ho hijacked America?  As I have considered one presidential candidate after another, the one thing that strikes me as missing on the part of all is sincerity and integrity.  In effect, I do not believe any of them because I see each of them as being willing to say whatever it takes to garner votes.  For the first time in my life, I almost certainly will not vote in this presidential election. 

Perhaps sincerity and integrity were never a part of presidential politics.  But at least there was the appearance; and appearance, like politeness, can go a very long ways. 

Perhaps this is a reflection of the nation itself.  Perhaps America was never “one nation indivisible”.  But once more it cannot even pretend to be that any more.  Rather, America is a nation of closed-minded special interests groups who see their issue as the most important issue of the day.  And one consequence of this is the loss of a general spirit of goodwill and recognition of goodwill on the part of the other. 

There is something truly majestic when two people who disagree can nonetheless see, and are profoundly moved by, the goodwill of one another.  I do not see that among Democratic presidential candidates; I do not see that among the Republican presidential candidates.  I barely see it among fellow citizens.  Who hijacked America?

I find myself experiencing a venom towards the United States that surprises even me.  And the presidential candidates reflect the very depth of my concern.  To see this, consider the following question: Which candidate would you take to be a model of moral excellence for your child?  Which candidate could you tell your children about with a sense of pride that you were providing them with a visible model of moral excellence? 

What is manifestly striking to me is that there is not a single individual running for the office of President of the United States who stands as model of moral excellence that I would recommend to my child. 

Quite simply, a nation that forgets the importance of being a model of excellence for its children is a nation that cannot survive.  How did this come to pass?  Who hijacked America?

I am not interested in sounding at all biblical.  Besides, few nowadays even know the biblical stories.  Still, there is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, where Lot pleads with God to spare the city if there are but 10 righteous people therein.  In the end, the city gets destroyed.

I would like to have just one presidential candidate whose sincerity and integrity are beyond dispute.  And if there isn’t one, what reason do we have to think that this city of a nation shall not be destroyed.  Not by God but by ourselves.

If the people demanded sincerity and integrity, we would have it.  So the fact that ne’er a presidential candidate exhibits these moral qualities tells us how lacking in moral fiber the nation itself is. 

How did the country in which I was born become hijacked?  How did it happen that principles have come to count for nothing at all?  How did it come to pass that credibility has no reality anymore?  Who hijacked America?

We are not veering towards a more just and a more perfect nation.  Quite the contrary, the status quo is simply about one group imposing its will upon others.  I have come to despise all groups for their myopia—their “my way or the highway” approach.  Indeed, I have increasingly come to think of these various groups as evil.  This is because the destruction that they portend is too patently obvious; and they do not mind just so long as they have their moment.

This essay is not an excuse to favor Democrats over Republicans or to favor Republicans over Democrats. May they all be damned.  That is why I have steadfastly refused to mention the name of a single candidate. 

Lest there any misunderstanding, I have no qualms all with change as such.  To be sure, I do not think that change is necessarily good.  But I agree that change can be to the benefit of all. 

What I have been writing about, though, pertains not to technology, but to matters of the heart.  And I have argued in effect that our presidential candidates tell us something very frightening about America the nation. 

What better proof can anyone want that America has become a corrupt nation than that not a single one among the numerous candidates competing for the Office of President of the United States come even close to showcasing the sincerity and integrity that commands our respect even in the face of our disagreements with that individual.  What better proof can anyone want that America has become a corrupt nation than the simple truth that we as a nation of people have simply stopped looking for presidential candidates of the moral persuasion?  And once more: Who is there to be a life of inspiration to our children?  Who is even casting a shadow inspiration?

Who hijacked America?