I want to add my voice to the countless millions in this country and worldwide who see United States billionaire Donald Trump as a vile phenomenon in American politics and the greatest threat to political and cultural stability since Adolf Hitler.  To liken him to an asshole, as some have done, (a place from which excrement emerges) does gross injustice to the lower end of the digestive tract.

When Trump first emerged on the political stage, he was regarded as a buffoon who presented his positions laced with innuendo, faulty logic, mean-spirited and frequent criticism of others, lies and twisted facts.  A variety of hand, mouth and arm gestures made him look like a snake-oil charlatan or a circus barker.  It has gotten even worse over time as the photo above so clearly demonstrates.

I believe the reason he has received so much attention in the media is the same reason that reasonable people have trouble turning away from the gory consequences of a bad traffic accident or from turning away from someone seriously disabled.  This is human nature, like it or not.  It is also what makes unreasonable people have trouble turning away a demagogue.

It is a sad commentary on circumstances in the US that Trump has risen so high in the Republican primary contest.  Aspects of our culture in the US have been sinking to the lowest common denominator.  I’m no prude, but there is far too much attention to sex and violence in the media.  I enjoy sex (even at my age) and an action film once in a while can be fun.  But here in the States, and maybe elsewhere as well, the pendulum has swung too far in the wrong direction over the last quarter century .  Incivility, and the glorification of guns and gun violence will one day come back to haunt us all.

I do not underestimate the threat that extremists and radicals of all types represent to the peace and tranquility of our nation and the world.  But that threat could incite even greater threats if reasonable people in all lands loose their perspective.  Trump’s attitude toward Muslims is particularly troubling.  It is full of double speak, leaving the listener to interpret the message however they choose.  He ‘loves them’ but he wants to bar their entry to the US for ‘a short time.’

Towards the end of the war of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia in 1996, I and my wife (at the time) ‘adopted’ an eighteen year old secular Muslim woman from Bosnia.  Once here in the States, our new ‘daughter’ graduated Cum Laude from a Philadelphia university, then graduated with honors from the Dental School at the University of Pennsylvania.  She is now our family dentist and a beloved member of our extended family representing diverse religions and ethnicities.

Returning to Trump:  Citizens of all stripes should do what they can to speak up against a man with too much money, too much attention by the media, and too much bad judgement.  Building owners around the world who have Trump’s name on their buildings and golf courses wish they could tear down the large bold signs bearing his imprimature before they loose their shirts.

Years from now, I feel certain Donald Trump will be laughed at and cried over in look-back news clips . . .  much as we do when we see Tiny Tim, Huey Long, and Joseph McCarthy.  Too big a chunk of the Donald’s heart burns with evil, greedy, and power-hungry vibrations.

Americans who have a better sense of what this country stands for, or should stand for, should circle the wagons and do what each of us can do to DUMP TRUMP.

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