Post-election: 7 things Biden, Trump can do to help this nation heal
Finally, the 2024 election cycle is mercifully in our rearview mirror, and like when you quit beating your head against the wall, it just automatically feels better. There was unquestionably an abundance of pain and angst to go around on both sides of the latest political skirmishes. It certainly seems that there were more than enough vitriolic words and vibes hurled to last a lifetime. No one was immune from attack, and though words are said to never hurt you, the reality is that they do.
But along with the harsh vocabulary of this campaign season, we were also reminded of the hard lesson that assassin’s bullets always create both singular individual physical hurt and collective havoc.
Now that the concessions have been made and the victory speeches are in the books, the call has been made for “a cleanup on aisle four.” Following a campaign filled with negative rhetoric, Vice President Harris’s speech seemed conciliatory enough, and it was coupled with the promise of a peaceful and efficient transfer of power over the course of the next few weeks. At the same time, the mainline media, who became some of the most egregious malefactors in the meadow muffin-slinging contest, still cannot come to grips with the reality that they simply are not relevant anymore. Then there is all the courtroom drama spearheaded against now President-elect Trump and Hunter Biden that is still left to be played out in primetime.
On the other side of the coin, Mr. Trump’s efforts towards victory could in no way be described as the epitome of a “clean campaign” either. Nevertheless, his advance toward reclaiming the White House resulted in what he termed “an unprecedented and powerful mandate.” With the probable end result of over 300 electoral votes and an excess popular vote of around 5 million, it would be hard to argue with his logic in this regard.
Nevertheless, if the old adage “to the victor belong the spoils” is true, the flipside of that coin also carries with it the responsibilities of governing. Only time will tell if Mr. Trump, a Republican Senate, and a potential Republican House of Representatives can rise to the occasion. Unfortunately, their first attempt back in 2016-2018 did not work out too well for them, which led to a significant Democrat victory in the 2020 midterm elections.
As he should have though, Mr. Trump thanked his supporters and all the American people for “the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president.” He also pledged to serve on behalf of “every citizen,” signaling his intention to “fight for you, for your family and your future.” In concluding his speech, Mr. Trump stressed his desire to “put the divisions of the past four years behind us” and “unite,” while at the same time declaring that “success will bring us together” and that “America’s future will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than it has ever been before.” Trump concluded his remarks by asking “every citizen all across our land to join me in this noble and righteous endeavor.”
Still, yet the question of the possibility of vindictive retribution on the part of Mr. Trump continues to haunt a goodly number of his most ardent enemies including celebrities, media personalities, and political foils from both sides. Despite all of this, Mr. Trump earnestly pledged “to help our country heal.” At least impliedly acknowledging the difficulty of following through on his promises, he noted, “We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly.” And indeed, America does!
Far be it for me to claim any special insight into the presidency and its inherent responsibilities. However, quite frankly our nation has been through enough in these past few years from COVID to the present. It is just time, as Ms. Harris would say, “to turn the page.” So, regardless of culpability the country just needs to take a permanent rest from “lawfare” and the derivative persecution of those who happen to be the losers of a political contest. We have to, as the old saying goes, “stop eating our dead.” This kind of activity is simply not becoming a world-class representative democracy.
With this in mind then, here are a few suggestions that I now offer to the Biden administration and President-elect Trump that might just begin to really help our nation heal.
- Communicate civilly and transparently with one another and with the country. There can no longer be any need, if there ever was, for hatefulness from either side.
- Mr. Biden, pardon Mr. Trump for any and all federal prosecutions now pending or under investigation and encourage Democratic state authorities to cease any state prosecutions as well.
- Mr. Trump immediately pledge to pardon Hunter Biden for any federal prosecutions now pending or under investigation. Further pledge to not seek prosecution against Mr. Biden or Ms. Harris for any activities during the current administration.
- Mr. Trump, just ignore the irascible talking heads of the frontline media — they are nothing more than empty shells anyway when it comes to importance or significance.
- Everyone just needs to get over themselves and start to put our nation and its people above self-interest or political party.
- Stop all the games and start governing to meet all the great problems facing our country, not the least of which is out-of-control spending for no particularly good reason.
- Finally, and most importantly, I would urge leaders of every stripe and at every level to seek wisdom from the creator God upon whose bosom our government was born and from whom we, as a people, have received these “certain unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of justice.”
Interestingly, Mr. Trump thankfully acknowledged in his acceptance speech, as he has on numerous occasions, that the assassination attempt on his life that resulted in a bloody wound on his ear was a situation in which God spared his life for a reason. Specifically, he identified the reason as being to “save our country and to restore America to greatness.”
In considering this thought, I am reminded of another battle in another valley long ago, and I recall the words of a young shepherd boy who went out to fight a seemingly impossible battle with a giant. As David approached Goliath, he knew that the Lord would spare him in the coming conflict and that there was a clear reason for His doing so. First Samuel 17:46-47 recites the purpose of David’s protection so that “the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword or spear.”
Mr. President and Mr. President-elect, the battle for the heart and soul of America is not in your hands, nor is it in the control of any political party or cause. If there is to be unity in this nation that we love, it will only be because America turns its heart to the one and true God of all the earth and not simply because we want America to be great. Then, and only then, will America prosper so that the world will know once again that there is a God who protects and provides for our nation not with a sword or spear, but by His might.
In the end, it is this Gospel message that is the only truth that matters.
After a distinguished career as both a lawyer and a judge, Judge Phil Ginn retired as the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for the 24th Judicial District in North Carolina. Over the course of his 22-year judicial career, he was privileged to hold court in almost 50% of the county seats in North Carolina. Currently, Judge Ginn serves as the president of Southern Evangelical Seminary.
