Vote! Around The Turn

It has been a long season of campaigning, one that literally started right after President Joe Biden was inaugurated, as it would only be a matter of time before Donald Trump became the Republican party nominee. The biggest surprise had to be Joe Biden deciding not to seek re-election even though his heart appeared to be in it before he was urged to step aside in favor of a younger challenger. Donald Trump on the other hand, it seems, is running not because he wants to (he is old and tired), but in a last-ditch effort to stay out of jail. Gone are the days when two contenders would welcome each other, shake hands and give a "may the best man (now woman) win" cry, then go out and render their vision as they solicit votes. That all changed in 2015 and 2020 when Trump stepped into politics. Gone are the days when there was a healthy respect for your opponent, as it was about campaigning "by the book", shaking hands, kissing/hugging babies and raising as much money as you could. Once again, Trump changed all that. All of a sudden, name calling of your own opponents in your party became the norm, as Trump used that tactic to take the place of policy. Conservatives loved it, as Trump appeared to say things about what America had become and only, he had the solutions to bring the nation "back" to respectability. Even conservative politicians who thought that they had the ear of conservatives were taken aback when Trump seemingly overnight, took control during the campaign season winning the nomination and then the presidency. Everyone was asking what had happened to the Republican Party. And again in 2024, the world is asking what has happened in America that Trump with his alleged transgressions, may again return to the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris, being the exact opposite of Trump is the true public servant who has refrained from the name calling or demonizing people because they are not Americans, but who want to make it their home. V P Harris has outlined a vision for the nation and is hoping to make a significant crossover to voters who don't normally vote democrat. One could say that we are "at the turn" in this two-person race for one of the most powerful positions on Earth, where the nation will move forward continuing on the progress made or return to a time when America "was great". Whatever that means. One can look at the entirety of American history where there are moments when the things that America did to others (citizens and Native) that were not so great. Ever wonder why places in American history like the infamous "Trail of Tears" is not taught in detail? Next week, this nation will be "coming down the stretch" as another election will come to an end where a winner will be declared according to the Constitution. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.