The world needs, and awaits, a reasonable and decent American Presidency, under Joe Biden

I am hopeful that Joe Biden and the Democratic Party will win this American election.

Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs

What has this got to do with this website, which is dedicated to issues of nuclear and cimate?

Everything!

That is because the human race has got to solve these global horrors – with reasonableness, decency and fairness. That demands thoughfulness, considerateness of others, co-operation, and global effort.

The United States of America used to be a global leader – up until recently, when it has been cursed with the presidency of a narcicisstic bully, Donald Trump. Four years of a government run by this sociopath have impeded the world’s effort to slow, preferably to stop, global heating. Trump has been a willing servant of the nuclear weapons industry , indeed an investor, profiting from it. He contines to foster distrust, hatred, and division among people.

I have not been a great fan of Joe Biden. But he does bring a decency and reasonableness to politics – qualities that are essential for America and the world to face the big problems. The Democratic Party does bring a mode of co-operation, and an intelligent respect for fair and legal processes.

November 4, 2020 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes, politics

7 Comments »

I agree about the healing/decency needed. However, the climate urgency demands much more than he is offering, and corporate Democrats are not likely to do enough, or to focus on the negatives of nuclear energy and weapons. We will need to keep fighting, probably just as hard as before, maybe harder (we will be arguing against people that at least to some extent acknowledge reality). Let’s hope we learned from 2008—no sitting back and letting the politicians run the show with out us.

Comment by njsally | November 4, 2020 | Reply
- I completely agree with you, njsally. Biden seemd very ”centrist”, and I bet that the Democrats got support from big corporations that have financial interests in polluting industries. But there are sections of the Democrats that have bigger and better ideas. (I guess that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would have stood little chance of being elected) And yes, you have a real point that the Democrats will acknowledge reality, but probably not really act on that.
  But to me, Trump’s dismemberment of democratic processes, and even of the meaning of language have paved the way for fascism. People compare Trump to Hitler. I think that’s wrong. Htler had a vision. Trump has none – but he was effectively preparing the ground for someone worse.
  
  Comment by Christina MacPherson | November 4, 2020 | Reply
  - Not denying the evils of Trump; glad that most of our voters saw his true nature. Horrified that the election is as close as it is. It took a pandemic and a Hitleresque (Mom, who was alive during WWII, is upset that so few mention that comparison) to get a large election turn-out; it should be easier. (An Election Day holiday might help, also ranked-choice voting so that some would-be voters can register their true 1st choice without thinking like a political strategist about “wasting” a vote.)
    In any case, we have work to do—democracy (even our limited version of it) is not a spectator sport!
    
    Comment by njsally | November 4, 2020
  - To njsally. Your mother is right. As it happens, I’ve studied the Nazi period, and written articles about this. The parallels are clear. Trump, like Hitler, knows how to manipulate listeners, and dismantle democratic institutions. If he stays, I’ll bet it would be no time before Trump used executive power – like Hitler taking control as Chancellor, and going on to pass the Enabling Act – then fascism.
    
    An important difference is that Hitler was never voted into power. Infact, the Nazi vote was falling, when President Hindenberg appointed Hitler to what was at that time a fairly powerless role as Chancellor. To have Trump elected again, now that it is clear what a dreadful man he is,- to have him democratically elected, would be a disaster.
    
    The other difference – Hitler being an obsessed idealogue,whereasTrump is a curious psychological case, with no agenda other than constant attention and worship from others, and complete inability to face the thought of not winning at any time..
    
    Comment by Christina MacPherson | November 5, 2020
  - You are probably a better history student than I, and if Hitler had not previously been appointed chancellor, the 1932 election would have likely been very different, but he & the Nazis did win that election, I believe with a large margin: https://allthatsinteresting.com/hitler-election
    
    The focus on nostalgia for a time when the country was purer, better, more powerful is another parallel. In any case, I am glad that we seem to have rejected him, if not enough of those in the Republican party who followed along. And if his entire time between now and January is not taken up with hopeless lawsuits, I fear a destructive lame-duck session until inauguration. At least it seems that saner heads are prevailing in this immediate postelection period; there is not the widespread chaos that was feared.
    
    Comment by njsally | November 5, 2020
  - Thank you njsally. Because I am flat out this morning (in Australia) I have not yet read the link that you just supplied. I will, later.
    Hitler was not appointed Chancellor until January 1933. While The Nazi party was the largest party in the Reichstag in 1932, in fact their vote went down in that election. (Look it up -Wikipedia or somewhere. ). I’ve forgptten what Hitler did almost immediately after being appointed, but he got himself more powers then. clinched it with the Enabling Act, March 1933.
    Subsequent elections did give popular success to the Nazis. But this needs to be viewed in the backround of Hitler’s total control of all media, suppression of all other parties, very clever policies that benefited workers, and Hitler’s brilliance at pitching to every group exactly what would work with them. (Goebbels soon took over with absolute propagandeering genius)
    
    Just read MarkOliver’s article. He’s got it wrong. Pleasev do check this out with some reliable history
    
    Comment by Christina MacPherson | November 5, 2020
Fingers crossed.

Comment by danielwalldammit | November 4, 2020 | Reply