Where do we turn next?

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Where does America turn next? We have just been made aware there is, and maybe always has been, a serious lack of integrity in our two major political parties. The revelation of the problem in the Democratic Party concerning the Clintons and Hillary's presidential ambitions just adds fuel to the question of 'who do you believe and trust to lead our nation' .

Isn't it bad enough that we have a problem in our large cities where the police are accused of racial profiling each time they are involved in a shooting if a victim is black? The reaction seems to blame the police department and the response leads to more distrust between the community and law enforcement. Whom do we trust?

We haven't even found out how many women are accusing Harvey Weinstein of rape or sexual abuse because new revelations seem to crop up daily. Hollywood used to be the star-studded place where dreams were created. Now we find out the dirty secrets that were whispered in private and at least believed to be partially true are no longer a secret. No longer can we believe Bill Cosby was the perfect father -- another dream broken by the reality of humanness. Have we gained anything as a society by setting up idols in Hollywood whether actors, actresses or the ever powerful studio mogul and then watch some of them fall into a crumpled heap of disappointment when their private lives are exposed for all to see?

It seems the more effort we make to set up a person on a pedestal, the more likely we are to destroy them and become pessimistic about a career field they tainted with their failure. We grew up believing in Babe Ruth only to find he was indeed a great baseball player and the idol of a generation of sports lovers, but had human aspects in his life that were not revealed to the aspiring youngsters who believed in him. And, today we routinely read about athletes on college campuses and professional athletes who get their names in the headlines for personal situations that are not uncommon, but are not headline news except for those of potential celebrity status.

What I learn as I study the Old Testament of the Bible reveals that the higher the profile of the individual, the greater the impact for failure to meet our current social "standard of perfection." If you read the first Book of Samuel to the end, the future King of Israel (David) was a pretty brutal and deceitful guy by today's standards.

When we come full circle in trying to establish our trust in today's world, who or what can be believed and taken with us to our graves? The disappointment in Hillary Clinton's political life is not a real surprise. Donna Brazile's new book, however opens up new questions which we must face in the future regardless of our political party affiliation. The impact of money, the sources, and the greed that is associated with it leaves a horrible smell coming out of the entire Washington political scene. The Democrats have pointed out the impact of the Koch family political support and how it has affected the Republicans, but there seems to be only a purely political connection tying the Democrats (Hillary, Bill and some foreign governments) to sources of large political donations. We appear to have allowed a corrupt connection to develop between very large political donations, political parties and the power of politics. These three factors appear to be tied regardless of the political party.

Donald Trump looks more like the answer to prayer than I would ever have expected. For those of us who pray about such things as the outcome of elections being the best for our nation, he may be what we asked for. I have never been a strong proponent of the electoral process of casting states' votes, but it looks like it saved us from potential political disaster. Based on the latest revelations our prayers may have been answered.

Based on what we are learning about our society where does the American voter turn if they want to return to Christian values in politics and society? With the right to vote but no financial wealth to influence the choice of a candidate, how do we contribute to bring about a renewed integrity in our society? How serious is the moral decay to individuals and to America's future?

•••

Editor's note: Leo Lynch, an award-winning columnist, is a native of Benton County and has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace.

Editorial on 11/08/2017