I've been here a long time. You've all known me a long time. I think I've built a reputation over that time of being a clear-headed thinker, and one not prone to hysteria or chicken little behavior. I'm the guy on the airplane that if someone is sitting next to me scared of flying, say "Just watch me. If I'm not freaking out, everything is normal, and you shouldn't freak out either. If I start freaking out, something's wrong."
I remember when people were saying that Bush II was going to declare martial law. I remember when people were saying the same about Obama. I didn't believe either and thought it was lunacy. I've believed that every President of my lifetime--save one--has been an honorable man trying to do their best for the country. Even some who were a fair bit slimy like Clinton. When they assumed the office, they realized that their purpose was now bigger than themselves. I obviously haven't always agreed with their policies, but I have not questioned their motives.
I honestly believe that Trump is categorically different, and a danger to everything I hold dear about this country. I believe that he holds nothing in the world higher than his own self-interest. I believe he'll do anything and everything, legal or illegal, Constitutional or not, in the service of the one thing he holds dear--himself. About the only redeeming thing I can say about him is that what happens in America reflects on him if he's President, so at least the interests of the country are loosely aligned with his interest in gratifying his own ego.
This is my belief after nearly 46 years of life, having studied and written about politics a lot more than the average person, and not being part of either "team"--although I'd lean more R than D. All I can say is that I desperately hope I'm wrong.
I respect your opinion, but I'll suggest that despite your intelligence and general neutrality, and despite your opinion of the origin of your beliefs, that the constant rhetoric is in fact getting to you and shaping the way you are forming your opinions.
I don't like Trump, have never voted for him, and will never vote for him. I think he's a mean person, a nasty person, a selfish and self-absorbed person, and in general a complete asshole. But during his presidency, I actually agreed with a decent amount of his policy, and the parts I didn't agree with, never really grew into anything that became codified in law in a way I felt was long-term detrimental.
That's actually different than what I'd say about Obama-- I believe several parts of his platform that he managed to push into execution, are currently and will continue to be long term detrimental to our country.
And perhaps the main difference in viewpoint between you and me, is that I don't see Trump doing much different, or much worse, than he did in his first term. I'm not afraid he's going to completely change his approach and really mess things up this time, if he didn't do it the first time. Sure he's selfish and self-serving, but in many ways his self interests align to what I consider to be the interests of this country. And so if he enacts some of those things into policy and it benefits him, there are cases where it will also benefit the country, in my opinion.
We all have our own lenses and approach things differently, and some people hated his policy in the first term and so will invariably hate it in his second term (should that happen, of course). But I don't see any evidence to believe he's going to radically change his direction at this point, and in general I don't think he did anything devastatingly terrible in his first term.
Just my opinion obviously, but I choose not to let the outside voices-- the mediots and politicians and parrots and stooges-- color my perception of how a second Trump presidency would go, in relation to the first.
And if Sleepy Joe gets elected, then I don't think my own personal life will change much, either.
