For two hundred and thirty-seven years, American politics has been vitriolic, even more so in the twenty-first century, where anybody anytime anywhere can post or speak their mind in online media, television, the news, &c, making nonsensical accusations of misogyny, homophobia, racism, fascism, and every type of vitriolic hatred directed toward the political candidate that they have deemed unqualified and unsupportable.

Or, they can make reasonable and rational blog posts. 😉

Donald Trump has received an extraordinary proportion of such vitriol, and for what reason? I would assume that most people who voted for/supported Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris are not leftwing Socialists and those who voted for/supported Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton are not corrupt baby killers. Nor are most people who voted for/supported Trump right-wing extremists.

Many people voted for Donald Trump not because they think he is the best possible candidate, rather because of the available candidates, they respect his stance regarding the sanctity of human life, the extreme power of political parties, the corruption of career politicians, the corruption throughout American life, immigration, drug abuse, the decline of the family, and the ridiculous extremes we have seen in many moral issues.

Moreover, once Trump garnered the Republican nomination (three times), he did what most such nominees do, that is, toned down the rhetoric, and began to have a more statesman-like attitude toward international trade, domestic order, paying the federal debt, kick-starting the American economy, fighting crime and lawlessness, and securing America’s place in the world. I don’t believe America is the “policeman of the world,” as FDR wanted to make us. But I do believe that America is the country that, of all countries in the world, has had the best motives for securing world peace and prosperity.

To be President of the United States is an awesome responsibility. I believe it is possible that Trump is a self-made man who late in life has decided to serve his country and give back to others. Believe me, most of my adult life I have watched Trump on talk shows, being interviewed about this and that, hawking his books on money, etc. I have never really respected him.

I also have never been convinced that this country was founded upon the principle of career politicians having constant control of our federal system. There is so much political corruption and political cronyism. Perhaps it is good to elect a person with much life and business experience but little political experience. Some of our greatest presidents were such people.

I have had my doubts about Donald Trump, and still do, but I consider the alternative–Clinton, Biden, Harris–and I continue to believe in giving him a chance to see if he can succeed as President. I’m not convinced he is as horrible as many Americans believe. If we have a historical perspective, we would find that even the great Lincoln was accused of being an evil man, a gorilla, an ignoramus, both before he was elected president and during his presidency. Indeed the Federalists portrayed Jefferson as the epitome of evil. Democrats thought that Teddy Roosevelt was a lunatic. Republicans were convinced Lyndon Johnson was destroying American youth in an unwinnable war. Democrats thought that Reagan was about to end humanity with his attitude toward nuclear weapons.

Nowadays, we have the unfortunate situation of constant social media filling our eyes and ears with absurdities. It is hard to know what to believe. I try to have a balanced perspective, and reserve judgment. Let’s see what happens.