An American Messiah Complex

Dear Mr. President-Elect, First of all, I must say how impressed I am that you wanted this job so badly. You must either be unconditionally dedicated to this country, or slightly mentally unstable. Undoubtedly, this is one of the worst times in our nation’s short history to seek out this particular office; as President-elect, you are facing two wars that are hugely unpopular both domestically and abroad, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and following a President who has turned our nation into an international joke. But none of this will come as news to you. A significant portion of the country believes you are pretty much the Messiah. Another portion honestly believes you are an Islamic socialist bent on destroying America, and that your election as commander in chief is “a sin against the Lord” (to quote a church billboard in Kansas). No election in modern American politics has been so polarizing, and no president-elect has inspired such reverence. But with this reverence comes the let-down that will inevitably follow. Because even though you yourself have said that the American people are “not expecting miracles,” I think they are. They elected you as the change we need, which they believe is someone who can wave a magic wand and make all of their problems go away. Anything less will be disappointing. With each attempt at appeasement you make with one group of our extremely divided country, another group will be alienated. You won’t be able to keep every promise you made on the long campaign trail; some will have to be postponed, some eliminated altogether. You know this. The politicians in Washington certainly know this, but that won’t keep a lot of them from deriding you for not keeping your promises when it’s politically advantageous for them to take shots at you. It’s inevitable that the American people will be disappointed in you; they elected a Messiah, and your humanity is going to be unsatisfactory. Your presidency will inevitably be a very steep uphill battle. But one thing in particular gives me hope: when you were elected, people around the world did not protest or burn American flags in the streets. They danced. When in your lifetime can you remember the entire world almost unanimously celebrating something the United States did? There is a lot more change this country needs, but that is a monumental first step in the right direction. Good luck, Mr. President—you’re going to need it. And for what it’s worth, you have my support. Best, EB