The Man Who Would Be King

Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it. (Exodus 32:15-20 ESV)

Well. The reality show generation's candidate's reality show campaign has left him the last man standing on his pot o' gold, arms akimbo, hair perfect, trophy wife two steps behind and to the left-- a hood ornament on a nation looking for a king (and whose most pressing issue is "restroom equality"). The once strong and dignified GOP icon-- the elephant-- is now the Golden Calf. I, for one, refuse to bow down in November.

I would much rather see Bill Clinton in the White House again (as America's first First Gentleman) whispering policy tips into his wife's ear than have to endure Trump's brand of because-i-said-so monarchy, which includes (but is SO not limited to):

• A wall along our southern border that's taller than any ladder and one foot taller than the Great Wall of China (that he will make Mexico pay for)
• "If I become president, we're all going to be saying 'Merry Christmas' again." (I kind of like this one...)
• Banning most foreign Muslims from entering the United States
• "No one is going to touch us, because I'm so unpredictable."
• Deport the almost 11 million immigrants illegally living in the United States.

I will admit, at the risk of sounding like a heretic, there are a few Trump qualities that I find appealing (if they are genuine)... With regard to foreign policy, he speaks almost Reagan-like about carrying a big stick and shoring up our military. He talks about true tax reforms and changes to the national healthcare system...

Yet the abject truth about this man who hopes to be our new king is that he is not a by-product of a nation that has become morally and spiritually bankrupt; We the People made him what he is today-- Trump doesn't have constituents, he has a fan base of, says The Atlantic magazine, "poorly informed voters, swept up by a modern circus act orchestrated by a mass-media-age P. T. Barnum with arguably worse hair." To his credit (maybe), Trump has captured the male, white, poor, and uneducated demographic as a candidate for a party that traditionally woos college-educated, middle-aged white and wealthy males to grease palms and get votes. (And who can rightly blame the guy trying to feed his family who switches on the tv and hears Trump's gospel message of change, especially when the bulk of the bombast is about getting rid of them fer'ners, cuttin' taxes, and killing Obamacare?)

While faith, decorum, and integrity in this country are getting lip implants, the perfect tan, and their cuticles trimmed, racial disharmony, fear-mongering, and gender confusion stole the keys and are joy-riding with the top down. It's not difficult to imagine what God must think of us.

It's a vexing problem, this coming presidential election. (I truly understand Moses' frustration!)

I may have to vote for Bill.