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He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named: The Case For Ignoring Trump

Forget Tax Returns and Other Misdeeds, What If We Simply Pardon And Ignore Him?

By Kevin WankePublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named: The Case For Ignoring Trump
Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash

The Trump train is leaving the station.

This is the last call for all of the white supremacists, militias, and wayward Republican voices.

Yet the shadow of this administration looms large over both our political processes and daily lives.

We as a society would be best served to bury this chapter of our history and to move on while vanquishing the noise from these groups from our society.

Like all things in life, it is never that easy.

The specter of racism and hate follows a strong undercurrent in our society. If we can celebrate nothing else from the past four years we can at least rest easier in the thought that these groups have come out from the shadows and are now standing in the light.

It is always easier to overcome a foe that you can see as opposed to one hiding in the shadows.

By Markus Spiske on Unsplash

As a society of human beings we must address these ideas and work to educate and remove them from our society. Just like climate change, this is one of the biggest battles that humans will face in the first half of the twenty-first century.

However, those concepts are broad and wide-reaching.

Instead of attacking these massive topics, instead let's focus one one individual topic.

We have a chance, here and now, to make a statement about someone who has done more to divide and ostracize elements of our shared society than any other human in recent memory.

It is clear and obvious who is being referred to here.

Setting aside the view of the author for purposes of this argument, there is something devilishly simple in the references to evil posed in the Harry Potter universe.

He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.

In those stories the name of the antagonist is not spoken due to it breaking previously set enchantments, allowing Voldemort's followers to locate the speaker and thus identify and track down their enemies.

We are at a similar crossroads with You-Know-Who.

By Rom Matibag on Unsplash

We as a society just experienced something magical. On the weekend of November 7-8 after a general agreement of major news networks to call the 2020 election for Joe Biden a spontaneous and celebration occurred in places all over the United States of America.

The people took to the streets in a peaceful and joyful celebration. There was no destruction. There was no damage to people and property. The news networks stopped for just a moment and simply showed footage of people experiencing elation. News anchors and talking heads stopped analyzing and simply expounded on their thoughts and feelings. Politicians reflected on the moment and the meaning.

In the midst of this outpouring of human emotions the focus and the coverage was not on You-Know-Who.

Oh, how it must have frustrated and enraged that not only was the coverage not on him but also that all of the wild accusations of violence and destruction were not being perpetrated across the country.

Now as we move forward the lawsuits are starting to go away. The statements are getting wilder and more off-base.

By Arny Mogensen on Unsplash

Now is the point that all of us have to make a decision. Do we watch this flaming dumpster fire as it slowly rolls down the street hoping yet dreading for even bigger fireworks?

Or, do we step back, realize that this narcissistic bully who openly espouses genetic superiority while openly mocking and deriding the people who come to see him isn't really worth our time anymore.

Seriously. No more tweets, no more mentions. Sure, they will exist and some people and news sources won't be able to resist the low-hanging fruit that is provided in the daily, all-caps word soup. But for the rest of us, let's retake this word and move on.

Let's trump You-Know-Who.

As in: trump (verb) to excel; surpass; outdo.

It won't take much to excel past the accomplishments of the past four years.

At the personal level it is easy. How do you remove power from a verbal bully?

Ignore them.

By Scott Umstattd on Unsplash

It is plain and simple in theory, yet in practice will be difficult to do. The shouting will get louder. The statements more egregious. The foot-stomping and whining even more annoying.

Just think, what would our world be like if starting January 20, 2021 you never had to hear the name of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named again. How refreshing would that be?

It will take a huge effort to surpass and bypass this person in the media and relegate them to the side notes in the history books.

This train will come off the tracks on its own. We don't need to continue watching it wreck and pile up more pain, suffering and regret.

We have a pandemic to address. We have the initial flames of hope to fan into a roaring bonfire of change.

But all of this can be derailed. It can go off the tracks all too easily.

Even now, many weeks before inauguration day, mentions of tax returns and court cases are popping up.

Stop. Walk away. Let the state courts handle these. At the national level, both in the news and political arenas we should ignore all of these topics as distractions and not pursue these loose threads.

Any politician that wants to beat this drum for cheap and easy political points or to try and unravel this sweater is perpetuating the voices and the platform and diluting the message of hope and change.

Here is a wild and crazy idea. What if Joe Biden took the ultimate step to pardon You-Know-Who for election and campaign finance crimes against this country?

It is an almost laugh out loud concept, yet it would be a brilliant move.

We all know that he wants to pardon himself and others. What if the incoming President announced it first?

We don't need revenge here. This would not be a miscarriage of justice. This would allow for all of the state-level proceedings to continue. He will not escape what is coming to him, either through the courts or from the banks who are holding his estimated $400 million debt.

Imagine the foot stomping and hair pulling that would ensue if it was announced that the first acts upon assuming the role of President would include signing orders reversing many of the current executive orders followed by the signing of a pardon.

This is not unprecedented - remember - Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon for crimes against America.

Yet the olive branch that would be extended by a pardon would be invaluable political capital as well as show that even Democrats are looking to put the past four years behind, heal, and move on.

By Colin D on Unsplash

Both Democrats and Republicans have a chance here to take the high road and patch the holes that have begun to spring leaks in this thing we call democracy.

Set aside the vitriol. Move on from the finger pointing. Show the world that while we don't have to agree, we can be these united states.

You know, that phrase that is part of the name of our country.

The playbook here is simple.

Ignore him.

Take the high road.

Focus on making things better instead of seeking revenge and recompense.

The last four years are over. We all need to move on and work on making the next four amazing, productive, and hopeful.

Thanks for reading!

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About the Creator

Kevin Wanke

Engineer. Manager. Husband. Father. Wanna-be Writer. Editor-In-Chief & Grand Poobah of www.kevinwanke.com

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