One of the things I have been observing from under the Apple tree is US politics. As a Conservative Canadian who has been observing American politics for over 50 years I have seen good presidents and mediocre presidents. As an outside observer I have to say that the last 3 1/2 years have appeared the worst I can remember. America has abandoned its role as leader of the free world for an isolationist position. The population is rioting in the streets more than any time since the Vietnam War, and thousands are dying from COVID due to lack of central leadership.
I cannot understand why about 40% of Americans still support President Trump. From the perspective of an outside observer he looks like the worst leader the nation has ever had. In fact he does not look like a leader at all. Everything I have learned about leadership says a good leader surrounds himself with a good team and then leads with the advice of that team. President Trump has been unable to put together any kind of team. As soon as someone disagrees with his position he fires them.
I understand that many Americans are afraid that electing the Democrats will lead to socialism. This is an absurd fear. Firstly most Americans don’t even know what Socialism is. They seem to have the absurd idea that anything that benefits anyone other than their small group is socialist.
As a conservative I believe in small government, low taxes and individual freedom. I also understand that the reason people groups have formed nations is that there are some things we can do better together than as individual or as small tribes. The larger the nation the more different opinions are going to be generated. That can be a good thing because it gives a higher chance of finding the best solution to a problem. It of course can also be problem in itself as it means more people will find their opinion is not the one adopted by the nation.
Law and Order is essential for any nation to survive. In a dictatorship law and order is maintained by brute force from the governing class. In a democracy law and order is maintained by agreement. We all agree that the rules established by the majority will govern us all. We count on the majority to establish rules that are fair and equitable to all. There will be some rules that each of us disagree with but we accept that we need rules to maintain order.
In a democratic system we hold elections usually about every 4 years to elect people we trust to make the rules we will live by. This system only works if trust is established between those elected and the general population. In America this trust has broken down.
Trust requires good and strong leaders. In the last election neither party put forward a good and strong leader. Vice president Clinton was viewed by many as corrupt. Donald Trump was a somewhat unknown but with a background of failed businesses and abuse of women. Once elected he immediately demonstrated that he had no ability to lead. He finds it impossible to get along with other strong leaders. Rather than governing for the good of the country he has governed only to try and create an image of himself as a leader. He has failed miserably but a large segment of the population has been fooled by his rhetoric and by the right wing media that supports him.
If you look at his successes versus his failures there is a huge imbalance on the side of the failures.
Successes:
- The stock market has risen dramatically making the rich much richer.
Failures
- No peace in the Middle East
- No peace in Korea
- Losing ground to China economically
- Breaking agreement with Canada and Europe
- Millions of Americans with no medical coverage
- Thousands of Americans dying from COVID-19 due to lack of central leadership and listening to medical advice.
- No solution to the problem of illegal immigrants
- Losing ground politically as more Democrats are elected to congress and the Senate.
The free world needs a strong America just as America needs a strong President. Donald Trump is not that man. He is not team player in his own country and he his leading America away from being a team player in the western world.
Looking South from “Under the Apple Tree” the view is not good. I pray that in November there is a change.
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