I was watching the Democratic National Convention again last night and something occurred to me during several interviews when people were talking about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Both have spent decades in jobs that were focused on helping others.
Harris was a prosecutor. She was the Attorney General for California before she became one of the Senators for California. Now she is the Vice President of the United States and the nominee for the Democratic Party to become President of the United States.
Time Walz was a schoolteacher and high school football coach for years before he ever entered politics. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served several terms before becoming Governor of Minnesota. He also served in the National Guard.
They have both been engaged in various forms of public service for their entire careers. Contrast those records with those of Trump and Vance. Trump has never done anything that can be remotely classified as public service. He conned his way out of the military with the help of his wealthy father. He has been doing everything to serve his own interests for decades. Even when he was President, he was looking out primarily for his own interests.
Vance did serve in the military but then found a benefactor in Peter Thiel who led him to feed at the venture capital trough where he enriched himself, often at the expense of others. He is currently the most unpopular vice-presidential pick in modern history. He has a clear history of denigrating anyone, particularly women, who don’t view the world as he does.
Despite all of the rhetoric surrounding the ‘issues’ of immigration, abortion, inflation, climate change, the war in the Middle East, and everything else confronting today’s leaders, the real bottom line issue on the table for this election is simply, “Do we want leaders who have proven track records of being selfless? Or do we want leaders who have proven records of being selfish and self-centered?”
The current MAGA indoctrinated GOP has become a party of self interest which is just a reflection of their leader, Donald Trump. They selfishly believe their beliefs are the only ‘right’ ones and they want to force those beliefs upon everyone else. They are selfishly interested in increasing their own wealth at the expense of others. They don’t believe in abortion and want to force those beliefs upon all women. They don’t believe in gay marriage and want to force those beliefs upon everyone else. If you really look at what Project 2025 is all about, it is a selfish document written by selfish, narrow-minded people. It is well documented that Trump views the world through a ‘what’s in it for me?’ lens. He is the epitome of selfishness and that has now permeated the body of the GOP like gangrene eats away at human flesh.
Contrast that with the Democrats and the Harris/Walz platform who relish and cherish things like public service, serving a cause greater than yourself and helping others in need. The basic questions being asked by the two leading candidates are polar opposites. The Harris/Walz camp has always been asking, “What can we do to help you?” The Trump camp has always been asking, “What can you do to help me?” The difference could not be clearer. The choice is simple – selflessness or selfishness? In the end, that is really what this election boils down to.
