Kweku’s Korner
“He who dares not offend, cannot be honest!” – Thomas Paine
By Dr. Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi
Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi, formerly known as Ramel Smith
The election of 2016 left a lot of people confused in the United States. It was only eight years prior that the first Black President was elected in the United States, and it was declared that this nation was officially in a post-racial society. However, the focus of the 2016 election was draped with all types of slander that was xenophobic, misogynistic, and complete with all the other ugly racial tension from the early 1960s.
By the end of the first Trump Presidency, he had been impeached twice, fumbled the recovery relief on a pandemic, and helped to incite a mob to revolt at the nation’s capitol. In fact, his once loyal Vice-President reiterated his loyalty was not to Trump, but to America and the -constitution. When Pence stated he would certify the results of the election, Trump and the mob did not see anything wrong with a gallows being built behind the chants to “hang Mike Pence.” In any other reality, Trump would have been imprisoned without the chance to ever hold public office again on a local, state, or federal level.
Consider, that in the three years after his Presidency, he was convicted of 34 felonies. Now many will say the judicial justice system was armed against him. I agree, it was. It was armed against him the same way it was armed against Al Capone. Al Capone had committed numerous crimes they could not get a charge and conviction on, so they found the pettiest of the crimes that would stick; and the tax evasion infraction was his doom. This was the least of Capone’s crimes; but, in a way the system could allow justice to prevail. Consider, that a felon cannot vote in many states or own a gun. Yet, Trump was allowed to run for the highest office and have the codes for the nuclear football, the mightiest weapon in the history of mankind.
Despite all that, he was allowed to run. In this election, he promised to 1) be a dictator Day 1; 2) conduct a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants; 3) exact revenge on all those who offended him; 4) enact Project 2025; and 5) put only people loyal to him in prominent positions. And, the people of America voted for him, overwhelmingly. America has gotten what she voted for: A con man in cognitive decline who has more in common with fascist dictators than democratic liberators. This is not just a mandate on one man, but a growing group that allows the ugliest part of their humanity to manifest in the guise of patriotism. May our better angels defeat our inner demons! There is a Chinese proverb that states, “be careful what you wish for, you just may get it.”
There is a Chinese curse that states, “May you get what you wish for!” Remember when God warned Israel about wanting a King? Well, he gave them an earthly King. The problem with absolute power is that it absolutely corrupts, even those deemed blessed by the Almighty. If I had to diagnose America, I would say she is presenting with psychotic features induced by substance abuse, because she has drunk the laced Kool-Aid of a con man…. again. Prescription- sober up and refrain from illicit substances.