Trump deserves a thanks, even if we give him a vote of no thanks…
Whether you love him, hate him, or believe he is mentally ill, Donald Trump has held our attention for over a year with the most unconventional presidential campaign in history. Yes, the mainstream media outlets gave him more than his fair share of coverage because stories about him lend themselves to clickbait headlines that sell advertising. Yes, those of us who thought this was all a huge joke a year ago have been proven wrong. Yes, Candidate Trump has made fools of all the political pundits and inside-the-Beltway predictors and prognosticators.
Given all the ways in which this man has turned our electoral process on its ear – in the most loud and public way possible – we owe him thanks for not only stirring up the sediment at the bottom of the political pool but also for emphasizing just how well constructed the process really is.
Traditionally, socially conscious members of the leisure class chose public service through elected office as their careers. We can point to hundreds of examples of the sons and daughters of Senators cutting their political teeth, working on dad’s campaigns. From John Quincy Adams to Mitt Romney, all of them started at the bottom of the political world, earning their chops, climbing the ladder from campaign workers to local/state offices, to House of Representatives, to Senate – and, perhaps, to the Governor’s Mansion or White House. They also, along the way, learned how our political/electoral system functions – from the inside out.
The point is that nobody started at the top… until Donald Trump attempted it. His lack of anything resembling political savvy shows. It shows us that we really have invented a pretty good system because it tends to weed out the weak and the ignorant before they get anywhere near swearing inaugural oaths.
Trump exposes the weaknesses in American journalism
We owe Donald Trump thanks, as well, for our recent wave of disgust at the prostitution of journalism. It takes more than cutting and pasting or following Twitter trends to do fact-based, cogent reporting. Our 24/7/365 news cycle is difficult enough to follow without the talking heads losing sight of the difference between serious public discussion and celebrity gossip. Mr. Trump’s dominance of the news for so long shows us where our weaknesses lie.
The Donald shows us where we’ve got work to do
Finally, we owe Donald Trump thanks for holding up a mirror. In the Trump supporters who have flocked out of the nonvoting woodwork, we see an image of ourselves as Americans which runs counter to everything embodied in the Constitution, and which shames us before the rest of the world.
The United States was founded on high principles and has – throughout our history – striven to embody the values of fair play, justice for all, respect and compassion for the downtrodden and disenfranchised. Donald Trump’s candidacy provides us with a window into the darkest parts of our national soul. We MUST strive to do better, now that he has shown us how much work we have yet to do.
