On February 08, 2017, Frank Lewis of the Portsmouth Daily Times wrote an article about the 2016 Presidential Election titled “The Election – Get Over It.” To open the editorial, Lewis posited this thesis:
“I don’t know any other way to say it than – I have never seen so much hate in this universe in my entire life. It is obvious we live in a world so polarized it may not be possible to turn it around – ever... It is really simple – America voted. It’s time to move on.”After making his conjecture, Lewis pointed out how many hateful Americans cannot accept the fact that Donald Trump was elected. His editorial ironically employed example after example of unfounded and bitter rhetorical accusation to malign those he found disgusting. The catty Lewis evidently has been blinded by the politics of President Trump and his supporters – white identity masked as new nationalism.
I feel it may be wise for Mr. Lewis to be more perceptive and less accusatory. Please, allow me to explain my feelings.
Lewis contends we live in a world of lawlessness and disorder completely absent of authority. Committing the fallacy of faulty generalization, he rails ...
“But in this day and age no one pays any attention to the U.S. Constitution or any law for that matter. We now live in a world of anarchy.”
Then, he endears himself to the youth of America by degrading their intelligence. Lewis says ...
“I also realize many of today’s generation will have to look that term up because probably no one has ever told them what a Gold Star mother is.”
And, Lewis damns higher education by accusing American college students of lacking diversity and of being spoiled, unruly hooligans. Without support, he claims they are the “worst.” Also, he assures the reader he has never even “protested” a winner of an election. I find it amusing that someone who evidently supported the King of Bigoted Policy and Offensive Remarks would lambast youth on campus. I believe colleges and universities are important centers of diversity.
“College campuses are the worst right now. They have no room for diversity of thought. These are spoiled brats who, when they don’t get their way, set fires. Does that make any sense? Of course not, but it still goes on. In my lifetime, I have voted for the losing candidate multiple times. Never once did I try to overturn the election or protest the winner. These people are uneducated (14th in the world in education) and out of touch with reality.”
Lewis claims a bratty segment of the population protests the outcome of the election because they “don't know when the election is over” and they “don't want your votes to count.” Of course, this is completely unfounded as the majority vote went to Hillary Clinton. Lewis somehow believes those who oppose Trump deny “prosperity.” He then attempts to mollify the tone of piece by using the inclusive, first-person plural “we.” Mr. Lewis, I ask you, who's doing what exactly – we, you, them?
“It amazes me that people don’t understand that when an election is over, it’s over. These people don’t want your vote to count. They only seek their own agenda. We are giving away our Constitutional Republic because we have proven what history already taught us – we can’t handle prosperity.”
Finally, Lewis falsely judges that millions of protesters are paid to cause mayhem. He unfairly stereotypes all of the participants as rioters who “burn and loot” – lazy bums who should be “looking for employment.” Someone might like to remind Mr. Lewis that the Women's March on Washington (January 21, 2017) featured 616 marches on seven continents. The massive march in Washington alone was roughly three times the size of the audience at President Trump's inauguration. The marches were conducted with civility and featured a keen focus on equality and justice – much-needed liberties of the women's rights movement.
“But when we see on the national news media that paid protestors, burning and looting because they didn’t get their way on election day and because they are trying to put off the job of looking for employment, it makes us realize there are people out there who don’t have respect or civility anymore.”
Source: Frank Lewis. “The Election – Get Over It.” The Daily Times. February 08, 2017.
So, as two factions continue their love fest, maybe … just maybe … it would be advisable to clear the air about the subject of the debate. America is split over the election of Donald Trump and his political regime. Just because a sizable group of people now dedicate themselves to opposing platforms the president supports, that does not make them anarchists, idiots, or criminals.
Those who choose a different stand on immigration, women's rights, civil rights, sexual orientation, poverty, healthcare, or any other important issue are not patently misguided or wrong because they do so. If the opposition cannot respect their rights to speech and to protest, then they should at least refrain from using offensive, illogical tactics to denigrate them. It is far too easy to place people in boxes of discontent. Don't you agree, Mr. Lewis?
Momma Welfare Roll
Her arms semaphore fat triangles,
"Where bones idle under years of fatback
And lima beans.
Her jowls shiver in accusation
Of crimes clichéd by
Repetition. Her children, strangers
To childhood's toys, play
Best the games of darkened doorways,
Rooftop tag, and know the slick feel of
Other people's property.
Too fat to whore,
Too mad to work,
Searches her dreams for the
Lucky sign and walks bare-handed
Into a den of bureaucrats for
Her portion.
'They don't give me welfare.
I take it.'
--Maya Angelou
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