Albrecht Dürer, "The four horsemen of the Apocalypse", 1498
Revelation 6:1-8
The Seals
6 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder,“Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creaturesay, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
By Patrick
Yes, Donald Trump really is like a biblical plague. Fortunately,
he will lose in such a huuuuuuge way that it will be very memorable, no doubt about it.
The question, however, is the following: What consequences will the election have, once it is all over? Will it make the US democracy stronger, or will it weaken it?
There is no doubt that Donald Trump unleashed a dangerous, radical, destructive and poisonous "movement." It is obvious that this movement cannot win a general election. There are simply not enough fools around.
However, will these people
who threaten the media and crave an authocratic ruler like Donald Trump continue to have an impact, or not? This is the question. Much will depend on the self-confidence of Democrats, and it remains to be seen who finally takes over the Republican party, because right now, they are at war with each other.
I do hope that Trump's loss will make democracy stronger, and it should. Democracy can be very fragile, and it can be at risk. However, if America forcefully rejects Donald Trump, voters will send a huuuuge message. Any future populists will be compared to Donald Trump, and hopefully his evil "brand" of populism will then be tainted forever.
The USA still is in a massive crisis, as far too many pressing problems are being ignored. It is not enough that for example the economy recovers. There is more work to do. The USA are in dire need of a healthcare system which covers all their citizens and won't bankrupt them if they have serious diseases. The gun culture is literally "killing" US society. It is also not a distinction that 25% of all prisoners worldwide are being imprisoned in the USA. Poor people should not be just left to themselves, but should receive a minimum standard of state support which allows them to live a dignified life without crime and despair.
That's at least my opinion. I am living in a country where all these above mentioned problems actually have been solved or do not exist, and we have a very, very good life here. It would be great to see if
all Americans could receive the same standard.
I know of course that there are many wealthy people in the USA who have a great life. But life should be great for everybody, not just for the wealthy. Currently, from what I have seen, and I have seen quite a lot, this is not the case in the USA. Far from it, actually. There still is a lot of work to do. In particular,
the "War on Poverty" is far from over.
At the beginning of the 1960s, the USA was in a fantastic position. The USA was the biggest winner of WWII, as the war had propelled to economy and the military to "superpower" status. It should have become an incredibly wealthy country with no significant problems in society. Unfortunately, through many mistakes over several decades, things turned out differently. Today, we see that one of the results of the many mistakes which were made is the fact that the US society is deeply divided. This is pure poison for a country, which now becomes also very obvious as Donald Trump roams the land.
So this was a more serious post - although we also desperately need comedy for our mental health sometimes! :-)
Will the big problems be addressed, even after Hillary Clinton wins the election in a landslide? This remains to be seen. I certainly hope so, however, the previous eight years were also full of disappointments. We can only pray that the Democrats win the House as well as the Senate and then actually
do something.
