Childhood.It’s a time of many lessons that we soon learn to apply to all of life.One of those earliest lessons is “Don’t be a sore loser.”When someone else wins you congratulate them with a smile, even if you’re inwardly aching.Fair play, it’s called.Or morality.All of these characteristics are sadly lacking in the Grand Old Party, it seems.There has been no evidence of voter fraud, Biden currently leads by over 5 million votes, and yet Trump refuses to concede.Not only that, the dissembler in chief, Mitch McConnell encourages such behavior.In my fundamentalist church you’d have failed Sunday School for less than that.And where are the biblical literalists?Right there with them, thumping their Bibles but not reading them.What happened to turn the other cheek?Or even, for God’s sake, an eye for an eye?
Instead the world is watching as a putatively grown man throws a temper tantrum about losing.Hilary Clinton conceded on the night of the election.I’m sure it didn’t feel good to do so.Nor did it feel pleasant for the 44 other losing candidates (in fact, more) who had to go home with their hats in their hands.Not content to act like a king, Trump is behaving like a monarch for life.His followers, perhaps aware that Americans will never again put up with such a travesty of a presidency, insist that someone must’ve miscounted by about five million.They won’t be content until they can count themselves, throwing away any ballots they disagree with.And they’ll continue to call themselves Christians.Because, like the Donald, they can.
I’ve reached the stage in life where childhood has become a lingering preoccupation.I sure got some things wrong.Not being a sore loser isn’t one of them, however.Like all people I’ve lost my fair share of contests.Sometimes the stakes have been very high.If you want to retain any dignity or moral standing at all, you know you simply have to admit, “I lost.”We knew as soon as Trump was nominated in 2016 that he wouldn’t admit he lost then, even if he had.We knew four years ago he’d never admit he lost when he would.The Republican enablers stoked those fires in which to burn the Constitution.Some of us, at least 77 million at latest count, are tired of all this political theater.Big boy pants, it seems, are difficult to locate this season.
