A note to my family, supposing that my brother Andy is Donald Trump, and my
sister Jeanie is Hillary Clinton.
My dear sister and brother:
I
feel very bad for both of you, after such a humiliating and mud-slinging
campaign. It has been brutal and ugly for all of us, really. I also feel bad
for you because one will win the Presidency, and one will not. And I know that
each one of you, my brother and sister, has flaws and weaknesses. And you have
personal motives for wanting the highest office in the land, some perhaps not
even clear to you in the depth of your heart. You also each have your conscious
wishes and plans for the country, for improving our common life here according
to your lights. And you both have large swarms of people around you, including
some very sharp advisors on both sides—and some who just like to be near the
center of power, and could even betray you if they thought it served their own
interests.
For the one of you who loses the election, I feel genuine
pity. But I will feel even more pity, if less immediate and intense, but
sustained over your years in office, for the one of you who wins this bloody
election. What you gain, you may live to regret, as other powerful leaders have
regretted their terms in office—often ending in shame, humiliation, violent or
natural death.
Whichever one of you wins, our country remains deeply
divided. We have divided for years, but the intensity and severity of division
keeps growing. Whoever wins, more than half of the electorate will be highly
critical of you (remember that perhaps 30% of eligible citizens will not bother
voting—just a rough guess). Whoever wins, you will be hated by many.
The one of you who becomes President will face a highly turbulent
international scene, with grave crises awaiting: Islamic-fundamentalist
terrorism; resurgent Iran; Russia and China pressing to expand their spheres of
influence / power; wicked regimes as in N Korea; violent unrest blowing up in
one country after another (such as in Venezuela recently). So you will face
extremely grave crises and challenges—most of which we cannot even now guess.
You and your inner circle of advisors—and our whole country whom you will
represent—will be utterly tested. Surely you know and expect such
tests.
But furthermore, whoever wins, you will face our country
struggling with numerous serious problems: breakdown of families and community
bonds; spiritual-intellectual-moral decay in many citizens; a poor educational
system for many Americans; profound racial tensions; breakdown of order in inner
cities; rampant drug abuse; influx of millions of “undocumented” migrants;
increasing concentration of wealth in large cities, with third-world poverty in
small towns and rural areas; sluggish economic growth and perhaps a recession;
an enormous and growing national debt; and so on. You will face an empire that
is, in my opinion, dying from within. You may disagree, but surely you will
have to deal with many symptoms of internal disease and disorder.
You may
win the election, dear brother or sister, but I think that you will often feel
enormous burdens on your shoulders, and be deprived of quiet rest. You will
have sleepless nights as you must struggle through many difficult decisions—all
the while as you are mocked and even vilified by the mass media and
entertainment industries. Few will be concerned for you as a person. Even
friends and associates will see you as a means to their own gain. You will
wonder, “Who are my real friends?” You will often be alone in the quiet or
turmoil of your own heart.
So whichever one of you wins, my brother and
sister, my heart goes out to you. I owe you and promise you my love and
support, and well-intentioned advice should you ever ask me for it. No matter
what happens to you, you are my brother and my sister.
