By Derek May:
We’re now merely a couple weeks out from determining the future leader of our country, and according to polls, pundits, and people asking for donations, the race is too close to call.
Are you freakin’ kidding me?
How? How in the name of all things sane is this not a runaway, foregone conclusion for the largest landslide victory in U.S. history?
Seriously: On one side you have an intelligent, competent, articulate, seasoned public servant with decades of experience and clearly defined plans, who’s shown a willingness to reach across the aisle and to continue policies that have proven to grow, strengthen, and proper this country. And on the other: you have a racist, fascist, inarticulate silver-spoon elitist who’s failed at just about every business he’s ever had except profiting off his position (whether in power or not), threatened journalists, judges, political rivals, and even supporters, praises dictators and authoritarians, lies so much about so many things fact checkers can barely keep up, incited an insurrection, lost over 60 court cases trying to steal an election he lost, has been banned from doing business in NY, has had to pay millions in damages for fraud and sexual assault, and is a convicted felon. And, amazingly, I could go on. . . .
The gulf between these two candidates could not be wider. If the world made any kind of sense, someone like Trump would never be allowed anywhere near the White House ever again. And even his own people agree: more than 100 Republican officials and over 700 National Security Leaders have said he is unfit to serve—members of Congress, the NSA, CIA, FBI, etc.
“We firmly oppose the election of Donald Trump. As president, he promoted daily chaos in government, praised our enemies and undermined our allies, politicized the military and disparaged our veterans, prioritized his personal interest above American interests, and betrayed our values, democracy, and this country’s founding document.”
Thing is, I know the MAGA faithful (who can truly only be described at this point as a cult) ignore all of this. I have only to look across the street from my parents’ house at the giant Ford X1000 flying five different flags ranging from “Biden Sucks” to “Infowars” to see the those who’ve gulped the Kool-Aid aren’t exactly listening to reason. If you watch enough Fox News (who, if you recall paid almost $1 billion for lying) or Newsmax or whatever you’ll end up so inundated with disinformation the truth becomes whatever they say it is. And I get that the rich are willing to overlook just about anything if it means not having to pay their fair share for the wealth they hoard. But I just find it incomprehensible to believe that there are really enough of these groups to make it a close contest. Are there really that many people either wholly untethered from reality or willing to burn it all down to save a few bucks that the margins are this slim?
I’m guessing for most of us, our chosen realties have set in and there is little point in debate. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people online express legitimate bafflement at why people think Trump is a racist or a fascist or a conman. They demand proof, as if it’s not ubiquitous outside the right-wing echo chambers. Staggeringly, the best source is Trump’s own mouth—his words don’t have to be interpreted, they are quite self-explanatory. Sadly, I doubt the revelation of any facts would make a difference to those people, but I do think there is a large contingent of Americans who are simply not receiving the real picture from their chosen outlets, and maybe those are the ones who we need to concentrate on, and who may ultimately make the difference.
For those people, here is a reality check:
The economy is not a disaster, far from it; it’s actually the best it’s been in years, the “envy of the world.” Wages are up, unemployment is at its lowest in 54 years, inflation is under control, the stock market is strong.
Cities are not hellholes being overrun with gangs and murderers; in fact, violent crime is at its lowest in years.
Immigrants are not eating pets, and they are not coming for your jobs (we should be thankful they are taking the jobs most Americans won’t do).
Immigration is still a problem, but Trump is the one who killed a bipartisan attempt at a solution months ago so he could campaign on it now.
Biden and FEMA have done a masterful job responding to the recent disasters and have not been ignoring Republican areas.
No one is forcing sex changes on kids during school (how would anyone believe this is a thing?!)
Climate change is real. Earth is not flat. Vaccines save lives. Water is wet. Your crazy aunt or uncle really are crazy.
The spin on simple truth is enough to make anyone question which way is up, but the reality is if you slow down and look at things objectively there is clarity to be found. I don’t know how anyone could be undecided at this point, but if you have been so burned out by the rhetoric, lies, arguments, and opinions that you’ve just tuned out or are barely pay attention anymore . . . well, I get that. This struggle has been going on for nearly a decade now, and both sides are exhausted (apparently, so is Trump). It’s so easy to just move on with your life and either not vote or simply cave in to pressure from whichever side is closest to you. I get that, I do.
But here’s the thing: The stakes really are higher now than maybe they’ve ever been in the modern era.
If there’s one statement from Trump I agree with it’s this: “In four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not gonna have to vote.” He’s right. This might be our last chance to exercise democracy. Because if he wins, he won’t give up power again. We won’t have a chance to vote him out.
In fairness, I understand that people might have some problems with Kamala Harris as well. There might be policies you don’t like (e.g., I’m not a fan of her support of fracking), or you might be so justifiably enraged by America’s support of the war in Israel at you can’t possibly get behind her (but really, do you think Trump would be any different on that issue?). I feel you, truly.
But here’s the thing, and this is critical: your vote doesn’t mean you like everything about that person, that they 100% meet your expectations; it means you trust that they better than the other can take this country in the direction it needs to go—or at the very least not tank it.
Now, we all have different ideas of where this nation can and should go, even within each party. In fact, that might be enough for some people to throw up their hands and declare both parties corrupt, incompetent, and unworthy of your vote. But that kind of simplistic naivety may have worked back in the day, but things have drastically changed. When candidates argued over whether to raise or lower taxes, or prioritize education or defense, or concentrate on our needs at home over our position on the world stage, you could easily say, “I have no strong feelings either way” or “I can see an argument for both sides.”
But now only one candidate is talking about being a dictator (even for a day).
Only one is literally saying he will turn the government on his perceived enemies.
Only one calls people “animals” and “not human.”
Only one calls for violence against hecklers and journalists.
Only one has spread so many lies that whole groups are threatened, and even federal aid workers are being hunted down with guns.
Only one sent aid to Putin before his own citizens.
Only one has a playbook for gutting the government and replacing it with sycophants.
And again, sadly, I could go on.
We’re past the point of normal, here. These things are not normal; they should be immediately disqualifying for any sane voter; or at the very least, they should give the edge to the candidate who is NOT extolling these things. Seriously, it doesn’t even matter who the opponent is at that point, there isn’t enough whataboutism in the world to overcome all these red flags.
For this to even be in question makes me feel like the world has turned upside down.
I remember when Republicans wanted fiscal responsibility (economists say Trump’s plan will explode the deficit and gut the middle class), did not want the government telling them what to read, what to do with their bodies, what news was real or “fake,” when they praised leaders who stood up to dictators rather than fawn over them. Republicans used to back business practices that support a strong economy, but the data clearly shows one party’s leadership superior in this regard. It’s time to wake up that trickle-down, supply-side economics and tax cuts for only the wealthy have simply not worked. I mean come on, do you really trust the economy to a guy who declared bankruptcy at least 4 times and obstinately refuses to understand how freakin’ tariffs work (seriously!!)? If you support the military, how can you possibly support a man who called them “suckers,” “losers,” and desecrates their memorials for a photo op? You don’t even have to support abortion to agree that women should have the chance at life-saving medical care.
You don’t have to like everything about Kamala to see that—at the absolute minimum—she is by far the least danger to our country, and our planet. Worst-case scenario under her the rich pay their taxes and some funds get diverted to a few programs you might not like. If it doesn’t work out, we vote her out—and she willingly leaves. The worst case with Trump is the end of democracy as it has been known in the United States for over 200 years. The government becomes an intolerant theocracy hellbent on enforcing only its vision of conformity, and it’s too late to do anything about it. If you think that’s an exaggeration, just read the Project 2025 playbook or, better yet, simply look at what has happened in Hungary (the Republican model for a post-democratic government) or to Russia.
Amazingly, at this critical juncture just before election, Trump isn’t even bothering to campaign anymore. When he’s not rambling nonsense at his rallies, he’s just badly dancing to music, calling his own voters “fat pigs,” and pretending to work at a closed McDonald’s serving fries to plants. As Heather Cox Richardson recently and elegantly summarized:
“To anyone paying attention, it is clear that Trump is not in any shape to manage the government of the United States of America. He is canceling interviews and botching the ones he does sit for, while falling asleep at events where he is not actually speaking. He lies incessantly even when hosts point out that his claims have been debunked, and cannot answer a question or follow a train of thought. And his comments of the weekend—calling the vice president a ‘sh*t vice president,’ telling a woman to get ‘your fat husband off the couch’ to vote for him, and musing about a famous golfer’s penis—indicate that he has no mental guardrails left.”
I really don’t know what else to say. None of what is written here is going to convince the MAGA set, I know that much. The cognitive dissonance required to explain or dismiss Trump’s endless stream of gaffs, slurs, hate, and lies means facts and logic are dead on arrival. What I can’t wrap my head around is that there could be so many of them as to make the race this close. I can only hope that if you’re reading this and are somehow still on the fence or are a Republican, conservative, or independent brave enough to consider country over party, keep in mind that no candidate is perfect or perfectly aligned with your beliefs, but I would hope you’d vote for democracy over authoritarianism, hope over hate, truth over lies, reality over disinformation, experience over incompetence, decency over contempt, America over a king.
It can’t be a difficult choice. I just hope there are enough good people to make the right one.
Derek May, of San Antonio, TX, is Editor-in-Chief and occasional writer for Flapper Press. He has written nearly 50 movie reviews for movieweb.com and completed 13 original feature film and television screenplays, many of which have been winners or finalists in such prestigious competitions as the Walt Disney and Nicholl Fellowships, the Austin Film Festival, and the Creative World Awards. He served as a judge for 10 years for the Austin Film Festival and Texas Film Institute screenplay competitions. His latest project is the highly acclaimed stop-motion animation fan series Highlander: Veritas, which released its second season in July 2022.
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