DETERMINATION OF FATE

In the history of U.S. presidential elections there has always been some level of aggressive competition. Each candidate is striving for victory, each candidate trying to best their opponents. Usually there is some level of decorum about the process, regardless about how each party feels about the other.

This year isn’t like that, at all. It is so vastly different that I would hardly call it an “election.” Rather, I would call it a “determination of fate.”

Before I explain what I mean by “determination of fate,” let me set the stage. The recent political climate has been quite hostile. There have been many attempts to remove various elected officials from their positions, there is much public conflict regarding the police, and some parts of the country have become like a war zone. One of the biggest factors affecting all of this is the suspense around who will be in the White House for the next four years. This is where the phrase I suggested comes into play.

I coined this upcoming election as a determination of fate because it seems to me there are two clearly defined paths we could go down, pending the results in November. The outlook is, honestly, quite dismal. There are two candidates, at this point: The Republicans have incumbent President Donald Trump, the Democrats have former Vice President Joe Biden – each one with a very different campaign.

Before I state my opinion on the matter, let me explain a little about each side.

The big deal with Trump is that one side believes he is the kind of person that we need in office, that he is doing good for our country. The other side says that he is detrimental to our country and that he is bad because he is undoing a lot of what President Barack Obama did while in office.

On the flip side, we have Biden. His supporters say that Biden knows what’s up and can fix the damage that Trump has caused. The other side says that Biden could just be a front – that the true goal may be to get California U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris in the Oval Office by electing Biden, and then declaring him senile and unfit for office. He would thus be removed and Harris would step up.

This issue isn’t just about this year’s candidates, though.

The other overriding conflict that makes this a “determination of fate” are the ongoing street protests, such as those seen for months now in Portland. On one level it seems to be a battle about whether the police are good or bad – whether major reforms are needed. However, these confrontations have moved beyond that. Though the clashes are, in theory, between Black Lives Matter allies and the counterprotesters, often a group known as Patriots (not to be confused with the NFL team), they have reached a point where it is basically a pro-Biden protest versus a pro-Trump protest.

The reason our fate hangs in the balance is, because, according to some people, myself included, if Trump is re-elected there is a very real possibility this country could be faced with an American “Civil War II.” On the other hand, if Biden wins this country will be headed straight down the toilet.

Ultimately, either outcome isn’t great, and this country is in for a world of hurt no matter who comes out on top. I know this is a dark perspective, and I generally like to see at least a glimmer of hope with these things. While I believe that there is darkness to come regardless of who wins, I will state that I personally have a sense of hope. To put it simply, I believe in God and I believe that God has blessed this nation from its founding. Despite the looming darkness, I believe that things will work out for good, no matter how bad things get. I truly hope and pray that this country can find its way out of this proverbial pickle it has gotten into.