Donald Trump’s latest braggadocios comment has left me saddened, frightened, and appalled (with 2 p’s)!
In case you missed it, he said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay? It’s, like, incredible.”
Is this true? Would he not lose any followers? Would his base cheer him on like fifth graders cheer on a bully they hope won’t turn on them?
Have we become so powerless, so afraid, so lazy, so dependent that we will embrace, follow, and elect a person who believes that his fans wouldn’t recognize the horror in shooting someone? Is he right? Would we, as a society, support a leader who talks big and uses a verbal whip to minimize those among us who he sees as ‘less than’ or ‘unworthy’ or ‘different’ or ‘powerless’? Will we claim as our leader someone who brags that his followers are blind to injustices, and are willing to set aside their moral code to follow him?
Oh, if life were just black and white. If there was a right way and a wrong way with no shades of grey. If problems would be solved with quick fixes, and simple solutions. If only a swift kick would rectify the world’s problems, life would be wonderful. But, it ain’t so. A person’s proclamations that all will be fixed by his own force gives false hope to a society desperate for truth, astute leadership, thoughtful decisions, and belief in our system of government.
Strength does not come from unthinking followers who allow a leader to shoot someone without questioning. Strength comes in holding someone accountable for what they say, what they do, what they believe. To question isn’t a weakness. It is the foundation of freedom.
Our strength will come in the voting booth, when we will decide, as a nation, if we will be blind followers relinquishing our moral code to the loudest voice, or if we will be questioning individuals who seek to elevate and sustain the principles that built this nation.
Thoughtfulness versus quick fixes.
Shades of grey vs. black and white.
We have a choice.
that little voice 
Thanks, Margo, for such a well-articulated statement of the concern so many of us feel.
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Margo, this may be the best thing you have written yet. KB
Sent from my iPhone
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Gee thanks.
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When I first heard this, I had to watch the video for myself to make sure that’s what he really said, and sure enough he did. Like you, I was appalled with two p’s!
What I can’t get over is how the crowd reacted. He was calling his supporters mindless sheep, and they cheered him!
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Scary isn’t it? Are people really this easily led and mindless?
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Amen, Sister! Well Said! Sometimes stupid can really get you down :> )
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It is so disconcerting that his followers don’t see the danger he poses.
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Well done, Margo. Eloquently said, so true.
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Thanks…it is unbelievable that he would even think to say something like that…much less that people would approve of it. My gosh!
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Yes, very concerning. Politics, in general are concerning. No trust and too much water under the bridge. This one is for you Margo http://amanpan.com/2016/01/26/tuesday-chatter-12/
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