An Important Message from Dan Rather about Presidential Election 2016

As a liberal Democrat Catholic Christian, one can probably imagine I would be surrounded by people will all kinds of political beliefs differing from my own.  Some might even say that those labels (liberal Democrat/Catholic Christian) just don't fit in with one another.  For me, they always have. It's simple, really.  I often make conservative choices for myself, but I feel that others have a right to make their own choices as long as it doesn't affect the common safety of others.  And when it comes to violence, I say, let's come up with other solutions, if at all possible. And if there's a way for us to help with social causes through policies, I will support it.  Through the years, I've learned to stay away from discussing politics with people who so egregiously disagree with my liberal beliefs--especially relatives and family members.  And with all my heart, I attempt to respect differing points of view even if sometimes I must grit my teeth.

This year's Presidential Election has felt the most tenuous in my lifetime.  As usual, I will vote for the Democratic candidate but in the past, I've never felt these crazy uneasy emotions at the possibility of my candidate losing.  This year, I'm truly concerned about everything that Donald Trump stands for.  I've heard all kinds of defense for his rhetoric and his past business practices.  I'm not willing to argue any of that, because if you've already decided he is the candidate you support & will vote for in November, nothing he says, has done, or will say in the near future will change your mind.  All I can say to that is that I hope that if he does win, our country will be ok.  That, best case scenario, he doesn't incite violence, oppress the middle & lower classes, alienate neighboring countries and our country remains safe.  In the meantime, I'm appealing to the "undecided".

Please take a moment & read famed news anchor Dan Rather's post regarding Donald Trump and his now infamous reference to the 2nd Amendment--seemingly encouraging his supporters to bear arms against Hillary Clinton.

Dan Rather

No trying-to-be objective and fair journalist, no citizen who cares about the country and its future can ignore what Donald Trump said today. When he suggested that "The Second Amendment People" can stop Hillary Clinton he crossed a line with dangerous potential. By any objective analysis, this is a new low and unprecedented in the history of American presidential politics. This is no longer about policy, civility, decency or even temperament. This is a direct threat of violence against a political rival. It is not just against the norms of American politics, it raises a serious question of whether it is against the law. If any other citizen had said this about a Presidential candidate, would the Secret Service be investigating?

Candidate Trump will undoubtably issue an explanation; some of his surrogates are already engaged in trying to gloss it over, but once the words are out there they cannot be taken back. That is what inciting violence means.
To anyone who still pretends this is a normal election of Republican against Democrat, history is watching. And I suspect its verdict will be harsh. Many have tried to do a side-shuffle and issue statements saying they strongly disagree with his rhetoric but still support the candidate. That is becoming woefully insufficient. The rhetoric is the candidate.
This cannot be treated as just another outrageous moment in the campaign. We will see whether major newscasts explain how grave and unprecedented this is and whether the headlines in tomorrow's newspapers do it justice. We will soon know whether anyone who has publicly supported Trump explains how they can continue to do.
We are a democratic republic governed by the rule of law. We are an honest, fair and decent people. In trying to come to terms with today's discouraging development the best I can do is to summon our greatest political poet Abraham Lincoln for perspective:
"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
Lincoln used these stirring words to end his First Inaugural Address. It was the eve of the Civil War and sadly his call for sanity, cohesion and peace was met with horrific violence that almost left our precious Union asunder. We cannot let that happen again.

Again, I appeal to those that are unsure of who to vote for in November. Please, #NeverTrump. Never Trump!!!