The Fall

Yesterday I posted a picture on Facebook. It showed the Statue of Liberty with her hands over her eyes, a reflection for me of what had just happened politically. A country that has traditionally stood for freedom is now less free.

I didn't put any comments with the picture but expected that others would respond. I wasn't disappointed! My two right wing friends who regularly challenge me, didn't disappoint! I like that we disagree and I appreciate their comments.

I was a little more unsure of a Christian evangelist who was accusing me of ignorance. But then he went on to accuse me of taking the COVID injection, so maybe I should just ignore his particular contribution.

Aside from the politics, (I'm generally left wing), my main concern is integrity. In my working life, I have been so fortunate in working for people that were always honest and upright. Even if I disagreed with them, it was a privilege to have worked with them.

The future president of the United States lacks integrity. This is not particularly an accusation from his rivals but from his former colleagues. His former Vice President, his former National Security Adviser and his former Chief of Staff, among others. Trump is a flawed individual who cannot lead his own team, let alone a nation. His former military chief called him ‘the most dangerous person ever.’

And that's who will step into the White House in January.

We are moving into what others have called a ‘post truth era’, where inflammatory comments on TwitterX are taken as fact and where a politician can knowingly lie but still get elected. Where a politics of fear can get you elected.

I appreciate that many of my Christian friends may have voted for him on the basis of his stance on abortion. I am anti-abortion and, on that issue, I agree. But I'm also anti-lying.

What will happen next? The United States will pull away from its worldwide involvement. This will result in tragedy for Ukraine, and the likelihood that a two-state solution in the Middle East will not be reached anytime soon. Ultimately, it results in a decline of the West and a continued worldwide rise in cheap populism, based on selfish politics.

My picture on Facebook inevitably caused strong responses. For this blog, I've chosen a beautiful autumn scene. The season we are in is reflective of the United States. We call it Autumn. They call it The Fall. Appropriately.