A Crucial Vote

One of the things I enjoy about having my column appear in the Cherokee Tribune is that I get to be on the same page as Charles Krauthammer.  I have long admired his sagacity and now find myself in agreement with his attitude toward the coming presidential election.

A couple of weeks ago Krauthammer wrote that he could not bring himself to vote for Donald Trump.  Over the last several months he has made it plain that he believes Trump is flawed human being.  The Donald is described as a narcissist with poor impulse control and an inadequate grasp of domestic or foreign policy. 

I could not agree more!  Therefore I too find it difficult to image how I could vote for him.  But then there is the Hillary alternative.  She is manipulative, dishonest, and proved herself to be a weak secretary of state.  How could I vote for such a person?  Surely not just because she is a woman.

For a while I hoped that there would be an attractive third party candidate, but this prospect is fading.  As of now it looks like a Trump/Clinton contest with both parties spending months denouncing each other’s weaknesses.  How inspiring!

So how did we get to this pass?  How did we arrive at a place where neither liberals nor conservatives are pleased with their candidate?

Let’s start with the Republicans.  Their primary voters threw a tantrum.  They were so unhappy with the Obama administration and the inability of congress to block his policies that they had a hissy fit.  All that mattered was that Trump insulted everybody.  This way they could make their disapproval known through him.

As for the Democrats, they have run out of ideas.  Hillary insists that she will be innovative, but then offers us warmed-over programs from the New Deal.  These have not worked, nonetheless the only way she knows how to solve problems is by throwing money and regulations at them.

So what happens if either of these defective individuals becomes chief executive?  During the last presidential cycle Bill Clinton assured us that no one could have done better at saving our economy than Barack Obama.  But then we have simply limped along for another four years.

With either Trump or Hillary, are we destined to do any better?  We might even have it much worse.  Trump’s lack of personal restraint could well precipitate an international crisis, whereas Hillary’s out-of-control spending could give us a recession or Carter-style inflation.

This is as predictable as a budgetary emergency or the financial collapse of social security.  Every now and then, politicians warn us that facts count—and then proceed to ignore them.  Why are ordinary Americans doing the same?

When I read Krauthammer’s cri-de-coeur, I felt his pain.  Then I wondered why so many of my fellow citizens have failed to heed warnings about our impending disaster.  Don’t they care?

Actually, I do believe that most people care.  They are just trapped in world-views for which they see no substitute.  Republicans fear that conservatism has proven impotent, while Democrats feel that liberalism has not gone far enough.  Even so, both sides want more of the same and are surprised when things don’t get better.

My worry is that the only way out of this impasse is by way of a catastrophe.  People may not be willing to consider different options unless things get so bad that the system is in jeopardy.  Only something like the Great Depression or a military defeat may shake them out of their lethargy. 

I know this is a terrible conclusion, but as a former clinician, I am reminded of the plight of alcoholics.  They know that drinking is killing them, but cannot stop.  Only when they hit bottom do they sometimes decide to get sober.

The question is how low will our bottom be.  What must happen before we decide to change our direction?  To judge from recent events, it may be very low indeed.  This is sad, but angry people do foolish things.

Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.

Professor of Sociology

Kennesaw State University