8/18/2015

Is He Presidential Material?

By now, most of the world has heard about the comments made by Donald Trump in which he stated that Senator John McCain was a war hero solely because his aircraft was shot down and he spent over 5 years in a prison camp being tortured to reveal military information to the enemy.

In the same interview, I believe Donald Trump went on to say that everyone that served in the military and in Vietnam should be considered a hero as well. Of course, those additional remarks did not make it very far with the media and the only way that we know about them is because Donald Trump is subsequent interviews reiterated that he had also made those comments.

John McCain was said to have take the “high road” by not addressing those comments made by Donald Trump but instead indicated that Donald Trump should apologize to all those military families; however, instead of apologizing Donald Trump suggested that John McCain should apologize to all the Hispanics and Mexicans that he had called crazy when attending a Donald Trump rally and derogatory comments were made by Donald Trump about immigration reform.

So, here we have a clear example of two people playing tag with verbal comments in order to score point with the audience as well as the American public. And, this is what American Politics and Politicians seem to do best.... criticize or blame the other party and do nothing.

But, is the American public tired of these political antics and games?

The answer is NO!!!

Recently, this writer heard on the news that the real reason with Donald Trump's comment was not so much that it was wrong, but that he, Donald Trump, was not being very Presidential by making a comment like this...

And, we (that is us Americans) think our Presidents should act Presidential... which means that you can't shit like Donald Trump said about John McCain because it has nothing to do with truth or not but about being Presidential.

And, maybe that is why so many people (excluding yours truly) like Donald Trump because he is going to say what is on his mind whether it is Presidential or not...

So, our real question, is America ready for a President like that???

But, I also find it curious about what people think is being a hero... because can everybody really be a hero simply because they were in the military during a war... and, if being a war hero can only be accomplished when Congress has declared war on another country(s) then, Vietnam was NEVER that kind of declared war... and, to this day it is still referred to by the US Government as the Vietnam Era Conflict... and, not a war!

When I think of a war hero, I think of someone who fell on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers or someone who fought valiantly against insurmountable odds or someone who refused to kill women and children simply because it was ordered by a desperate commander who was losing control of a village and a strategic position. I would also think that POWs who experience extreme suffering in the face of torture may or may not be heroes as their actions relate to what other soldiers in battle may or may not have done... showing great courage in the face of the enemy is not necessarily being a hero... it is simply showing great courage during battle which is exactly what soldiers are expected to do.

For example, the pilot of the Enola Gay who is responsible for dropping the bomb on Japan that ended the war is certainly no hero because of his actions; however, he showed great courage in staying the course even though he knew the destruction and completely devastation his actions would cause. And, from high above the life of a city, he demolished all of that life with the flick of a wrist that killed all sorts of innocent men, women, and children so that more soldiers on both sides would not be killed.

But, is he a hero or someone who was just following orders that may have been morally inappropriate in the eyes of many people who believed innocent lives need not be taken.

So, how many heroes do you think a war or a conflict should have? Should it be based upon the number of people involved in the war and/or conflict, excluding civilians or should it be based upon some other criteria?

In an athletic competition, there can only be one Player of Game, even though there were a lot of great players and a lot of great plays made or executed... and, what would that do to the recognition that went with being Player of the Game if we gave that to everyone who played simply because they played?

You are right, athletics cannot and should not be compared to war/conflict and soldiers but should we make everyone who was involved a hero, simply because they were in the military. I mean we are talking about cooks and drivers and mechanics and code breakers... but, are we not then forgetting those people who manufacture the bullets and bombs and do so in such a war so that they operate as expected 100% of the time... without guns and bullets there would be no heroes.

But, to call everyone a hero is really being Presidential and everyone on both sides of the aisle loves to be a part of being Presidential, and America and her Politicians are really good at being Presidential... and, Donald Trump's comments about John McCain are not Presidential at all...

Americans really want and really expect their Presidents to be Presidential... and, they really don't seem to mind at all, former Presidents telling the truth in their memoirs after they have left office and completed 4-8 years being Presidential Presidents.

As a billionaire, Donald Trump can say and pretty much do whatever he wants and his billions will still be around (other that what he has to pay out for alimony) and he will still live the wealthy life and influence other people's lives through and because of his wealth... and, not being elected President will cause him little lost sleep at night... and, America will continue with its Presidential Presidents and will little change will be experienced.

And maybe, just maybe that is what Donald Trump represents the most that all his opponents are concerned about... CHANGE... Donald Trump being Donald Trump will bring about change, the likes of which we have never seen before... and, that change will not be subtle at all... it will come down in a thunderous lightening bolt... which is much like the personality of Putin... boy, wouldn't those two be an interesting match?

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