America seems destined to remain sharply divided
It’s not every day that events occur that justify the phrase “the beginning of the end.” The surrender and looming trials of Trump and his indicted cronies may earn that ambiguous tag.
Trump’s loyal followers hope the legal proceedings will exonerate their hero, put an end to what they call witch hunts, and hurt Democrats. Win or lose, they will rage on. The Democrats hope the proceedings will result in Trump’s defeat, put an end to the endless lies that the election was rigged and point the country forward. A win would be Pyrrhic, a loss catastrophic.
As to the nation itself, America’s version of democracy seems to stand at the intersection of those diametrically opposing forces. It seems ready to suffer, because whatever the outcome, America seems fated to remain sharply divided.
In truth, the country will be the ultimate loser no matter the outcome. America seems, to cite another ominous phrase, to lie between a rock and a hard place. Will it be democracy’s time of Siberian exile?
RICKS CARSON, ATLANTA
Biden is clear favorite over any of GOP candidates
Even more baffling than the candidate with four felony indictments is the cast of Republican characters on the debate stage.
How can they give fealty to Trump and still be alternatives? If they can’t stand up to the insurrection president, how can they stand up for the rights of Americans on the world stage?
On climate, their loyalty to fossil fuel interests (which continue to pour money into Republican coffers) is at the expense of Americans and the planet.
Meanwhile, Biden has America again leading the world, tackling climate change and infrastructure and leading an era of prosperity that Republicans will not acknowledge.
The choice could not be more obvious: criminality, false loyalties, scientific blindness, etc., versus an older but wiser man who favors American democracy over the cult of narcissism.
JOHN SHACKLETON, ATLANTA
