Donald Trump has made the 2020 election about integrity, not politics. His daily narrative, laced with lies and misleading statements, requires his supporters to endorse and essentially adopt his shockingly barren value system. This puts each one of them at painful odds with friends, family, neighbors and colleagues who are choosing instead to take a strong stand for integrity.
There should be no "integrity exemptions" for elected officials, and certainly not for the President of the United States. Integrity and character should be our FIRST PRIORITY FOR CHOOSING A PRESIDENT, not our last. We should elect a President because of his integrity, not in spite of it.
Honesty, humility, accountability, respect, and an empathetic spirit that puts the needs of others ahead of his own … is this really too much to ask from our President? Since none of these apply to Donald Trump, which of his deeply tarnished values would you Trump supporters encourage your children or grandchildren to emulate? Do you really want this man to serve as their role model?
If we all agree that integrity should be guiding our thoughts and choices (and why wouldn't we?), then we will be able to answer our children and grandchildren with pride when they ask, "Who are you voting for in November?" And they will ask.
We don't need to fight and hate like our gridlocked politicians. Let's drop-kick both the Ridiculous Red Right and Laughable Blue Left out of the discussion and let them duke it out on some ding-dong social media site and hate each other if they choose. The Reasonable Rational Rest of us can continue living in various "shades of purple" in the spirit of unity and compromise as intended by the Founding Fathers, and get back to being civil.
Kelly Mione
Seminole, Florida
If wanted:
Mr. Mione is a retired marketing professional who has lived in the Tampa Bay area since 1981. He is a former Guardian ad Litem and a long-time child advocate for those in the foster care system, especially the vulnerable young adults aging out of the system and making the difficult transition into adulthood.