By Charles Thomas
Guest Columnist
Many times through this newspaper, I have stated that I believe our 45th president of the United States to be America’s greatest self-inflicted injury that this country has ever endured. Donald Trump has attacked every pillar of this nation that binds us from all the human ills that separate this nation from all the others.
He has attacked judges when they rule against him. He has attacked the media when they speak about his own words. He has attacked television moderators, prosecutors, attorney generals and the U.S. Postal Service.
He has attacked poll workers. He has caused doubt in the democratic process of fair elections in America, and he spoke critically about our fallen servicemen. He
was voted in as president of America, which is almost the equivalent to a force of nature but instead of accepting that role, he thought the presidency was a self-directed beneficial program aimed at remedies for his ailments and grievances which he attacked with the feverish aggression of a toddler begging for that out-of reach-candy bar.
It is easy to reason why this man feels so privileged. After all, when most of us fought hard to get our first minimum wage job, he already had his millions in his bank account. Perhaps that is the time when his character fails began.
Helen Keller once said, “Character cannot be developed in times of ease, comfort and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”
Admittedly, some of life’s lessons were learned well by Trump. Those lessons, however, were the art of how to gain financially at the expense of someone else, and I will use Trump University as just one example. This is the art of a snake oil salesman, and he performs his salesmanship very well because when he sells his wares to those unsuspecting buyers, just like he did with Trump U, he has caused them to forfeit their dignity. His pursuit of wealth and riches is only to create balance in his life because inwardly he is spiritually and morally bankrupt.
For the past 10 years, I have had a monthly donation to St. Jude deducted from my bank account for the benefit of kids who just want to live. I am certainly not a wealthy person, but I can forego that extra cup of coffee at Starbucks to do my small part to help them achieve that goal of just living a full life.
Contrast that with Donald Trump, who stole money from his own charitable foundation and was court-ordered to repay $2 million. This is just another example of how he cares only for the man he sees in the mirror.
If you have been a lifelong Republican, yes, this is hard, but this is not the party of your father and grandfather that we desperately long for, so we ask that you adapt your mind to be in a place that the situation demands.
If you somehow discovered that you only had one day to live, would you be happy being a supporter of someone with the entitled personality traits of Trump and can you explain to me exactly what is Christ-like about Trump? He is a master at dignity stripping. He does it when he calls Hispanics murderers and rapists. He did it when he called for a Muslim ban. He did it with his birther argument. He did it when he bragged about assaulting women.
He made a juvenile attempt at stripping immigrants of their dignity when he accused them of eating their neighbors’ pets, resulting in Trump becoming the target of jokes and laughs on social media. You can not carry the banner of being pro-life and then promote an agenda of lies that causes violence against another group of people, that makes your pro-life stance just a twisted lie.
Lastly and most importantly, on Jan. 6, 2021, he attempted to strip away the constitutional dignity of the United States by inspiring an attack on the very government he hoped to represent. Through his art of salesmanship, he has measured, mastered and manipulated your mind to the point of having you surrender your own dignity to someone who has no idea as to the meaning of the word dignity. That is cult-like behavior.
Charles Thomas lives in Lima. His column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Lima News editorial board or AIM Media, owner of The Lima News.
