Immoral Politics

3monkeys

This presidential race has been unique in many ways, mostly, though, it has been defined by vitriol, aggression, fear, and xenophobia. Throughout the various campaigns we have seen several instances of race-baiting, unfathomable religious bigotry, and even, arguably, serious criminal conduct. Candidates like Ted Cruz, Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump, along with their strong campaigns, are poster children for the lack of education and lack of morality in American society today.

Ted Cruz began his race by attending a demonstration for an anti-gay church calling for homosexual death penalties. The evangelical right was immediately by his side, demonstrating the exact sort of intolerance that the American public has decried in organizations like ISIS and Al-Qaeda. The zealots that support Ted Cruz’s religious insanity are the mirror image of Muslim terrorist recruiters touting extremist, xenophobic ideologies. The only difference is their religion of choice.

Real Christians, like real Muslims, seek brotherhood and peace. If a religious group promotes segregation and hatred, the results are always resentment, violence and tension between groups (see. Crusades 1 – 7, ISIS, slavery, 9/11 and the civil rights movement). Christians and Catholics that denounce Muslims and homosexuals because of differences in faith, are a part of the problem, not the solution.

Surely, Christ would be, at least a little bit, disappointed.

Ted Cruz’s incredible bigotry continued in his rampage against Planned Parenthood, an organization that performs the most breast and cervical cancer screenings in the United States, as well as offers sex education and pregnancy testing and counseling. Mr. Cruz repeatedly refers to Planned Parenthood as an “abortion clinic”, which is mostly untrue considering that the procedure accounts for a mere 3% of their operations.

Clinton, while not as directly polarizing as rivals Cruz and Trump, is at least as ethically questionable. Her political career has been fraught with investigations into personal and professional conduct. Possibly the most corrupt politician in recent history, Clinton has been accused of, among other things, pay-for-play politics. The largest donors to the Clinton Foundation, mostly middle-eastern countries, have been granted billion dollar arms deals and unprecedented access. The extent of their knowledge of American secrets will never be known though because when the FBI investigation of Mrs. Clinton’s e-mail access began, she promptly had her hard drive professionally wiped clean.

The access came for free in the case of her millionaire son-in-law’s friend, Harry Siklas, who happened to work at Goldman Sachs (a huge Clinton Foundation contributor). Marc Mezvinsky, Hillary’s son-in-law, e-mailed Mrs. Clinton a request to give Siklas access to the State Department so that he could discuss a personal investment into a mineral mining company with a resource minister. His request was immediately granted.

Why?

Because financial and federal laws don’t apply to the Clinton family. At least, Hillary doesn’t seem to think so.

While not blatantly criminal, like Hillary, Donald Trump is the most outspoken and also has the least experience of the group.

“The Donald” has, throughout the years, said numerous questionable things about women, and minorities. His twitter feed is a complete circus. He once referred to Bette Midler as “extremely unattractive”, and in the same sentence, said that he wouldn’t say that because he is always politically correct.

If that didn’t make sense to you, read it again, it still won’t.

Trump has denounced Mexicans, calling them “rapists, criminals and drug dealers”, taking that several leaps further, he has also suggested that we build a wall dividing our border from theirs. Of course, he wants Mexico to pay for it. The funds will be taken “… from out of just a small fraction of the money they’ve been screwing us for…”

There is a very minor issue of America owing Mexico a little more than double what Mexico owes America, but millions of Americans seem to love the idea anyway. Because, who cares about Mexico, right?

He has publicly spread misinformation time and time again. “The Donald” once said that “laziness is a trait in blacks”, and went on to make the claim that only 1% of gun murders are committed by “whites”, when white police officers account for significantly more than 1% all by themselves.

Also, for the record, while he has around two billion dollars in assets, he owes roughly six hundred million more than that to the banks. If his debt was recalled in full, he would be forced into bankruptcy, again.

Trump, for all his absurdity, has spoken the truth at least one time, “…. one of the key problems today is that politics is such a disgrace, good people don’t go into government.” For once, I agree, and that is why I am running as an independent, because I refuse to stand for corrupt, hateful and divisive politics. Voting for Art Drew is voting for an honest American, an American who wants to fix problems, not create them.

But, does voting for Donald Trump make you a bad person?

It might.