The 2024 American Presidential Election

In an earlier post I refrained from judging the Russian president’s character saying “I do not know what is in the Russian President’s heart and I cannot assess his soul by labelling him evil. That is a judgement reserved for only The Greatest Love.“

I now see that this statement is flawed. To label someone as evil in this World does not mean we have assessed their soul. A soul is far more complex than any one character trait, no matter how pervasive or offensive that trait may be. Assessing a soul requires a complete understanding of a person’s character, not just a single aspect of it. And of how and why that character came to be. It will forever remain the domain of only The Greatest Love.

But what we are capable of doing is assessing the actions of individuals and drawing conclusions from them regarding the individual’s character. You do not need to be divine for this. You need only be a human being with a rational mind that can form an honest opinion. Still opining upon another’s character is fraught with peril. Affixing labels to anyone, especially the most abhorrent character traits, should only be done after very careful consideration. But when one’s actions in this World provide ample evidence for such a characterization we also must not shirk from our duty to call it out. Evil thrives in darkness and silence.

And I believe that Vladimir Putin is an evil man.

A murderous dictator who due to his own perverse views of his country’s destiny and imperial ambitions has plunged a democratic neighbor into a vicious war which includes the targeting of innocent civilian populations.

I raise this point in the context of the 2024 American Presidential Election, because I also have an opinion about the character of Donald Trump.

I believe that Donald Trump is morally unfit to hold the office of the President of The United States of America.

The misogyny, the xenophobia, the admiration for authoritarian dictators, the politics of fear and division for his benefit alone. These actions are a reflection of his character and his character a reflection of the person.

I pray that the American public can see the path that Donald Trump would try to lead them down. I pray that they can break free of the echo chamber that some sycophantic media organizations have constructed around him. And I also pray that no form of violence ever be taken against the ex-president or any other candidate. The issues I cite above must only be resolved at the ballot box.

The foundation of America, it’s constitution and institutions, will survive another Donald Trump presidency but I am concerned that turbulence may lie ahead. Part of that turbulence is due to America’s electoral college system¹ which gives an outsized influence to a shrinking segment of their population. In 2024 it is expected that just 400 thousand voters in a handful of swing states will decide their presidency. Four hundred thousand American voters will determine a president, from a field of just two, that will wield enough power to impact a global population of 8 billion in ways as diverse as climate change, to a war in Ukraine. That is just 1/8th of 1% of the American population. In a nation that originated the sacred notion that all persons are created equal it remains a notion that is not applied when voting for the highest office of their land.

There were historical reasons for the electoral college namely trying to keep a diverse number of states united in the aftermath of their war of independence. And it succeeded in that goal, but today I believe it stands as an anachronism or worse: a constitutional injustice. Its time has passed and I believe America should now apply their most important creed to their highest office and give all their citizens of voting age an equal say in who should lead them. A president determined by a popular vote. For without this I believe America and the free World is depending too much on far too few.

But even with this every country has its limits and relying on a single nation to confront the evil of our current World is too much for any one nation to bear regardless of the bedrock principles on which they were founded. The re-election of such a person as Donald Trump may make that clear to many throughout the free World as well as within America.

The alternative need not be a World with authoritarian states forming the only other visions for what our societies can be. Instead those alternate visions can lie with America’s friends. The other liberal democracies who share with them common values and aspirations. When such an imbalance exists between one nation and their friends, it is not only unfair it can also produce too narrow a vision for what the future can hold. It must be other great nations that can broaden that vision. A shared vision that can see America’s burden as the global defender of democracy relieved. A defense consisting not just of military strength but also political, and economic strength. As well as something much more substantive: the strength of thoughts and ideas founded on equality and justice. No single nation should bear this weight of democracy’s future alone. We become a more diverse and stronger World by bearing the weight together.

But is the World ready to help America carry this burden? Championing democracy on the World stage would require, for example, leadership on climate change that threatens vast swathes of our planet. And a commitment to human rights and freedoms both domestically and abroad. And support for a democratic nation fighting against a boot of autocracy in Europe. As well as many other issues requiring a global outlook and ethic.

Despite the damage another Trump presidency may have on all these global issues in the near term perhaps it will provide the necessary stimulus for other free nations to shoulder more of the burden themselves going forward. America may need to take a step down before the free World recognizes their need to take a step up. In this manner, more nations, more citizens of the free World may have a more impactful voice on the World stage. The result can be greater equality on a global level.

And perhaps that begins with a clarion call sent by the American electorate to the European Union that the defense of Ukraine must now be championed by them while aided by their friends. Friends which I pray would include my own country of Canada.

And perhaps this is the way it was meant to be.

But if so I still have concerns.

My concerns do not extend to the distant future: there I place my faith in The Greatest Love and all of humanity regardless of the outcome of any one election. Instead I have concerns about the very near future due to the nature of Their Divine Love. The Greatest Love will allow great tragedies to unfold in the short term so that a greater good may emerge in the long term. My worries lie with the Ukrainian people and those impacted most by climate change in the coming years. I pray that any absence of American leadership on these issues during the next presidential term may be replaced by the other great nations of the World.

I pray that if America decides to step down, the free World will adjust by stepping up.

Then there is the concern I have for the American people. I pray that their faith in their fellow citizens, regardless of their political affiliation, may endure beyond this election year. And I pray that the rhetoric be toned down. Donald Trump is not an evil man. I believe he is a very flawed individual, but calling him evil lessens the gravitas of such a label meant for the real evil of this World, such as that which is waging a war of aggression upon Ukraine. Instead of focusing on the election of an “evil” man I believe Americans must focus on the possibility of a presidential term that will see their principles and institutions challenged again by a president with a moral compass that has gone astray.

A compass that I pray would be confronted domestically by civil and peaceful demonstration while causing the free World to reevaluate it’s dependency on any one nation.

Even one as great as America.

¹An even greater deviation from democratic norms occurs in the American Senate where by 2040 it is anticipated that one half of America’s population will be represented by just 16 senators, and the other half by the remaining 84.