n. The responsibilities of a citizen.
Ours is an un-precedented system of government. The Sovereign power is “We The People.” We make a limited grant of powers to the Federal, State, and local governments. We grant those powers to:
…form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…
Our duty is to be informed, and to use that information to make choices at the ballot box. Our charge is to vote for those issues and candidates we believe best represent our interests and the interests of the Republic.
This election cycle is the most contentious I have seen since I was first eligible to vote. Large sections of both major parties are dissatisfied (to put it far too mildly) with the candidates that remain and more than a few argue that the whole primary system has become a sham. I don’t agree that the primaries have become a sham, but I do hold that Open Primaries and same day registration are proving un-healthy for our Republic.
I note with interest that Scott Adams, who has some interesting views on Trump’s popularity, has made an endorsement:
My Endorsement for President of the United States
Scott Adams’ Blog
I’ve decided to come off the sidelines and endorse a candidate for President of the United States.
I’ll start by reminding readers that my politics don’t align with any of the candidates. My interest in the race has been limited to Trump’s extraordinary persuasion skills. But lately Hillary Clinton has moved into the persuasion game – and away from boring facts and policies – with great success. Let’s talk about that.
This past week we saw Clinton pair the idea of President Trump with nuclear disaster, racism, Hitler, the Holocaust, and whatever else makes you tremble in fear.
That is good persuasion if you can pull it off because fear is a strong motivator. It is also a sharp pivot from Clinton’s prior approach of talking about her mastery of policy details, her experience, and her gender. Trump took her so-called “woman card” and turned it into a liability. So Clinton wisely pivoted. Her new scare tactics are solid-gold persuasion. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see Clinton’s numbers versus Trump improve in June, at least temporarily, until Trump finds a counter-move.
The only downside I can see to the new approach is that it is likely to trigger a race war in the United States. And I would be a top-ten assassination target in that scenario because once you define Trump as Hitler, you also give citizens moral permission to kill him. And obviously it would be okay to kill anyone who actively supports a genocidal dictator, including anyone who wrote about his persuasion skills in positive terms. (I’m called an “apologist” on Twitter, or sometimes just Joseph Goebbels).
If Clinton successfully pairs Trump with Hitler in your mind – as she is doing – and loses anyway, about a quarter of the country will think it is morally justified to assassinate their own leader. I too would feel that way if an actual Hitler came to power in this country. I would join the resistance and try to take out the Hitler-like leader. You should do the same. No one wants an actual President Hitler.
I’m quite sure at this point that no-one here has any illusions that I have any use for Trump or his supporters. Even so, I find that Godwin’s law still pertains. Trump is many things, most of which I find objectionable, but he’s not even a faint shadow of Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, or Mao. So to that degree, I am with Scott Adams. We now part ways most vehemently:
So I’ve decided to endorse Hillary Clinton for President, for my personal safety. Trump supporters don’t have any bad feelings about patriotic Americans such as myself, so I’ll be safe from that crowd. But Clinton supporters have convinced me – and here I am being 100% serious – that my safety is at risk if I am seen as supportive of Trump. So I’m taking the safe way out and endorsing Hillary Clinton for president.
Ah, no. Hillary is Qualified only for a prison cell for the rest of her natural life.
Having once effectively signed a check to the Republic for an amount up to and including my life, I’ll take my chances with the leftist brownshirts who were recently on the warpath here in my town.
I will instead urge my fellow citizens to choose the Presidential Candidate they believe will best defend the Republic and the Constitution. Should they find that none of the candidates on their ballot fit that bill, I urge them to write in the name of someone they believe will defend the Republic and the Constitution.
It is a matter of Duty and of Honor.
