An Open Letter to Friends
As some of you may be aware, the great election of 2024 draws near. Evidently, accurate, fact-based information is in short supply. How else could ANYONE be telling the paucity of pollsters that they are voting for a man named Trump? Huh? What is wrong with these people? Many sane, normal people have asked that very question, most are in a quandary.
Through careful excavation of myriad hard-to-find articles on the subject of the upcoming election, including thousands of interviews with voters, I have yet to encounter an investigative journalist, whether in print or on video, who asked for the participants’ criteria for selecting a candidate from the slate of potential nominees on the ballot. How may we judge the value of the voter without knowing their structural ideations for making a qualitative choice?
What do I mean by criteria for voting? I will cite mine for an example: the candidate with the highest measured intelligence, the broadest deepest knowledge base (a polymath would be preferable), integrity (statements that can be fact checked), highest ethical standards (based on overt public service), strong leadership skills (acknowledged by co-workers), and a finely tuned voice with an articulate delivery (think Michelle Obama) because oration from that leader is a major part of the job.
Of course, yours may differ. Remember, Mr. Trump received over 70 million votes in his losing effort to retain the White House in 2020. He obviously falls short in every one of the those categories. It would be most generous to grant the possibility that the ex-president is above the 80th percentile in any of those measured capacities, none of which can offset his score of ZERO when it comes to integrity (the Washington Post cites that the former president prevaricated 30, 573 times (forensically fact-checked) during his short, 1-term presidency and ethical standards (none approaching a modicum of eudaemonism – to the contrary, his ethics produce negativity and anger). What is your criteria?
I applied my criteria to assessing Mr. Trump in the summer of 2015. Mainstream media (from left to right, right to left and everything in between) were all abuzz regarding the reality TV star’s announcement to run. I didn’t need their opinions. I simply looked at three facts: based on his record in private life, one could easily presume that he would not make public his tax records, and he would not put his businesses (and other assets) in a blind trust, both of which are requirements to run for the highest office in America. But, most importantly, his public record of having been involved in OVER 3,500 litigations by this time in his life. If that isn’t a red flag for a person’s complete lack of ethics, nothing is. That the Republican party would accept him as a candidate at all is telling. Party before country. That the media wouldn’t pound, on air, those three factoids on a daily basis is telling. Profit before country. Ask Mr. Bezos, owner of WAPO and Dr. Pat, owner of the LAT.
By the way, Mr. Trump never offered his tax returns while in office (some were only dragged out of him by court order in civil litigations), he not only never put his businesses and assets in a blind trust, he continued to spend taxpayer time running his empire while in office. And in fact, added to his coffers through emoluments (constitutionally illegal), and sales of merch, not to mention his minions like Steve Mnuchin and Jared Kushner and spades of others profiting while in office or office-adjacent. Finally, Mr. Trump exceeded expectations when it came to adding to his prodigious list of litigations (which was more correctly noted to be over 4,000 by the 2016 election). He’s been personally involved in more litigations since that day in 2016 than all other U. S. presidents combined. No amount of mollycoddling by the corrupt Supreme court can mitigate that fact.
It’s always easy to blame the media not seeing the outcome in advance. Ironically, Trump was a Democrat most of his adult life. But when he decided upon adding the presidency to his bucket list, he knew the DNC would never accept him as a qualified candidate. He had to pick the party of -R, based on decades of corruption, affiliation with the confederacy, and the lack of education and sophistication of the majority of their voters (based on their choices for elected officials). A marriage made in hell. The Republican deal with the devil (groomed by Roy Cohn) has wrecked whatever positive qualities it had. The rest is history …
Or is it? One positive result of the Trump tale is that his multiple malfeasances have exposed many shortcomings in the Constitution and the U. S. legal system. In an ethical Congress, his two impeachments would have resulted in convictions. In an ethical America that actually practices the rule of law, Mr. Trump would have been incarcerated long ago. A mountain of well-documented books are in your local libraries relating every sordid act of the 45th president’s crimes. You can say “alleged” if you “need” to do so. But they are actual and happened overtly in broad daylight. Regardless, his indictments, trials, and convictions are in various stages of incompletion. The sloth and inefficiencies abound. The corruption and malpractice on the Supreme Court is another story for another day.
So, here we are, a mere week before election day (not counting early voting) with the pollsters asking ambiguous questions of people who have no qualifications to assess the economy, international relations, immigration, or a plethora of other “issues” of the day. These political assessments shared by the voters are available from most publications, live interviews, podcast guests, all over social media (pick your app), and from your families, friends and neighbors. These rationalizations are not music to the ears of ninth grade civics teachers in schools from coast to coast. The views proffered are insular and pedestrian, at best. The lack of cursory (what should be common) knowledge by most folks, fellow citizens and potential voters is appalling. Cringe-worthy!
From the ivory tower at which I reside, the proliferation of polls citing a dead heat seems preposterous. How can half the country be so off base? Of course, both sides of the coin (sorry Ms. Stein) wonder that of the other side. The great divide has been well documented for those who pay attention to politics. Families are split, long-term friendships broken, there’s violence at public gatherings. The Civil War was never decided, the Hatfields and the McCoys are still shooting at each other, et al. All sorts of derogatory terms are employed to describe “the other.”
It is agreed upon in most media that there are tendencies within each camp. The closest they (aka “the elites”) are willing to go is noting that many who identify as MAGA are high school grads or have even less education than that. Is this a criticism or an excuse? Up to the reader. Of course, if you are for Trump at this stage, you probably aren’t much of a reader anyway. That said, it seems that the conundrum of two camps separated by 180 degrees lacks a path to consensus. I have encountered this first hand. I tend to piss off most people most of the time, regardless of politics. I had my first run-in with a friend over the 2016 election. I have paid close attention ever since. The friendship has been repaired.
My solution was to compartmentalize. Instead of attempting to argue the other person into submission, I would shelve it. I have the luxury of living in California, thanks to the poorly constructed Electoral College, my friends’ votes for Trump don’t count. I would preserve the friendships, as good ones with longstanding trust are hard to come by. I have more than a few of these, only Jehovah knows why. I am glad to have retained the friendships by mutual agreement to not delve into politics with each other.
Still on occasion, one or more of them can’t curb their enthusiasm and blurt out, by rote, everything they just heard on white-man, right-wing talk radio. To a person, they talk as fast as they can. If I attempt to quietly inject a fact, it is pooh-poohed as nonsense. They are 100% emotional, angry or cynical and fact-averse. I always try to remain calm. Politically, I am an adult listening to the tantrum of a small child. I always wondered why these folks (or most people, for that matter) think they are peers in this arena. They are provably not. However, to be fair, I am not their peer in many other areas where they excel. All the people I am referring to here are successful in business (mostly sales), successful in marriage and I adore all of their offspring. I would rather spend time with most of them than other friends of mine who agree with me politically. I trust most of them emphatically when it comes to financial transactions and personal discretion. Just not their political instincts and “beliefs.”
Ironically, most of them live like LIBERALS. More tolerant than me, that’s for sure. Their college-educated kids ain’t votin’ fer Trump. What’s really strange, is that they are all really well off by any standards. They own their ultra-nice homes in fancy neighborhoods (and more than a few own income properties, as well) They dine in nice restaurants. They have great lives as Americans (none reside in Gaza). They are happy and gay most of the time (though some haven’t always been nice to their golf clubs). Why do they get SO pissed when they try to defend their affinity for an obvious con-man? They blurt “economy” but their stock portfolios and accountants reports say different. Do they want to “own the libs?” Is slavery even legal? Is human trafficking savory? How does one “own the libs anyway? Doesn’t one need to own the facts first? Is a hillbilly drowning in red, white & blue paraphernalia spewing the invective “libtard” referring to an individual with three PhD’s?
I think they see the cynicism in their chosen “tribe.” That cynicism has the veneer of wisdom. They mistake it for a sign of intelligence based on experience. In reality, cynics tend to be factless and feckless. Naive and gullible. But cynics ACT like they know things, which attracts other know-nothings. To them, the person who spouts negativity about everything is wise. Of course, the opposite is true. False prophets for profit. The blind leading the blind and all that …prepare to be taken for a ride.
All of this counter-intuitiveness brings me to the same mystery as it does other writers and thinkers. I have been pondering the disconnect for years, and more urgently in recent months. I have toyed with putting these ruminations to paper many times. I have come at it from many angles in different lights. I have retraced my path since being president of my senior class the year after being expelled for having long hair (1967). I have over-thought it. As a certified mediator, I tend to do that. A lot.
The following is what I have come up with as potential explanations:
Whenever you disagree with someone, it is always easy to shout, “you are just stupid!” If you can’t see the obvious you must be “crazy.” As with most topics of import, “it” is far more complicated than simple, superficial utterances. In the case of Trump, Trumpism, MAGA, and Republicans of acquiescence, we have a topic of such distinction and clarity, that it is possible to find a solution to the disagreements. I have some observations in that regard.
Mr. Trump calls everyone stupid and thinks himself the only smart solution to all the world’s problems and that everyone else is to blame for his troubles, being America’s foremost victim. He looks down on his followers on a daily basis. They are blind to it. Oblivious to the obvious. While the majority of mainstream publications and news-related television programming criticize the ex-president overwhelmingly, and correctly, at the same time, they also discuss issues, campaign positions of both parties AS IF this were a normal election cycle. Stick to “the issues.” (see Bezos and Soon-Shiong)
These issues vary from day to day, candidate to candidate. However, the Republicans lost their credibility long ago. Therefore, their stance on so-called issues (economy, immigration, education, abortion) are meaningless. Or worse. Feigning parity creates cynicism, the bane of a true democracy. Media still publishes Trump’s never-ending prevarications (even while calling them as such), allowing those without voter-required critical thinking skills to fall for Trump’s projection techniques. A one-eighty from reality. He has taken politics out of the smoke-filled back rooms and brought them out in front to his smokescreen-filled public stages, creating the same obfuscation, while invoking chaos as side effect. His minions think they are being let into the “game” as backstage insiders by Mr. Trump’s blatant “honesty” while actually being left out in the cold, walking to their cars when the trams fail to materialize. Or faint from the heat. Damn global warming …it’s a hoax, damn it! His idolaters “get it.” They are “special.” Privy to the skinny!
Despite all of the evidence of grift, corruption, and illegal activity (34 felony counts awaiting sentencing), his adherents don’t care. Undecided voters wonder aloud what Ms. Harris will do as president? Probably not illegal shit. It is enough to make an otherwise sane person question the law of gravity. At least that is one law even a scofflaw the size of Trump can’t deny. Isn’t this America, home of the most sought-after universities in the world? As we of non-alternative facts ponder the problem of the Trump voter in 2024, the media is reticent to place the blame of our predicament on the voter. As Hillary learned in 2016, a politician can’t blame the voter, whether their choice of candidates is deplorable or not, or whether Bret Baier attempts to goad an interviewee into calling the Trump voter a derogatory term. Blaming the voter is a no-no.
However, I am not in the media. I am not a politician. I am an independent American citizen and a voter. I don’t blame the media. I don’t blame Donald J. Trump for being “this close” to a return to the White House. I blame the TRUMP VOTER. Not as monolithic, as there are many factions in the MAGAsphere. Y’all don’t have the same problems, they vary. Some of you lacked Jesus’ best work at birth (see Trump’s gene theories), others didn’t like school, others excelled at rote learning and have high intelligence but lack analytical skills. Many have high intelligence in only one discipline, allowing for exceptional focus, but without scope. Some lack a moral compass …some of our most astute criminals are evidence of that possibility. I know you chafe and resent the condescension by “the elite.” Therefore, I deplore the blanket smears levied at you by the elite. Remember though, I am NOT one of the elite. I am an ELITIST. That takes a lot more work for much less remuneration. Conversely, I resent the attitude by you, thinking you are anywhere NEAR qualified to debate me on ANY political issue, much less the nature of Trump! Therefore, if you still support Trump this close to the 2024 election, you are either stupid (god’s fault), ignorant (kind of your fault), willfully ignorant (totally your fault), politically unethical (god’s watching you), delusional (see a shrink), in the hold of a cult (see a deprogrammer), or a little bit of all of the above (see an alchemist). No judgment …
Regardless, your problem is a problem for all of us in America and many across the globe. I don’t give a shit about your unqualified, factless “opinions” on campaign issues. Your baseless arguments have no weight, no gravitas. This election is on character. PERIOD! Mr. Trump is devoid of character. He is devoid of class. He is devoid of ethics. There are MOUNTAINS of forensic evidence to substantiate those claims. You are either too intellectually lazy, or too arrogant to do your due diligence prior to voting. You mistook blather from sources specializing in infotainment, not facts. The purveyors on these media outlets are entertainers. This campaign of disinformation is a national shame. You failed to discern fact from fiction. Now, you are on the wrong side of history.
The previous polite allegations aside, I am here to provide assistance. You are my friends and fellow citizens. I want to help you discover where your particular glitch (aka Trump Derangement Syndrome) is clouding your political judgment when it comes to Mr. Trump (not issues – you have demonstrated your ignorance on those already). Therefore, I propose a series of examinations. Mr. Black’s Compendium of Tests, if you will. They will take approximately 24 hours, 12 hours per day over consecutive days. By the end of the 24 hours, you should know what is happening within yourselves. We can all improve by embracing the concept self realization. It’s win/win. Of course, this examination should be the MINIMUM requirement of ALL candidates vying for higher office: the House, the Senate, the Executive Branch, and especially the Supreme Court. The old ways of vetting a person’s qualities for public office have failed us in many ways. An Ivy League degree is no guarantor anymore. In fact, a trilogy of books titled, “The Poison Ivies” would be needed just to identify the miscreants and outlaws whom have been awarded degrees by these otherwise fine institutions.
My suggested qualifier tests would be as follows:
- First stop – the linguistics department to make sure you understand terms and their applicable context. Like if you can correctly infer the logical extrapolations from a series of contextually couched implications. Once you are clear on terminology, we can advance to the remainder of the tests.
- Standard I .Q. test. For our purposes we shall employ the Wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS). Not as controversial as the Stanford-Binet. I.Q. is not the end-all end all. Remember this is one part of the big picture. Of course, this test goes way beyond the simple MoCa test “aced” by President Trump in 2018, which looks for the onset of dementia. One ponders how he would score in ‘24?
- A series of moderate knowledge tests on specifically related disciplines such as: political science, the U.S. Constitution, history (American and world), geography, economics, law, science and math.
- Neurological testing using various brain imaging techniques including neuroeconomics in revealing correlations to the person’s decision-making abilities.
- Psychological testing including MMPI and Briggs-Myers.
- A psychological polygraph test.
- Tests and assessment approaches for self-deception. Further testing for ethics and integrity using methods including direct and indirect questioning by a certified interviewer.
- Interview with a professional, non-confrontational cult deprogrammer.
- Aptitude testing in multiple areas including: verbal reasoning, inductive reasoning, logical reasoning, numerical reasoning, abstract reasoning, spatial reasoning, situational judgment, and error checking. The culmination of these will determine one’s critical thinking and analytical skills as well as demonstrating one’s ability to make correct correlations between multiple disciplines.
- A philosophical review, including the writing of an essay explaining one’s world view, including the factors and life experiences contributing to that paradigm.
Any full-service educational institution could offer this battery of testing. For my local friends, UCI has all the facilities necessary and for my Michigan friends, the University of Michigan. Go Blue! Given the massive endowments of these institutions, I am certain they could eat the costs of administering these extensive tests in the name of science and for the sake of America itself.
Upon completion of these examinations after two long days, a reasonably accurate assessment of the individual should be reconciled. Obviously, for any public official (or candidate) these assessments should be made public, allowing the diligent citizen to make an informed vote. As far as voting citizens willing to undergo this rigorous testing, privacy is the best option. Especially those of whom are still on the Trump train in 2024. You will finally have to face yourselves. You will have to “man”-up. Admit your mistakes in putting that unqualified/disqualified individual into office in 2016 and then, trying to do so again in 2020. And yet AGAIN now! If you can’t come to grips after the results of this extensive examination are revealed, then it would be best if you declined to vote, at all. You are disqualified.
Unfortunately, one of the shortcomings of an almost free democracy is that all votes count the same regardless of the cognizance of the voter. Quantity trumps quality. People of the lowest common denominator can determine how their betters are ruled. Sadly, the checks and balances baked into the Constitution don’t always hold. It needs a rewrite. The Trump voter is de facto evidence. Once Trumpism is put in the rear-view mirror of American history, we can get to work. Maybe even the Republican party can be resuscitated and improved.
Being that early voting for the national elections of 2024 has already begun, it is too late now for such complex interrogation. However, this process in the examination of candidates should at least be considered by the mid-terms in 2026.
That said, there is one stopgap that could be insinuated into the current campaign. In lieu of a second presidential debate between candidates Harris and Trump (who opted out after committing to a second with Harris before his upbraiding in the first), I would propose that they at least take the Mensa Admission Test live on national TV for all to witness (it has a time limit of one to two hours, about the same time given to most presidential debates). Since Mr. Trump claims to be the smartest, most intelligent president EVER, at the same time calling VP Harris stupid and NOT smart every chance he gets, this would be his golden opportunity to demonstrate, to the world, the veracity of his claims. An informed electorate is optimum for a healthy democracy.
In conclusion, voters, you don’t have to be woke to WAKE THE FUCK UP!! Whether you are Republican, Libertarian, Green, Independent or Democrat, if you still can’t admit your political shortcomings by choosing Trump (using the most feeble, unsupportable rationales), then do the country and the planet a favor: stay home and leave the voting to those who do their due diligence. Those who are the true patriots. I’m all for isopolity, but you should sit this one out for the sake America. Country over cults!
Yours in peace,
The Reverend Black
P.S:
…and try to get your money back for all those bibles, watches, shoes, NFTs, parts of suits, ties, shirts, jackets, MAGA couture, and whatever else you were conned into purchasing from this fraudster. Don’t continue to be hoodwinked, bamboozled, hornswoggled, duped, fooled, swindled, and coerced. And quit donating your hard-earned cash to pay his legal bills. Let him be accountable for his own law-breaking for once! Remember, he ABHORS you! He thinks you’re suckers. But, YOU are his power. He is NO strongman. Without YOU, he is just a morbidly obese orange-colored old has-been on his way to a jail cell wearing an orange jumpsuit (good color coordination)! Somewhere within you, you know that. Which is why I still care about you.
If only….
Elitist.