By D. Allan Kerr

For those not happy with the way Tuesday’s night’s election turned out, take heart – our Founding Fathers created a system of government so ingenious it cannot be destroyed by a single individual.

America has withstood a Civil War, countless scandals at the top levels of the political hierarchy, the resignation of one president and the impeachment of two others. It has survived slavery, racism, sexism, terrorist attacks and world wars.

It will withstand the presidency of Donald J. Trump.

You who opposed the Republican presidential campaign will now have to remain vigilant to ensure America does not become the vanilla milkshake envisioned by so many of Trump’s supporters.

It’s up to you to make sure law-abiding citizens are not oppressed, ostracized or bullied because of their religion or ethnic background.

It’s up to you to make sure public discourse isn’t silenced or peaceful dissent isn’t shouted down.

If you see someone emboldened by recent events to taunt or belittle a kid in a wheelchair, it’s up to you to step up and lay the smack down.

And folks, whether you like the media or not, you need to defend freedom of the press. Without it, we are Russia.

For those who voted for Trump, I hope you keep a tally of the pledges he delivers on in the next four years. The guy made a lot of promises to a lot of people, but he also happens to be the most thoroughly documented liar in modern political history.

Let’s see if he’s more than just talk.

I never wanted to believe this was the kind of country where one could rise to power thru a campaign based solely on outright lies, juvenile insults, innuendo, ignorance and blatant bullshit. Apparently it can happen – even here.

But I also think Trump initially believed he would never be called upon to accomplish the things he promised.

Personally, I think Trump pulled the ultimate con job. He convinced Republicans that he’s a Republican, conservatives that he’s conservative, Christians that he’s a Christian, veterans that he’s not a draft dodger, and working class voters that he understands their struggles.

You elected a man who refused to release tax returns that would have answered numerous questions about his veracity and character.

You elected a president who, before he is even sworn into office, faces multiple legal actions – including the scam involving thousands of working-class people who enrolled in his failed bogus university.

But at least the federal case claiming he raped a 13-year-old girl back in the 1990s was dropped last week, after the accuser faced death threats.

I’m not going to keep dwelling on the past, but it’s important for folks to keep this guy’s lifelong pattern of behavior in mind during the years ahead.

Trump pulled the ultimate con job

Here’s just one example: Not so very long ago, Trump wanted to develop a huge golf course along the beach in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Local residents weren’t crazy about the idea so he made promises to the Scottish government, just as he’s made promises to American voters.

The resort he wanted to plant there would employ 6,000 people, he said. It would be the greatest golf course in the world, he swore. In fact, it employs no more than 200 people.

A documentary film about the whole affair was entitled, “You’ve Been Trumped” – which, of course, now applies to our current situation here in the USA.

When we awoke to the election results early Wednesday morning, my lovely bride – who cares nothing about politics – said, “This is going to be like growing up with an alcoholic father; we’re never going to know what we’re coming home to.”

Who knows, maybe the guy will rise to the occasion. A lot of people thought Ronald Reagan wasn’t fit to be President either, and for the most part that worked out okay – unless you were a victim of the AIDS epidemic.

But that’s a whole other story.

The point is, we all have to take a hand in making sure America endures – and that doesn’t mean just knuckling under to a new regime. It means you keep looking up the sleeve of the carnival barker.

It means you need to still stand strong for what’s right, no matter how you voted this week.

(November 10, 2016)