Election Results: An American Tragedy?

This is a reader’s blog about books and literary news.  It is not a political blog, but I have to express my dismay at the results of the American election.  Americans have elected a racist, sexist, narcissistic, vengeful bully who lied his way through the campaign and appealed to the basest instincts.  His own campaign advisors felt it wasn’t safe to let him have access to Twitter in the waning days of the campaign, yet now the electors have given him access to the nuclear codes!   

I am chilled and greatly saddened by what these results tell the world about the American people; many Americans seem to feel that torture is fine; misogyny and sexual assault are fine; racism, xenophobia and white supremacy are fine; and change is more important than ethics.  Those who voted for Trump show they care about no one else but themselves:  so what if someone else has no healthcare . . . so what if innocent people are being driven out of their homes by civil war . . . so what if we continue to ruin the climate for future generations . . . so what if our guns are killing other people and other people's children by the thousands every year.  They have chosen for President someone who has no dignity, no integrity, no spirit of generosity, and no respect for decency and the rule of law.  Hillary Clinton was a flawed candidate but she is intelligent and resilient and experienced, qualities Trump does not possess. 

Is it coincidence that the Canadian immigration website crashed due to a traffic surge as votes were being tallied? 

I agree with David Remnick who wrote the following in The New Yorker:  “The election of Donald Trump to the Presidency is nothing less than a tragedy for the American republic, a tragedy for the Constitution, and a triumph for the forces, at home and abroad, of nativism, authoritarianism, misogyny, and racism” (http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/an-american-tragedy-donald-trump).

So getting back to the literary focus of this blog, here are the responses of some writers to the election:  http://lithub.com/literary-voices-react-to-president-donald-trump/ and http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-trump-victory-writers-react-20161109-story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter. 

God Bless America – I honestly fear the country will be in great need of divine help.