Sunday, 15 September 2024

An Unserious Man in a Serious World

There appears to have been another assassination attempt on Donald Trump. The gunman wasn’t able to actually take a shot because the Secret Service detail were very proactive in responding when the gun was seen, shooting at him and forcing him to flee. I know there will be people combing through this man’s life with a fine tooth comb. As of this writing he is in custody and has not spoken to police about motive. The man, 58 year old Ryan Wesley Routh, has been critical of Donald Trump on his social media account. He is a supporter of Ukraine who says he had traveled to that country in an effort to support Ukraine’s battle for its sovereignty.

The job of President of the United States is a serious one. There is little room for those who go through life with a simplistic worldview. In watching Donald Trump during his first term and his behavior during his election bids I can’t help but feel that Kamala Harris called it right when she called him an “unserious” man. He has used divisive rhetoric in order to fire up his right wing base, but has not thought through the possible negative ramifications of his words. Pushing the idea that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, OH are eating the pets of residents, leading to multiple bomb threats does not help the residents of that town, and makes him a laughingstock.





But there is a serious and dangerous underlying hate fueling this story that Trump is using as a prod for his base.



Immigration reform is a serious issue, a bi-partisan bill had been agreed upon, before Donald Trump tanked it so that he could use that issue as a political tool in his campaign.

The war in Ukraine is a serious issue, to those who are living it, to those whose future may be affected by it. Trump has made it clear that he does not support Ukraine. Was Routh influenced by this?

We have serious issues in this country, in this world, that need a serious response, by a serious person. Gun violence, immigration, a war in Ukraine, a war in Gaza are not reality TV. Hateful, ill informed, simplistic rhetoric will not help.  It can also be dangerous.