We Elected a New President and I Lost a Daughter

I’m afraid the election of Donald Trump as our next president has created the next generation of activists that espouse civil disobedience. My daughter for all practical purposes has disavowed her connection to me due to my exercising my constitutional right for voting for whom I considered the better candidate.

She is not alone in believing that anyone, ANYONE, who voted for Donald Trump condones racism, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia and any other phobias. Although I do not like labels, the millennial movement (according to the NY Times, those born between 1978-1998) may very well be the forgotten generation that has been awakened first by Bernie Sanders to take matters into their own hands…a movement we haven’t seen since the Vietnam Era!

I take exception to being labeled with any phobia relationship. I do not believe that Mr. Trump is any of the following and I caution any of us to not use these words so lightly:

• Racist: He inherited a company from his father that promoted racial profiling and my friends that were raised in the South during the 50s and 60s were also indoctrinated into both covert and overt racial profiling, but they evolved as did Mr. Trump. In fact he has gone on record stating: “Donald Trump has a lifetime record of inclusion and has publicly rebuked groups who seek to discriminate against others on numerous occasions. To suggest otherwise is a complete fabrication of the truth.” And yes, he wants to control our borders to keep out illegal aliens that deprive jobs, do not pay taxes, take advantage of the very liberal social programs (free health, food stamps, etc.) and prevent potential terrorists from creating havoc on our streets as has happened in Europe. But to hang a racial epithet on him is a misuse of the word.
• Bigot: don’t consider Mr. Trump is a bigot in the customary definition of the word: a person who strongly and unfairly dislikes other people, ideas, etc.; especially a person who hates or refuses to accept the members of a particular group. He has repeatedly stated that he has no problems with any nationality or religious demographic group that wants to immigrate to the United States as long as they do it by complying to the established laws of the land.
• Misogynist: I don’t believe that just because he has used disparaging remarks about certain women’s character, actions or physical description means that he dislikes or despises all women. Yes, there are some singular women that he dislikes…aren’t we all disposed to those feelings about someone in our past? He may be boorish and not fond of political correctness, but he is not a misogynist.
• Homophobic: His belief that marriage should be between a man and a women only has roots back to the beginning of recorded history as stated in the Bible. One can believe that each person has the right to his or her sexual persuasion, but not accept same-sex marriage…it doesn’t mean that he hates the LGBT community. In fact there are many instances where he has shown affinity to the LGBT community.

I do not ignore the racial overtones that persuaded some people to vote for Mr. Trump, but believe the overwhelming factors that have propelled him into the presidency are:

• Jobs (or the lack of): The rust belt states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania have felt the greatest effect of manufacturing jobs leaving for greener pastures overseas. The lucrative skilled and non-skilled jobs of our fathers have left us leaving decaying cities, inadequate housing and infrastructure, failing schools and massive unemployment…unemployment that doesn’t show up in the statistics anymore as those affected have given up looking for jobs. The millennia do not understand this as they are products of the electronic age where jobs are more plentiful; whereas, the workers that have been displaced from manual jobs are incapable of retraining as IT specialists or programmers.
• Fear of Terrorism: The recent ISIS-inspired attacks in Europe and in our own back yards have caused a greater awareness to our border security. The promise of mass large scale importation of refugees by Mrs. Clinton and President Obama has called into question the relative future safety of our homeland.
• Secularization & Dehumanization: The forced government movement to de-Christianize America is a great concern for many. America was founded on the acceptance of any and all religions, but the removal of any form of traditional religious customs, but allowing and forcing compliance to the new rise in American based Muslim religion observance in our schools and workplace is unacceptable to many. Communities are being compelled to accept the whims of Sharia law. Additionally, the push to dehumanize in our schools, courtrooms and city halls is alarming and has reached the limits of PC intolerance. Teachers are now ordered to not use pronouns of “he” or “she” when referring to a specific student…at this rate, we will soon just be a number!
• The Affordable Care Act: Or more precisely, the unaffordable care. This legislation, while being well intentioned as every citizen should have access o affordable health care, is precisely as was foretold…a disaster! The average American family cannot afford the high monthly payments and even higher deductibles.

Why I voted the way I did was not an easy decision on my part. I was raised in a very Democratic family where my mother was a county campaign manager for many Democratic statesmen like G. Mennen Williams, Phil Hart and John B. Swainson no name but a few and my father was treasurer for the Oakland County Democratic Party. I met them all along with the biggest union bosses in the 1950s and 60s and accompanied my mother to every union hall in Southern Michigan stumping for their votes. I was mocked and ridiculed for supporting a “papist” in 1960! I was a Democratic precinct delegate. I had blue blood oozing from my pores. But then Vietnam entered my life!

My family has fought to protect the rights of its citizenry in every war, battle or skirmish since the Pilgrim landings in Massachusetts and the Quakers with William Penn in Pennsylvania. My family has bled in the French & Indian Wars, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Alamo, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I & II, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. I was raised to respect the flag…to protect the down trodden…to ask not what your country can do for me, but what I can do for it! But while I was fighting to protect our constitutional rights, my friends were locked up in a Cook County jail for exercising their rights. My transformation had begun. I supported Nixon in ’68 as he was the best option to get us out of a war that nobody wanted anymore, but even though he accomplished this, he let me down and I reverted back to the “Blue” side of the ledger and voted for Jimmy Carter. I soon realized that was a mistake and returned to the “Red” side of the ledger as a Reagan Democrat…I’ve never left that side since.

I was close to reverting to old habits this year, but the campaigns of Sec. Clinton in how she manipulated her selection as the Democratic Party designate as well as the exposure of her dealings with the Clinton Foundation when she was Secretary of State, left little doubt as to who I was going to vote for.

I understand the frustration of my daughter and all millennia that supported Bernie Sanders…they were cheated by the system that created Sec. Clinton’s rise to being the party flag waver. There was zero chance for anyone but her to win given the way he party doles out super delegate votes. Their argument and vitriol remarks that have now spawned a new movement to promote civil discourse and the removal of a duly elected president shouldn’t be directed toward Mr. Trump and those of us who voted for him. It should be directed at the Democratic Party that allowed this to happen. They need to get in the party and change it.

Frankly, I voted for Mr. Trump as he promises a chance for change…not necessarily a return to the 50s way of life, but to a saner approach to government. He gives us the potential of having safer cities, a return of jobs, fair trade instead of free trade, a real affordable health care package, a stronger military, a stronger global position where we negotiate from power, and a return to common sense with less emphasis on political correctness.

His tag line of “Make America Great Again” mobilized a silent majority that hasn’t been heard from since Nixon, but it’s only a tag line to hang onto. America is great, but it could be greater if we can give it a chance!

photo by Rick Uldricks, Patch