” ‘What’d the devil give you for your soul, Tommy?’
‘Well, he taught me to play this here guitar real good.’
‘Oh son! For that you sold your everlasting soul?’
‘Well, I wasn’t usin’ it ‘ “

Oh Brother Where Art Thou

Thus the Coen brothers movie reconstructs the legendary account of American Delta blues artist Tommy Johnson meeting the devil at a crossroads and trading his soul for mastery of the guitar. The ethereal soul, shrouded in eternity, often seems of little value in the here and now; and we are apt to sell it, often in small pieces, for something we can use like fame, power, money, or physical needs and desires.

In raising my children there were ample opportunities to teach life lessons about the value of honesty. From the times when cashiers would give too much change, to the offers of cheating on the sales tax for the purchase of a used car; my response to their puzzlement over the scruples I inherited from the example of my own father would often be to assure them that if and when I succumbed to selling my soul, it would be for a far more substantial sum. We, the citizens of this once great nation, find ourselves at that same crossroads where Tommy sold his soul; and in our hand already is the pen with which we might sign away our destiny. As Esau traded his birthright for a bowl of lentils, we are in the process of giving up the essence of our Republic and its high calling for that which is base and of passing value. The enduring building blocks of freedom, goodness, liberty, and self-rule, we are now ready to trade for violence, dishonesty, anger and bondage. On the altar of party spirit we make ready to sacrifice the soul of America. Generations to come may look back on the decision we have made and ask with bewilderment even as we have puzzled over the decisions of other peoples, “For that you sold your everlasting soul?” Well, we weren’t using it anyway.

Somewhere between the impeachment of Richard Nixon and the exoneration of Bill Clinton a decision was made by a sufficient majority of voters that character really doesn’t matter when it comes to presidential politics. The greater portion of this majority has historically been composed of Saul Alinsky progressives whose “ends justifies the means” approach to politics has ever espoused the concept of might makes right, and as such, the moral purity or honesty of their candidates was far less of a concern to them than party purity and agenda.  It is therefore unsurprising that the left seems more than willing on this go round to bend forward for a tired old candidate who would more appropriately be led off to prison than the oval office. Republicans, though,have since Nixon been a little more circumspect with the candidates they put forward. Allowances have been made for presidential hopefuls who seemed a little less than brilliant, lacking in charisma, or even electability; but at the slightest hint of impropriety the candidate was quickly abandoned in the GOP. It is to be anticipated that in a party greatly composed of religious and traditional values voters, that adherence to the “high road” would be a deciding factor for potential candidates. In a nation that seems to have lost its way though, the “high road” has looked more and more like a dead end in the last couple of elections. So it would seem that this time around, republican voters have decided that if they are going to be dragged through the mud anyway, they might as well nominate someone more comfortable wallowing in it. Even evangelicals, faced with a choice of conservative christians, a pastor, the son of a pastor, a Catholic, a Seventh Day Adventist, or other perfectly viable candidates have instead opted for the morally deficient narcissist who most closely resembles the Antichrist. Forgive my hyperbole, but it seems that the angel on the electorate’s right shoulder has grown tired of defeat and is opting to don progressive garb to beat the devil at his own game. It may seem to be a better alternative to abandon the nature of our better angels than to perpetually lose elections to the greater of two evils, but in so doing we create a land where there are no angels… and there is only one place where there are no angels.

IMHO: Last night on the streets of Chicago we saw a caricature of what our nation will look like without its soul. Rule by coercion and violence. An end to free speech for those we disagree with, and quickly following, an end to freedom of all sorts. Power seized through force, not discourse. Anger. Hatred. War… Welcome to our American Hell. Passion in the political forum is nothing new, and to be expected for such consequential matters; but organizing to silence an opposing view… I thought we were better than that.
I am no Trump fan, as perhaps you have discerned. From his oft repeated reference to the Presidential term of office as a “reign” to his insistence that people will do what he tells them if he’s elected, it seems clear that he doesn’t grasp the Constitutional notion of public servant any better than Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. Worse still, it seems that “We the People” are losing our appetite for liberty, and like so much of the rest of the world we cry out for a King, or a CEO who will relieve us of our burden of self-governance and keep us entertained with bread and circuses. If elected, Trump may surprise many of us and turn out to be a good President, stranger things have happened, but we have no evidence to expect that from what he’s said or done. Instead we have a candidate as adept at ignoring reality on the right- arguably the right- as Bernie Sanders is on the left. Like Obama before him, he assiduously avoids details, speaking in vague terms that allow the voter to project their own ideas onto his empty rhetoric. As Trump has said, he loves the poorly educated, and it is to those who have a poor education in civics, or to those who have set aside their education, that he appeals. His ability to garner the support of such as Chris Christie and Ben Carson suggests that he will continue to employ his admitted practice of influence peddling to deal his way through the presidency. That all being said, the chaos of what happened in Chicago last night outrages even those of us who are not Trump supporters, and while the organizers revel in the glow of having deprived Trump his rally, they have ironically only helped his campaign by reminding us that there are worse things than Trump.
The Donald’s most appreciated trait seems to be the fact that he speaks his mind, which I guess in this era of political correctness is refreshing to voters. Let’s face it though, if our neighbor spoke to us in that fashion we would not find it refreshing! There is such a thing as honesty with courtesy, candor with class. We risk the error that was made with Barack Obama, and again potentially with Hillary Clinton. It was indeed time to elect a black man to our highest office, but that particular black man was a mistake. It may well be time we had a woman for President, but not that woman. And so it may certainly be that we should look to a man who speaks his mind to lead our country, only let that mind reflect things worth speaking. It may be time we elected a citizen politician to the high office of President, but it remains a high calling, and it calls for a man of high character and principle. Truth be told, we have found a bully we suppose to be bigger than the bully who’s been bullying us, and somehow we imagine that this will free us from bullies.
Increasingly it appears that our choice in November will be between a rock and a hard place. In a free society people get the leaders they deserve. And that’s what I’m afraid of.