Credits: Left; poynter.org Right; guardian.com

The D-Day was November 3rd, 2020. It was a historical day in the United States of America. It was a day for the people to choose who would lead them for the next four years. It was also a day of unprecedented voter turnout. But, wait a minute.

Pre-D-Day was marked with aggressive campaign in every sector and way imaginable. Voter registration was brought to your doorsteps (or in your face); one need not have to do much. The organizing was excellently done. If you lived in the United States and had been unawares or asleep, you would indeed be woke! Any wonder why the voter turnout was unprecedented? But, wait a minute.

What happened and why are the votes still hanging; or is’t the presidency (or President) that’s still hanging? It depends on the way you view it.

. . .

Human beings love to congregate; they also love the bandwagon and to groupthink. I hate both. It appears that we do not don our thinking caps when we hop on the band wagon. I get it, no-one likes to stand alone while everyone else is on the other side of the room. Nor does anyone like to think they might be wrong being on the opposite minority side. The bold ones who choose to opt out are viewed as loners. But, wait a minute, has anyone ever considered that the majority could be wrong? I thought about a time when the majority was wrong and came up with two times; the first one was in the Bible when Moses sent his men to go and search (spy) the land of Canaan:

"and see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many ... whether it be good or bad ... fat or lean ... and be of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land." (Numbers 13 & 14)

Of the twelve (12) (or thirteen (13) depending on the Bible version), only two men, Joshua and Caleb, brought back good news declaring that “the land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land … a land flowing with milk and honey.” The rest of the men unfortunately stated that the land was full of giants and that they were like grasshoppers in their sight! Whose report would you as a person believe?

The other one was remembering former Vice President Al Gore who championed the cause for a climate change awareness while warning that we need to be cognizant of our environment. At the time, no-one believed him. Or rather, only a handful of people listened to him then. It was like waking up and recounting a dream and someone yelling out to you, “what did you eat last night – pizza?!” Fast forward two decades later, what do we have? Not only was Al Gore right, he won a Nobel Prize (jointly with the IPCC) for his role on climate change activism.

The point is that the majority can be wrong. And many a time, the majority is wrong, but we all realize it a little bit too late when the harm has already been done!

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).”

― Mark Twain

. . .

Mr. Donald Trump

Without doubt, incumbent President Donald Trump has stepped on numerous toes; what with his policies on immigration, America first, ending reliance on China and its manufacturing, pro life, anti-climate change, putting down Africans/Nigerians (remember his s___thole statement?!), etc. The list is endless. Oh, wait a minute, what with his sarcasms that stir division and tend to promote racism and white supremacy? Or his stance during the police-citizen unrest?!

Well, I do not condone any of the above. When President Trump made the derogatory statement about Africans/Nigerians, I tweeted “Mr. President just exhibited his global ignorance!” A leader should not be divisive, but tactically use wisdom to unite his people. Mr. Trump, respectfully, appears to lack both tact and diplomacy that is expected of a leader. Is that a good or bad thing? I don’t know. But this one thing I know, I can bet that he does not talk about or to his family and/or close friends the way he had been since assumption of Office of the President. I must say that he has gotten better though. He was worse at the onset.

Being blunt and bold are strengths, which I admit that Mr. Trump possesses. Boldness to pursue your enemies and stand in the midst of attacks. Bluntness to speak your mind openly and truthfully when others would otherwise shut up, in order not to rock the boat, is surprisingly a gift from God. Unfortunately, these gifts also can bring enmity, cause one to be tremendously disliked and unpopular. I must say that God is a God of order. He gave the gifts and we must return to Him to enquire about how to exercise the gift and the order to follow.

"when I was a child I spoke as a child, 
I felt and thought as a child; 
now that I became a man, 
I have put away childish things." 
- 1 Corinthians 13:11

Most of us don’t. We feel that everything God reveals to us has to be uttered. Yes, they have to be uttered but at the proper time. I have been guilty of this too. Timing is important. When in one’s infancy of awareness and demonstration of the gift, it is not uncommon to err on the side of untimely utterances. Remember the story of Joseph in the Bible who uttered his dream prematurely? The dream came true, but not without Joseph going through the pit and valley. We all have to go through this process before we mature in our gifts. In my humble opinion, this is what I deduced that Mr. President went through. Yes, he’s an adult, but I doubt if he was a practicing Christian on assumption of office. The gifts of God, though irrevocable, are not dependent on physical age.

• 

The age we acknowledge and begin exercising the gift is significant.

Mr. Trump was also not a career politician. As such his craft was not developed for the Office of the President. He was a shrewd business man and real estate mogul. Many would remember him for his TV series, “The Apprentice” where he fired incompetent contestants. As a private man, he brought the mentality of the TV show to Office and stepped on everyone’s toes; even his allies! He even stepped on his own toes and we watched him contradict himself at times. We could go on and on, but these two observed points, in my opinion, clearly caused Mr. President his gazillion enemies. But, wait a minute.

. . .

Mr. Joe Biden

Mr. Joe Biden is a career politician and running for the Office of the President, after having being Vice President, seems like the ultimate next step. He allegedly won the race by a surprising landslide. We all watched it on the television, right? And those mail-in ballots kept seeping in and in and in. At one point, the votes were close. Suddenly, the gap widened. This is not an unusual occurrence. And yes, the people are tired and want a change and will do anything to embrace Mr. Biden and Kamala Harris. I believe that Kamala helped secured the votes. But, wait a minute.

Is the duo of Joe Biden (JB) and Kamala Harris (KH) better than that of Donald Trump (DT) and Mike Pence (MP)? I must look stupid now asking that question. Pardon my naivety. But, if past performance is a predictor of future performance, I propose to you that the people will soon get tired of both JB and KH and will be yearning for another duo. At this point, anyone other than DT is welcomed.

Who declares?

The Associated Press (AP) declared JB the winner. Looks like AP is rejoicing over the President’s defeat. And yes, DT stepped on their (AP) toes too – remember the ranting about the fake media? So it’s not surprising that they were swift to declare DT out of office. But, wait a minute.

The Constitution of the United States of America states that “the results won’t be official until each state fully canvasses and certifies its presidential election results, which occurs on a different timeline in every state.” The Electoral College has to declare the Presidential winner after the electors vote on December 14. The votes have also been recounted and, yes, some have reaffirmed Joe Biden as the winner. But it’s not final until the Electoral College’s proclamation and Donald Trump’s concession. All eyes and ears will be fixed on December 14.

But, wait a minute (to be continued)