I watched the debate Tuesday night and was not surprised by anything I saw or heard.
Donald Trump was his typical New York self. He scowled a lot.
Kamala Harris just smiled at everything. She smiles a lot.
I told my coffee shop buddies that we once voted for the person and based that cherished vote on the character and integrity of the person who earned it.
Then I explained we are no longer voting “for” someone, but rather are voting “against” the other candidate.
After Sara and I turned off the TV, an eerie thought crossed my mind.
I’ll be 68 when I get the chance to vote for another president if Trump is elected. If Kamala is elected, she will get two terms, and I’ll be 72 when she gets finished.
Some of us will not make it another four years and certainly not eight more.
But let’s not get too hung up on candidates. Let’s look at the issues.
Crime
Do you feel safer than you did four years ago?
I’ve been in Clarksdale five years and it was not like this in the hills of East Mississippi. I have repeatedly heard our mayor say everywhere has crime. Well, I don’t live everywhere. I live in Clarksdale.
I’ve had widow women call me and talk about hearing gunshots on their street at night.
I heard automatic weapon gunfire Monday night. I called 911 and reported it, as I have done repeatedly.
We didn’t have to do that in The Hills, Dallas, Dyersburg Tennessee or even Vicksburg.
I’ve had the mothers of teenagers killed in this town call me and cry on the phone.
I’ve had my garage broken into and several hundred dollars in power tools stolen here. I never had that happen in Dallas.
The Economy
Are you better off than you were four years ago?
Home values have gone down in the Mississippi Delta, while the cost of buying a home has gotten too expensive for many.
Jobs come and go and I have been fortunate to find work all my life. But many have not held a decent job since the COVID pandemic shut us down four years ago.
Gas prices are higher. Food prices are higher. Everything is more expensive than it was four years ago.
The economy is scary for folks living paycheck to paycheck. Young people looking for work have to take jobs below their paygrade. Those facing retirement are putting it off and working longer.
Immigration
As noted earlier, I lived in Texas for 10 years.
Texas had a booming economy then and it has a booming economy now. The Lone Star state is being built on the labor of hardworking men and women from somewhere else.
I had immigrants in my church, they subscribed to the paper and those who had businesses bought advertising.
Every successful society on this planet has always needed a skilled and motivated labor force to keep the money moving around. Every failed society became decadent, lazy and saw its morals decline and selfishness take over.
We must find a multi-party solution to immigration and help those who love this country to succeed.
The Future
Both our Presidential choices scare me to death.
Your morals and your fears are yours and probably not mine.
But the world is a lot scarier place than it was four years ago.
We have a Middle East with nuclear powers on both sides, Eastern Europe that has a dictator with nuclear weapons and, of course, a nuclear China that could decide at any moment to cross the Strait of Taiwan.
Who is the person who can reduce crime, improve the economy, provide work for all people and can stand against tyrants in the Mid East and elsewhere?
You need to make up your mind, because in 55 days we will make a choice.
Floyd Ingram is Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. He often wonders what this country will look like in five more years. Call him if you have a plan at 662-627-2201.
