Pearls: Moving forward at a reasonable speed
EDITORIAL MUG: Matt Pearl
The subject of President Donald Trump is an emotionally charged one. I rarely write about him for that very reason – I offend everyone. Half the country believes he’s our only hope, and the other half believes he will lead this nation and her people to our untimely end.
And I don’t buy either of those things. Donald Trump is – as all politicians are – a reflection of what we collectively wanted, feared, accepted and rejected.
Those adamantly opposed to his presidency view his rise as the product of the ignorant, racist side of America performing a voting booth catharsis, finally able to spew their hate publicly because the commander-in-chief gave them permission.
Those died-in-the-wool Trump supporters take an equally dangerous stance: that only one man has the answers to our national turmoil.
But the rise of Donald J. Trump in my eyes has only been about one thing – he’s the brakes on the car.
A large number of Americans held the perspective that changes in certain aspects of our society and government were happening too quickly. What’s the instinct when the car is going too fast, and you think you see trouble ahead? You hit the brake pedal. Imperfect as he may be, DJT was the brake pedal in 2016.
In 2020, the slight popular majority that elected him shifted in its middle, and the country resumed a course that set those squeamish to rapid social change back on edge, and they hit the pedal with greater force in 2024.
America is a high-performing vehicle, but her transmission is definitely n automatic. Two pedals adorn that car’s floor: an accelerator that takes us down the road with the progressive end in mind, and the brakes that reacts to change with a cautious slow-down from time to time.
Think about when you drive, and think about the situations when you stomp the accelerator to the floor. It’s fun, but the risks of accidents and traffic tickets rise significantly. There is an apparent price to pay for going too fast.
And how about when you stomp that brake? It’s typically a panicked reaction to danger; sometimes that danger is real and other times we thought we saw a deer or suspected that another driver was going to pull out in front of us, but the danger was never actually there.
So my continuing commentary on 21st century American politics remains the same as it has been for a long time. Drive with both pedals. Show a little moderation. If your world is falling apart right now, then take a deep breath and have a little faith in democracy. They didn’t all just vote for Trump, you know – they voted against the speed and direction they thought this car was headed.
And if you think the end of Trump’s term will signal the end of society, that when the savior of the Oval Office is gone that America’s hope will be lost, take your deep breath and believe in the ideas that you see as our people’s core values. If your ideas are the better ones, then your worries are unwarranted.
You see why I don’t write about President Trump? How many of you are annoyed that I’m not praising or condemning him? He’s what we asked for, America. He’s what happens when half the country want to rewire our collective sensibilities into a European-style progressive socialist haven, and the other half believes if we move enough pieces around, we can make it 1985 again.
My hope would be that we find the political future where we can move forward at a reasonable speed, where liberals don’t feel the need to stomp the accelerator to the floor before the four years of a progressive presidency are concluded. In that scenario, conservatives also don’t feel the need to lock down the brake pedal with such urgency, either.
Matt Pearl owns and operates The Tri-County Ledger.
