Time to Go

Ignorance, according some of the ancient Greek philosophers, was one of the great evils. And in a public figure, like Donald Trump, is a source of alarm.

A recent piece (Aug. 1) in the New York Times by Max Boot, a conservative, lists some of the numerous statements Trump has made, indicating the level of his ignorance.  Boot does not repeat Trump's statement that he loves "poorly educated people." 

Trump seems proud of his lack of learning. He's a man whose source of news is TV, not reading; he told the Washington Post that he reaches decisions "with very little knowledge." He thinks the Constitution has 12 articles rather than seven and, for his own devious purposes, traffics in the conspiracy theories that Obama was born in Kenya and that the father of Ted Cruz was involved in the Kennedy assassination.

Trump seems to be the monster born out of the right-wing media, such as Fox News, with its emphasis on news as entertainment.  Well, Trump was a bit entertaining at first, but now his extreme statements are as unacceptable as he is.

Here is ignorance at work: He knows he is right and doesn't care about the truth. He has taken the anti-intellectual element in American politics to new heights--or depths.

If it were merely a matter of his being poorly informed, I would not be worried so much about the American election. It is Trump's willingness to say anything to insult and ridicule people, especially Khizr Khan, the father of the Muslim soldier killed in Iraq; this man, saying Trump had a "black soul," has the kind of moral courage Trump, with his five deferments from military service, lacks.

There seems to be no one he will not insult in an effort to dominate the news; and the media are foolish enough to play along with him.  Just as the GOP looks more and more foolish with Trump as their standard bearer.

Why do his party leaders, while try to distance themselves from his statements, not disown Trump?  How can they vote for a man with a black soul, lacking compassion? This ignoramus is not only a national embarrassment but the most dangerous demagogue ever to seek the White House.  As an American, I feel ashamed.