“To be, or not to be: That is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? This quote is one of the most famous from Shakespeare’s great body of work. Hamlet, in this soliloquy, ponders the most serious of questions, to continue living or end life by his own hand. His uncertainty and doubt are mired in the fear of the unknown of the afterlife.
The problem lies with those who will really decide this election, the so-called “undecideds” in swing states. Seeking a strong leader going forward, these people may be unaware of Trump’s plans for the future and may be willing to bet on the crazy bull in the China shop. Our national China shop has had its share of cracked pottery but this bellicose bovine can't be given a second chance to reduce it all to rubble.
The question is not competency to do the job due to advanced age, because both candidates are old and not as sharp as they once might have been. As someone who happens to be the same age as Trump, I know that the rigors of such a job are beyond the abilities of both of them. The presidency is extremely demanding and to function effectively you need to be of agile mind and sound body. I am regularly faced with such decisions. Things I know HOW to do but can no longer do well due to those same physical limitations, means I must now call “the guy.” I know how to do plumbing, electrical, and carpentry projects but many of these tasks are now better left to those who can do them more efficiently.
Likewise, Joe Biden knows HOW to be president but very few people in my age bracket have the stamina to do such an important and stressful job well. In this case, perception is reality. We need to look no further than the immediate past where RBG made the wrong decision and wiped out much of what she did well in her life with the consequences of her decision to continue fighting the good fight. Joe should learn from RBG and make the hard decision to step down.
I don’t say this lightly and, if Biden were running against a sane Republican, it might be worth the risk. However, Biden is not running against a sane person who will protect our democracy. He is running against a maniacal conman who has befuddled and bedazzled enough of our fellow citizens to have a shot of winning in November. This time, with the support of The Heritage Foundation and their Project 2025, he plans to “reinterpret” the Constitution to ensure we never again are allowed to freely elect another president.
I’m old enough to have gone to school with Bill Shakespeare and Mick Jagger. In that I mean I read Shakespeare and listened to The Rolling Stones while Donny T went to private school and was robbing the younger kids of their lunch money. Mick told me, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well, you might find you get what you need.”
I will stand with Joe Biden whatever he decides but, to quote Lady Macbeth, “…I fear thy nature: it is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way.” In her statement, she told her husband that while he hoped to be great by acting with virtue and goodness he lacked the ability to lie and cheat to win. We can only hope that, as a nation, we haven’t yet stooped to that level where the only path to victory is deceit. We can also hope that Joe Biden will have the strength of character to make the toughest decision of his life so that we might avoid the tragedy of Macbeth.
Macbeth listened to the three witches who foretold his rise to power. Today we have the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and QAnon as our modern-day stand-ins. While Trump listens to any who parrot his twisted utterances, Biden needs to listen to his own heart and perhaps make the ultimate sacrifice for the good of democracy. Yes, that 90-minute debate was that important. I didn’t listen to it (intentionally) but enough has leaked into my consciousness through televised clips and writings that I know few would be immune to its impact.
I’ll leave you with a few lines from The Rolling Stones song that sold as many single copies as (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.
Well, I'm sitting here thinkin' just how sharp I am
I'm an under-assistant West Coast promo man, yeah, yeah
Well, I promo groups when they come into town
Well, they laugh at my toupee, they're sure to put me down
[The song is "The Under-Assistant West Coast Promotion Man" and it was the B-Side of Satisfaction] --Now you know the rest of the story.
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