04/07/2024
Open Letter to Americans
Valentine McKay
© July 4, 2024
At first, I thought I wouldn’t watch the recent presidential debate. Too tedious. Too long. Too much bombast, too much parry and thrust. But my sister invited us to watch it on her TV set, so I agreed.
Now I’m glad I did. Not because it was inspiring or even remotely entertaining. It was none of these. In fact, it was not a debate. It was a fiasco. A circus performance by a psychopathic narcissist who was repeating an old, tired act: if you don’t know anything just shout your opponent down.
President Joe Biden could have simply stopped the fiasco when it began, two minutes into the program, by simply calling bu****it and walking out. But he’s not that kind of man. He is a person who will stay to the bitter end, no matter how painful that end may be. He has shown this trait throughout his career. Who else could have dealt with COVID-19, the demise of Roe vs Wade, Putin’s attack on Ukraine, and Israel’s attack on Gaza, all within the space of two years and despite fierce opposition from the Republicans in Congress?
To be brutally honest, I feel that CNN threw President Joe Biden under the bus.
1. CNN promised each speaker would have two minutes to speak while the other speaker’s microphone was muted. On several occasions, I could hear Trump speaking over the President during Biden’s time to speak. The CNN moderator should have said, “Excuse me, Mr. Trump but President Biden has the floor.”
2. CNN promised to fact-check, which they did not. Instead, Trump was allowed to spew false accusations and outright lies each time it was his turn to speak. Again, the moderator could have made a point. “I’m sorry, Mr. Trump, but the facts are as follows:”
3. CNN promised to hold Mr. Trump to the questions, each of which was very clear and concise. The moderator could have said, but did not say, “Mr. Trump, please answer the question.”
This is not to say that President Biden’s advisors were any more supportive. Apparently, they urged the President to invite Trump to a debate. They must have known that Trump is incapable of debate or any kind of reasonable conversation—everyone else does. We also understand that the President had been fighting a severe respiratory cold for two weeks prior to the debate and still had a sore throat, which made it difficult for him to speak at all.
Despite a challenging start, our President came back strongly, and clearly stated what needed to be said. As his character dictates, he took the high road, not stooping to the mudslinging tactics of his opponent, simply pointing out obvious untruths and clarifying misinformation.
The Supreme Court (loaded with Trump’s cronies) has given American presidents immunity for crimes committed while in office. This means that even should a president decide to eliminate an opponent through murder, he or she could do so. One could wish that President Biden might take advantage of this opportunity to at least exile Mr. Trump to a country more suited to his admiration of dictators—perhaps Russia, China, or Argentina. Even better would be isolation on a melting ice floe with a hungry resident polar bear.
Unfortunately, that is not President Joe Biden’s way. He will remain honorable throughout the remaining months before the election and, having won, will treat his opponents fairly whether they deserve it or not.
A great many people have stated that President Biden should step down to make room for a different Democratic candidate. This is a ridiculous argument. Not only is it ill-advised, it is dangerous to change horses in midstream, or generals during a campaign. Those Democrats who believe this is a reasonable tactic should have made the point months ago, before either candidate decided to run. Apart from the fact that changing candidates now would undermine the Democratic party’s strengths, President Biden has shown that he is more than capable of choosing skilled and experienced experts in whatever field needs attention—something that Mr. Trump, who consistently claims credit for the accomplishments of others, cannot do.
I am an American: my ancestors are Scots, Irish, French, and Indigenous American, which makes me also a global citizen. While I care greatly for this country I am also very aware of its position in the world. Therefore, I pray that all Americans will remember what America stands for—how and why it was established in the first place, and the long and difficult internal battles we have sustained to make it a true model of democracy, with governance of the people, by the people, and for the people.
