THE PRESIDENTIAL NIGHTMARE

I live in a very rural county in the state of Mississippi. In 2014, I decided to throw my hat into the ring and run for the board of education. I did not campaign; I made no political speeches; I bought no political posters; I paid for no public advertisement; I held no babies and I didn't buy any church fans; instead, I decided to run on my reputation. I have a reputation of being an annoying outspoken do-gooder; needlessly to say, I lost that race.

My first involvement with politics came in 1999. I ran for the circuit clerk's position. By the way, I lost that race too. The incumbent, a white-middle-aged male, had held the positon for nearly 20 years. He had inherited it from his predecessor, also a white-middle-aged male. While campaigning, I attended my first-ever political rally. My opponent spoke first. He walked up to the lectern and enunciated a series of outlandish promises. I stood there contemplating what to say. When it was my turn to speak, I simply stated that I could make no promises about my future actions but I promised the people that I would do the best job I possibly could and that I would be an honest circuit clerk. Devastated by the defeat, I extended my hand to the incumbent and congratulated him. He retired four years later and handed the office over to another white middle-aged male.

In 2008, I threw my hat back into the political ring. I ran for justice court judge. Since 1999, I had worked as a soliciting bail agent, and consequentially, I had acquired some knowledge of the law. This go around, I did not lose the race instead, I had an epiphany on what it would entail to be a justice court judge in Carroll County, Mississippi. Structurally, unable to play the game, I called my opponent, informed her that I was pulling out of the race and wished her the best. She has occupied that position for the past 8 years, and to my understanding, she is quite adept at appeasing the powers-that-be.

Certainly, my three political outings do not compare to the political race for President of the United States. Yet, as insignificant as my political campaigns were and as inconsequential as I am, my bids for political office serve to educated me to just how corruptible our political system can be. I learned several key lessons: (1) I learned that once an individual has a taste of power; it is nearly impossible to extract that taste from the individual's mouth. (2) I learned that a vote can be bought for something as cheap as a bottle of whiskey and as unflattering as a catfish plate. (3) But the most important lesson I learned was that the arena of politics is no place for honest people. Sooner or later, diplomacy will mandate that an honest politician couch his or her campaign promises and align their political allegiance with the one who controls the purse strings.

And so, as we prepare for the final viewing of this Presidential Nightmare, we can look forward to three more weeks of Hillary Clinton presenting herself as the reinvented solution to what ails America. We can look forward to three more weeks of Donald Trump ranting and raving about his captivating charisma, his supernatural business powers and his transforming political agenda. We can look forward to three more weeks of Melania publically pretending that Donald is a good husband. We can look forward to three more weeks of Hillary publically pretending that Bill's past sexual behaviors are not as offensive as Donald's past sexual behaviors. Unfortunately, we have three more weeks to endure this sexualized Presidential Nightmare. There is a verse in the Bible that reads: "Out of the abundance of the heart; the mouth speaks." It seems as though Americans think and speak of nothing but sex. Wonder why? Yet, in three more weeks and in three more months, America, will be no better off than it was when this whole Presidential Nightmare began.