Thought for the Day:
“The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of us all.”
John F. Kennedy
Thought for the Day:
Will you vote responsibly in November?
Okay America, I’m not even playing with you today. All I got to say is, Y’ALL BETTA NOT!! If it’s true that Kanye West intends to run for the Presidency of the United States, don’t you dare try to justify a vote for him as if it would make any more sense than a vote for Donald Trump. In my opinion, they are two sides of the same coin. To me, it’s the equivalent of giving someone five but “on the black hand side.” They are both egotistical, unpredictable, insensitive, divisive, and social media obsessed fame junkies who are dismissive of the concerns of minority communities and in need of serious professional help. I don’t want a president who would retweet a video of white supremacists shouting “white power” anymore than I want one who asserts that “slavery was a choice.” Haven’t we had enough insanity in the White House for one lifetime? I mean seriously, do we want another president whose wife can be seen nude with a simple Google search? Do you want another leader who goes on nonsensical tangents and comes unglued every time he’s challenged? I can’t handle another mentally unstable celebrity in the oval office whose opinions, stances and policies will likely change with ever mood swing. But I guess, we as a nation are gluttons for punishment because some folks are actually considering Yeezy a viable candidate.
What is wrong with us? I honestly believe that the election of President Obama caused a massive shift in the mind of every egomaniac with a superiority complex. Never mind that President Obama graduated from Harvard Law, was the President of the Harvard Law Review, a civil rights attorney, a professor of Constitutional Law, and a grassroots community organizer, he was still to many just a “black guy from Chicago” who was able to become president. I can understand racist white people devaluing the position after that. I imagine Donald Trump’s whole mission was to prove that if a “black” could get elected, surely he could too. His decision to run probably had nothing to do with his love for this country or desire to create change for the every day American, but was simply an effort to reaffirm his superiority over a black man. And since his election, he’s done nothing but try to undo Obama’s legacy and rewrite the legitimacy of his presidency.
Now here comes Yeezy…. smh. Though maybe not a racist against black people (though I’m not sure sometimes), he too has an ego that might reduce President Obama down to a “black guy from Chicago” which I guess he figures, makes him equally qualified. Though I appreciated Kayne’s debut album “College Dropout,” being one doesn’t exactly bode well with leading a nation through a global pandemic, overhauling our nation’s educational system, releasing immigrant children from cages, facilitating police reform, restructuring the entire criminal justice system, and ensuring that Black Lives Matter (especially while wearing a Make America Great Again hat). Kanye believing that because he can occasionally produce good music and design clothing (sips tea), means he can lead our nation out of the trenches is not only a REACH but an insult to all that it took for our first black president to legitimately qualify for the position. Have some respect bruh.
But just for the record, since so many Americans these days seem to be short on common sense and a basic understanding of leadership skills, here’s what you SHOULD want from a potential President of the United States of America.
Intelligence – The President of the United States is the face of our nation and speaks for all Americans. We should want someone that is knowledgeable, eloquent, articulate and able to hold his/her own among the most influential leaders of the world in discussion, debate, and negotiations. I’ve had my fill of stupidity after four years of the overuse of elementary words like “super,” “terrific,” and “fake news” to describe and explain complex issues. I’m also over Trump’s idiotic reasoning such as, less testing of a disease will result in fewer cases of it. (blank stare) And Kanye isn’t giving me much confidence either when he asserts that he’s “too busy writing history to read it.”
Decorum – A president should be self-controlled, decent, and disciplined. They should not instigate conflict and confusion and should be able to maintain their composure in all circumstances without exception. Well, we all know Trump has missed that mark by light years with his late night Twitter rampages and school yard nicknames for his critics. Yet, I’m afraid a vote for Yeezy is likely to be more of the same especially when some foreign dignitary begins to speak and Kanye jumps up and says “Hold up, I’m let you finish, but America had one of the best years of all time!”
Experience – You would think that a “very stable genius” like Trump and a self-proclaimed “creative genius,” like Kanye would be smart enough to recognize that just because you’re good at one thing, doesn’t make you good at everything. Donald Trump legit thought that his ability to make money and facilitate shoddy business deals would make him a great president. Kanye also seems to think his producing skills and fashion designing will also translate well into the oval office. Never mind that his oversized slavery wear of a clothing collection should have taught him to stick to music, but alas, he doesn’t learn. Hopefully, Trump has learned that you can’t double talk you’re way out of a global health crisis or pay people off with $1200 checks and expect that to close the deal. Hopefully, Kanye doesn’t think a remix of the National Anthem will be enough to cement his name in history.
Sanity – The Commander in Chief should be of sound mind. Who would have thought we would have to make that clarification, but clearly we do. The President of the United States is in charge of every branch of our military and has the power to declare war and order the firing of a nuclear weapon. Do we really want to live another four years worrying about whether or not we might all be blown to smithereens if our president gets in a bad mood after trolling comments on his Twitter feed? No thanks.
It boils down to this for me. What has our nation become if anyone with enough of a fan base and an impressive amount of followers on Instagram can be qualified to occupy the highest office of the land. What happened to paying your dues, going to school, studying political science and actually working in law and government at the grassroots level to learn about all the complexities and idiosyncrasies of the political system. What happened to educating yourself on the Constitution and holding positions at the local, state and national levels before daring to assume the tremendous responsibility of protecting the lives of an entire nation of people.
And what happened to us as constituents since we no longer bother to examine the platforms of our candidates and hold them accountable for proposing policies that benefit our communities? When did we sell out and give up on expecting our government to make sense and work for us? We are now seemingly okay with electing a president based on his follower count with no regard for his/her inability to lead any of them. So, if it comes down to Trump and Kanye as our final two in November, I might just have to throw my hat in the ring. My campaign slogan will be, CC Jean, “Make America Make Sense Again.” Can I count on your vote?
“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
Psalm 119:9
