If the US 2016 election were a movie it will get an X-rating. I have been a close observer of US elections since 1976 and have never seen anything like the ongoing 2016 US federal presidential elections. It is an election which if I have minor children still in the home, I would match them out of the living room when election news is on. It would have been a denial of the opportunity to teach them how things work in this country, but it would also have been an example of how things don’t work and should not work. It would have been a misrepresentation of US politics.
About the Republican presidential candidate all we hear and see is a parade of women accusing him of sexual harassment. We hear “he touched my vagina”, “he pushed me to the wall and kissed me,” “he walked into our dressing room when some of the girls were naked,” and other pornographic declarations. We see the presidential candidate bragging of what he did or was allowed to do to girls because he is a celebrity, how he automatically kisses girls, an attraction that is magnetic in effect. We hear him denying the allegations using such words as she is not attractive enough for me; describing women’s body parts, and such other vulgar anecdotes.
We hear a rehearsal from another set of women who accused former President Bill Clinton of comparable actions of rape, intimidation, and assault. Often in graphic details. One gets the impression that all they do in New-York/Washington DC is have forced sex; that women are nothing but sex toys for men. I know it is not so and that is why I will ask my minor kids if they were still at home to “go to their rooms” when evening news comes on.
It is not just the horrible news items of sex escapades but news about the Democratic presidential candidate is about email leaks. The leaks portray a double personality who says one thing in public and the opposite in private. We hear each presidential candidate being accused of lying, of deceit, we hear shouts of “lock her up” and bragging on jailing a candidate after the elections if a candidate wins, just as third world victorious candidates do. We hear denigrating of huge segments of our society. The words used are not genteel. We hear divisiveness along class, race, religion, national origins and immigration statuses, economic equality etc. lines.
Are these the kinds of things I want my minor children to know about USA? They should go to their rooms.
In the last several weeks we have not heard or understood the details of how Mr. Trump would govern the country if elected. Equally we are not hearing from Mrs. Clinton how she would govern either. We are left with extrapolating what will happen based on speeches and writings by candidates. The so-called debates were/are about name callings and denigrating each candidate, “low energy,” for an example. We see candidates denying what they had said earlier even when we have videos to prove the contrary. We hear of election riggings as already taking place.
Can and will America survive the 2016 elections? I have to answer in the affirmative because the country has strong institutions. This is the first time an election has been this bad since I started paying attention. But if we have a succession of 2016, my answer may change.
The credibility of the results of this election is under sever challenge.
Benjamin Aduba wrote in from Boston, Massachusetts. [myad]
