The Republican National Convention has come and gone. The Democratic National Convention has come and gone as well.
The polls tell which candidate is ahead, however, I believe the polls only reflect the group that was targeted and no more. I feel the poll takers for the Clinton/Kaine or Trump/Pence teams will go to the areas they know the numbers will be to their advantage.
We continue to hear the nasty comments come more from one side than the other, but that is to be expected. What isn’t expected in my opinion, are the words people have chosen to call one candidate over another. The beginning of the alphabet has started many words recently; A, B, C and on, even down to W (use your imagination) to describe Hillary. I haven’t seen too many of the alphabet used for Donald. I’m not prude, and I’m certainly someone who isn’t without tarnish on my halo. However, there are some things you just don’t put in print. It seems social media has no limits.
The Presidential debates have been scheduled as follows:
Monday, September 26, 2016: First presidential debate, Location: Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
Tuesday, October 4, 2016: Vice presidential debate, Location: Longwood University, Farmville, VA
Sunday, October 9, 2016: Second presidential debate, Location: Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Wednesday, October 19, 2016: Third presidential debate, Location: University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
Whereas I didn’t watch all of the respective conventions, I do plan on watching all the debates – if they’ll happen. That’s what I said, “If.” On July 31, 2016, money.cnn.com’s headline was “Donald Trump and RNC attack presidential debate schedule.” It seems DJT and the GOP are upset NFL games are scheduled on some of the same nights as debates. According to the article “That’s true. (It was also true in 2012, and the debates were still high-rated.)”
Trump has been unstable in endorsing people from his own party. One week he’s talking down about John McCain and Paul Ryan. When that made news, next thing you know, he’s endorsing them.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m far from saying Hillary is without her share of controversy. It always comes back to honesty and trustworthiness. Yes, they’re important issues against her. But in looking over several polls as of Sunday, Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump anywhere from 4 to 15 points. Again, as I stated earlier, it depends on who is taking the poll and where.
What are some issues that we can compare side-by-side? I obtained the following information from: http://presidential-candidates.insidegov.com/compare/40-70/Hillary-Clinton-vs-Donald-Trump:
Hillary:
Abortion is a woman’s unrestricted right: Strongly Agrees
Legally require hiring women & minorities: Strongly Agrees
Comfortable with same-sex marriage: Strongly Agrees
Keep God in the public sphere: Agrees
EPA regulations are too restrictive: Strongly Disagrees
Make voter registration easier: Strongly Agrees
Donald:
Abortion is a woman’s unrestricted right: Disagrees
Legally require hiring women & minorities: Neutral/No opinion
Comfortable with same-sex marriage: Disagrees
Keep God in the public sphere: Strongly Agrees
EPA regulations are too restrictive: Strongly Agrees
Make voter registration easier: Agrees
They’re just a glimpse at the future we could possibly have.
Locally, many of us have continued a peaceful gathering of “Love Always Wins” each Monday evening at the famous northeast corner of Oakland Park Boulevard and Federal Highway. The gathering was started just after the mass shootings at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando by three community people: Derek Maingot, Tom Runyan, D.J.Michael Tank. It continues to be an amazing experience for all participants.
This weekend, there were a group of Trump supporters in the spot, and interestingly, one of them was carrying a rainbow flag. It makes you wonder if these people are jumping on the “Love Always Wins” bandwagon by making people walking and driving by think the Monday night group are Trump supporters. I truly hope not, especially when one of the Saturday signs was very anti-Hillary, using a few of the letters I described above (B&W).
It all goes back to educating ourselves and others, knowing the respective candidates as best as possible. There are many LGBT people who are for Donald and Mike. They feel they’ll be better for the USA. Sorry, I don’t feel that way. Setting us back decades and wanting my life being discounted or having basic equal rights taken away has ZERO economical value to me. The next President will also put new Supreme Court Justices in place. Think about that too. Your actions on 11/8/2016 can have a major impact on many lives, and perhaps not in a good way.
I leave you with the words of Melchor Lim: “Every day brings new lessons and new possibilities. There is always a way to take the next step forward on the path you’ve chosen. Events may be terrible and inescapable at times, but you always have choice: if not when, then how, you may endure and proceed onward.”
Rev. Joel S. Slotnick is an ordained Interfaith minister and full time digital court reporter. He can be found on Facebook and followed on Twitter.
Photo: CNN.com
