Musings from a one-issue female voter

When one is a dual citizen with the ability to vote in the land of his/her birth… much comes into the decision for whom to vote in the next election – for the most important position in the nation. Take me as an example. As a journalist, I am expected to be even-handed in my political coverage. As a blogger, the world is my oyster. Of course I have opinions. I have never been silent about any of them. But still, with the US presidential race quickly approaching…it is time to “shoot from the hip.”

The attempted shooting from someone else’s shoulder just days ago…in an attempt to end the life of past president Donald Trump makes these musings of mine… rather relevant.

In a democracy, do good people murder those they fear? The answer, clearly, is: Yes…sometimes. I recall as if it was only yesterday, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, of presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, of our beloved President John F. Kennedy, of Rabbi Meir Kahane, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat…and the attempted assassinations of both President Reagan and Pope Paul II, whose 8 x 10 photograph graces my office wall in a gold frame although “I am not now, nor have I ever been…” a member of the Catholic church. Once you have met a great leader in person, and someone tries to end their life… everything changes. Suddenly one realizes that even the most powerful, and the best of human beings are simply mortals trying to do what they feel is right for their people, their nation, their God. Without exception, they anger someone …or many “someones”…somewhere, whose interests are not aligned.

Murdering a leader whom we may consider unworthy of occupying space on this earth, accomplishes very little. Whatever beliefs they championed, were absorbed by their admirers. Their essence remains heightened by their memory and the ultimate sacrifice they paid for espousing their beliefs.

A failed assassination attempt…does quite the opposite to what the shooter had intended. It strengthens the message they represent and turns them into heroes, simply for surviving. In fact, all politicians and leaders are heroes of a sort. In the process of standing out in a crowd in order to actually “lead” from in front … they all place themselves in harm’s way.

It is already clear that this attempt to silence Donald Trump has had an inverse effect on his potential return to power. He is not cowering. He is not afraid. It is likely that he now, even more than before feels a surge of energy and commitment to save his nation from that which he sees unravelling before him.

As I mentioned… I am a one issue voter. If I lived in the United States, I would be even more mortified (than I actually am, living abroad) to see the increased crime, the erosion of its infrastructure, the unwillingness to prosecute, (much less imprison,) small-time thieves who steal up to $1,000 in merchandise whenever they please. I would be disgusted by the number of people living on the streets of the major American cities. I would be mortified by the abuse of alcohol and drugs in my beloved country and even more horrified by all of the illegal immigration which is not only tolerated, but rewarded with benefits paid for by the hard-working US taxpayers, a large segment of whom entered the country as legal immigrants over past generations. The list goes on and on… but those are not my primary concerns. They will not determine how I will vote.

Actually, when it comes to that which I treasure the most about the United States… it is the values of the US democracy which were taught to me from birth. It is the pride that I held, knowing that my nation was strong, proud, and would protect its friends. My nation would stand up against evil wherever it was to be found. The world could count on my America. It was “policeman to the world” and proud of to be seen as such. No more.

Now, I most certainly will vote in the upcoming presidential election. I will vote for Donald Trump and James David Vance … not because I approve of every word they utter. I will vote for them because they are the only hope that America has to hold its head high in the world community. If the world requires a “fear” of the USA in order to respect it…  these are the two who will reinstate America’s image.

If the Democrats have a platform to offer, it will be interesting to view. They have had almost four years to address the issues which I listed as evidence of America’s decay. Promising to face them in the next four years if re-elected would be most ingenuous. The incumbent president needs someone to tell him that constantly shouting “He is a serial liar!” does not inspire confidence or convince the audience to join Team Biden. I will not address Biden’s cognitive decline simply because I have written about it repeatedly – and finally the media has acknowledged what they have judiciously avoided since the previous presidential election.

On the same day that the shooter tried to end Trump’s life, it was reported that the CIA had discovered a totally separate plan to assassinate Donald Trump… but this one was from Iran, the evil empire which America’s political left has not only allowed to flourish, but from whom they cowered in the proverbial corner. Not continuing the sanctions against Iran which left them in financial straits, not stopping their nuclear program, not punishing them for financing Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and who knows how many other terrorist regimes, is the legacy that the current administration has as their “accomplishments” in recent years. Add that on top of the decay of America’s major cities…and therein lays more than sufficient reason to vote for a man who you find irritating, crude, full-of-himself-, and more than a little “embarrassing.” After the recent assassination attempt we may actually be left with a softer, humbled and more sober individual than we have seen thus far. Perhaps the old Trump, softened with a dose of humility… might win the day.

Add to that list, Trump’s selection of a truly outstanding individual to be his running mate in the coming election. The election placards will surely read: Elect D.J. and J.D.!  It is a catchy turn-of-phrase indeed.

If D.J. Trump and J.D. Vance were to be elected in November, and a horrific assassin’s bullet was to one-day accomplish its goal… the United States would be left with the next generation’s star pupil to lead its government. Never before has the selection of a vice presidential running-mate been as critical as it is in the current political environment. The United States not only needs to regain its stature as the most honorable, powerful, and upright nation in the world, but it needs to ensure that the legacy will continue to the next generation.