By Carol Lucas
It is Friday as I sit here and compose my article for next week. The Island News is published on Thursday, and my self-imposed deadline is Monday morning which means there will remain but one day after that until the election that has most people glued to the media of choice is concluded.
I say concluded, but I assert that it may be far from determined.
Therefore, it is impossible to write about the election results at this moment, but allow me to put myself out there with just a bit of conjecture. No fool like an old fool, as they like to say.
Let’s be clear — Donald Trump is a man who will not go gently into the night, should the voting outcome not go his way. In saying this, I believe I am still on safe ground.
Earlier this week, Trump began to lay the groundwork for a possible loss by questioning the voting process in Pennsylvania, as well as Georgia. When asked about this, he didn’t bother to hedge his bets, but instead he spouted the usual drivel, thereby planting the seeds for what he hopes will be a full-blown revolution, should he lose.
Sadly, his minions await the clarion call!
Let’s face it. Our country is as deeply divided as it has ever been, perhaps since the Civil War. How we came to this place in time is fodder for future historians to determine, and I believe history will not be kind.
When you have someone so willing to stoke the fires of unrest, it is no stretch to surmise that all hell could break loose. Some assert that if Trump loses, what occurs will make January 6 look docile in comparison. I pray this is not true.
So let’s look at the possibilities.
First, let’s go with the idea that Trump wins the election. Let’s assume that through billionaire donations, a series of political ads that tout disinformation, the utilization of AI, and yes, Russian interference, he pulls this off.
I have no idea whether or not there will be contention on the part of Democrats. I would hope they are ready to dispute any apparently egregious action in a way that doesn’t include violence.
What I do know is that all of the above have been proven. Furthermore, I know what Trump, as the new president, has promised to do: send our U.S. troops to bring in and incarcerate his political enemies.
Think about that. High ranking generals who have had the courage to step forward and tell the world so much of what Trump advocated behind closed doors in his first administration. Political adversaries. He has run on a campaign of retribution. Remember, “I have every right.”
Furthermore, his Vice President is every bit as questionable as Trump, and he sits in the No. 2 position, ready to take over should circumstances deem it necessary.
And our position on the world stage? Russia, China, and other countries headed by dictators will welcome still one more into the fold. How long that cozy relationship lasts will be more for the historians to judge.
And the alternative to a Trump win is that of Harris. She has promised: saving the Affordable Care Act as well as Social Security; helping the middle class with the income tax disparity; restoring Roe and a woman’s right to govern her own body; bans on price gouging at grocery stores.
As for her Vice-Presidential candidate, Tim Walz, he is simply the all-American guy who should resonate with so many men in the country. Coach? Father? Having the experience of governing a state, should he be called to govern a country.
It would seem that there should be no question as to which twosome is best for our country. And yet, many polls, if they are to be believed, show a very tight race. We should know by Wednesday morning, Nov. 6. Or maybe not. It has been suggested that results may take days, even weeks, to sort out.
And so I, like millions of Americans, sit and wait for the outcome of the most consequential election in my lifetime. I wait, and, yes, I pray. I ask God to forgive the many trespasses of this nation and to give us another chance.
As you read this, the die will have been cast, and maybe we will know whether or not my prayers have been heard and answered.
Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”
