension caused by this election.  One of my friends was “un-friended on Facebook by his own mother.  Luckily, most of my family members are Democrats so there have only been some minor skirmishes.  I’ve had some big disappointments with some friends, however.  Hopefully this won’t be a lasting situation.

Regardless of who the President is we need to confront the actions of Putin and his hacking of our Internet sites to influence our democratic elections.  Putin’s conduit, Julian Assange, aka WikiLeaks, have got to be shut down for any peace to exist in our country.  Eric Snowden needs to be made an example by bringing him back to the U.S. by whatever means necessary to face charges for treason. 

Regardless of who the President is, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) needs a good housecleaning.  For our Democracy to work, we must have faith in our justice system.  We need to be able to take the word of the FBI as the gospel.  Even under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover, we never questioned the legitimacy of their investigations.  With the eleventh hour interference with the election by James Comey, and the lies leaked last week attributed to FBI sources about a non-existent investigation into the Clinton Foundation, the FBI has lost credibility. It has been said that the FBI employees refer to itself as Trumplandia. From the reports, it would seem that most of the lies and innuendo is being performed by the New York City field office of the FBI in cahoots with former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani.  That office would be a good place to start, right after Comey is fired.  And yes, he can be fired, contrary to popular belief.  When a Director loses his ability to lead his agency, the President may fire him.  As my Mama used to say, “He has gotten too big for his britches.”

The Director of the FBI reports to the Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, who is Comey’s boss. Over all she has done a good job, but she has been impotent to stand up against Comey.  She needs to go, too.

Another thing we can talk about, regardless of whomever the President may be is the Media.  Liberal or conservative outlets have played a major role in making this election so convoluted that we voters have not been able to discern the truth.  Whatever happened to the “Equal Time Rule?”  Granted, the rule never applied to “news” but political rallies day after day, shown in their entirety is not news.  And giving one candidate a billion dollars of free advertising is not equal in anybody’s book.  I hope the Media will hold an autopsy on how their coverage influenced this election in its entirety and make appropriate changes for future elections.

I had the great honor of being up close and personal with the Honorable Congressman John Lewis last Friday. I saw the scars on his head from being beaten for what he believes in.  For me, it was a very fitting reminder of why I do, what I do. 

I suppose I had more to say than I thought.  Next week, I’m sure I’ll have more to say than you ever wanted to hear, no matter who the President is.