Maybe it was his youthful ignorance or innocence, but I have always admired the spunkiness and stick-to-it-ness of the boy who was determined to point out that the emperor was naked in Hans Christian Andersen’s retelling of the folktale, The Emperor’s New Clothes. The story is about an emperor’s obsession with fancy new clothes who gets taken in a scam by two con men. The monarch hires them to create a whole new wardrobe of magnificent clothing that is invisible in the eyes of those who are incompetent or stupid. The emperor leads the ranks as everyone else pretends to see what was not there in fear of reprisal by the emperor.
That is until one day when the emperor decides to have a parade through the kingdom to show off his new clothes. They were elegant, but invisible, and he sought the admiration of his people. As the parade begins the people keep their mouths shut as the emperor is strutting his stuff in all his glory . . . except for one young boy who pipes up that the emperor is naked. Of course, people attempt to hush the child, but the nakedness was too much to witness. Soon all the people were proclaiming that the emperor was wearing no clothes.
The emperor suspected they were right . . . but he went on with his parade.
The boy had the courage to speak up . . . to point out the truth. Children have an honest truthfulness about them. They are not afraid to state the obvious. At least until we adults beat it out of them. We need such honest truthfulness today. What we really need is to listen. It is there, but for some reason we are turning our heads away from it for whatever reasons we embrace . . . most likely fear. The truth is there, yet we are unwilling to embrace it. Instead, we sell our souls down the river.
It probably doesn’t take a degree in rocket science to know what I am alluding to. It is the current situation in our nation’s political realm. They are a mess . . . a real circus . . . a regular oppo show. There is a craziness engulfing our nation’s current politics as we enter a presidential election year. Two geriatric individuals are going to be our choices. Neither is ideal. Both have been president—one currently, one previously. Noth have shown blips on the mental competency scales raising questions about their mental acuity. As I said, neither one is an ideal candidate—but no one is willing to point out that neither has any new clothes. The lines have been drawn. It doesn’t look pretty.
We need to listen to the children.
Given the projected choices for the upcoming presidential election, I’m leaning heavily towards voting to save our freedoms as a nation . . . I’m leaning towards the one calling for civility and working together for everyone, not just one’s political party or cronies. Though not the ideal choice, it is way better than the other choice.
Yet it is going to be close.
The emperor is still parading around buck naked despite that that nakedness is being exposed. Why are so many turning their heads and looking the other way? This is what I cannot understand.
Again, no degree in rocket science is needed to know that I am referring to Donald Trump. The man and all that he represents is despicable. His actions of a lifetime have exposed him to the person he really is. It is all out there for public consumption. It is in plain sight for all to see. His track record conveys who despicable he truly is. Some would even describe him as evil. And he knows it. Good or bad, he loves the attention. A child would say, “He’s yucky!”
His record—all out for public view—speaks for itself. It exposes him for who he is . . . for what he stands for and represents. The wannabe emperor is exposed. He is naked. How can we stand by and ignore what we see with our own eyes? Especially those of us who proclaim to be moral people . . . proclaim to be people of faith . . . who call ourselves good people? Why are we willing to throw away our morals, faith, and decency to blindly follow someone who is . . . well, yucky?
The emperor has no clothes—Trump is yucky. He does not stand morality. He does not stand for anything that resembles faith beyond himself—a self-declared savior sent from God to save our nation. Well, that is not a god I could embrace, believe in, and dedicate my life to following. He is vindictive. He is mean. He lies. He cheats. He bullies. He hates. He is self-centered. He doesn’t care (at least not for anyone beyond himself).
For me, when it comes to Donald Trump, it can be summed up in that quote from the movie, A Knight’s Tale. After having defeated his protagonist in a joust, the victorious knight leans over the fallen loser and declares: “You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting.” This phrase is biblical in origin--the tale of Belshazzar’s, the king of Babylon, feast in the Book of Daniel. Holding a feast to boast his power, Belshazzar drinks from goblets looted from the Jewish Temple. This makes God angry, and upon the walls a ghostly message is written: “Mene mene tokel upharsin.” No one could interpret the words except for Daniel, who told the king that they meant, “Weighed, weighed in the balance and found lacking.” This signifies that he would lose his kingdom for his arrogance.
Trump is lacking.
Over and over the children have declared Trump’s “nakedness”. His life’s record speaks for itself. We have witnessed it with our own eyes. He is yucky. I can no longer participate in this charade if I am going to be a person of morals . . . a person of faith . . . a decent human being. To look the other way is to betray myself, my family and friends, and especially the God who would never, ever put up with such garbage as Trump wallows in.
Though it will make some be mean-spirited and nasty towards me, I cannot sit idly by proclaiming that Donal Trump is God’s savior sent to save our nation. He is not. He will destroy all that we hold sacred as a nation and as individuals. He is naked. He has been weighed. He has been measured. He is found lacking. He is yucky. I am sorry, but it is all there for anyone to see. He is naked. We can do better. We really can . . . if we want to. That is my quandary, why don’t we want to do better? In a nation of approximately 332 million people . . . is this the best we can do in this election? I am sure I am not the only one who wants to know . . . on either side.
No comments:
Post a Comment