Letter to the Editor - Neither Heroic Nor Self-Sacrificing

Your support keeps truth alive in Decorah—donate to local news today! Dear Editor, In a meme recently posted by the White House, Trump is pictured as Superman. While the unseriousness of this in itself is cringeworthy and is, no doubt, laughed at by those in the international community, the fact is that Trump displays none of the positive character traits of a Superman figure. He is neither heroic nor self-sacrificing and has not a single iota of kindness and compassion for other human beings. The current challenges we face in this country are in part because the man charged with leading us is incapable of leadership and is unable to weigh the needs and best interests of the American people in challenging situations. He gives tax breaks to those who fawn over him, like the leaders of Apple and Amazon and Facebook. He threatens institutions of higher learning until they cave, trying to ensure their institutional survival but paying a heavy price in the utter freedom of thought and ideas that ought to be a right protected by our Constitution and not stripped away by the Bully-in-Chief. The list of personal insults he has lodged at others, including persons of color, women, and those differently abled would cover text equivalent to a Tolstoy novel and cannot be adequately summarized here. Trump's modus operandi is not centered on, "How can I shape productive policy?," but, rather, "How can I demonize and dehumanize?" With such rhetoric peppered in falsehoods at the rate that most people employ periods or commas. There is perhaps little sadder than a man entirely bereft of character pretending to be courage itself embodied. It would be sad, indeed, if it were not so utterly dangerous for the direction of our democracy that is suffering under the strain of his narcissistic abuse. Peaceful resistance is needed now more than ever. Jenny Kuderer Goodview, Minn. Stay ahead of the curve! Subscribe to free newsletters for exclusive insights, local trends and analysis delivered straight to your inbox.