President-Elect Donald Trump and the Swamp:
Filled with Men and Women Without Character.
Without Tazkiyah!
Dr. Pasha
(Bringing Islam to the World One Concept at a Time!
Taking the Qur'an to Every Home and Heart that Needs It --
And which One Does Not?)
Elections are over. In America I mean. Presidential elections. Even though Michigan seems to be holding out as of this writing: November 15, 2016 AM.
And so is, I am told, little New Hampshire, by a margin no bigger than the fingers on your hand.
But Donald Trump won, already. He is now President-Elect Trump.
Donald J. Trump, billionaire from New York.
And now he seems to be asking for Top Security Clearance for his three oldest children: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump: brilliant; successful; and apparently well-brought up to their fingernails.
Does that lay out a minefield of all kinds of Conflict of Interest? It does.
But is it still a good idea? It sure seems to be.
Washington, to begin with, is a minefield of greed, corruption -- and treachery. Or would you rather call it a swamp?
A "Swamp" is what Trump and his supporters were calling DC before they came to the place.
And that swamp is swimming with the most dangerous crocodiles and alligators -- and pythons of foreign imports.
These are basically people without character. What the Qur'an would perhaps call People Without Tazkiyah.
They are men and women whose hearts are bursting with greed, and avarice, and lust, and narcissistic self-love.
And they are driven to the point of mad by all kinds of personal, political, economic and financial agendas.
Many carry the mark "Lobbyist" stamped on their foreheads. Many are in the pay of foreign interests, both private and governmental.
Many simply personify personal and professional Corruption.
And many share a common character trait called Arrogance.
Many bear out in their lives the truth of what Early Christian Thinking would refer to as the Seven Deadly Sins.
And what the Qur'an would call the Kabaa-ir -- The Big Sins.
Just as many live their lives as Habitual Commandment Breakers.
They are in DC with the avowed goal of fooling the American people, and buy off their elected representatives, using the lure of money, wine, sex and expense-paid junkets.
They help write the laws that are supposed to govern their conduct and manage their areas of interest.
They try to influence policy at every step. And they worm their way into positions of power and influence from cabinet on down.
And they will sell the American People and America's National Interests for a song if they could. And they will eat Trump alive at the first opportunity they get.
Disloyalty and corruption is their name and betrayal and double-cross is their game.
Only yesterday (November 14 or so?) Trump was saying that he was forced to get the lobbyists to work for him because those were the only people around town who seem to know anything about the workings of government and about other specialized areas of policy and substance.
So, in an environment like this, people with Good Character (Tazkiyah) are few and far between.
Those would be men and women whose hearts and minds and bosoms have been cleansed through a process of what the Qur'an calls Tazkiyah -- personal, psychological, professional and spiritual purification.
At the top of this human pyramid were Sahaabah Kiraam, Ridwaanullahi Alaihim. They were cleansed, radiated and purified by the Noor (Light) of the Qur'an.
And they were perfected (with all imperfections that are endemic to human nature) personally by the touch of Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.
The lower levels of that towering human pyramid were always, and will always be, occupied by men and women from different lands, eras, cultures and religious backgrounds and experiences.
They are simply good and capable people in basic human and professional terms. And there has never been any dearth of them in the past.
In DC and elsewhere!
Many former presidents, being mostly from a political background themselves, brought many of these people with them.
But Trump, being from a markedly a-political background, would be forced to look to DC and its environs to find the manpower (what an expression!) to fill the key positions in his government.
And that precisely what seems to be happening.
In such an environment, if Trump turns to his three most loyal, trustworthy and tested allies and aides, who also happen to be his own children, and his business partners, it is not only smart, it is also prudent and wise.
Trump needs their advice and their proximity at this critical juncture in transition to the White House.
Trump won the election because he got the necessary 270 what are called the Electoral Votes, based on the number of states he won.
Each state, based on its population, proportional to Congressional seats, both Senate and the House, has a certain number of Electoral Votes allocated to it. If you win that particular state, you also win the Electoral Votes that come with that state.
The Electoral College -- that is what it is called -- has 538 votes, number of Senate and House seats combined.
It is fair to say that Electoral College was an elitist arrangement that the country put in place as a check on potential Mobocracy. That is, rule by a mob.
Which basically comes down to power passing in the hands of what the Qur'an calls Annaas -- The People.
And which the Framers of the Constitution most likely then borrowed from the Qur'an to create their own expression "We The People."
The Framers of the Constitution were not exactly "populists." It is perhaps not inaccurate to refer to them as "elitists."
Many of them were rich. Many of them were land-owners. Many of them were slave-holders. Many of them already held high offices in the 13 Colonies that went on to form the United States.
And they had reason to be wary of The People, Annaas, even though they spoke in the name of The People.
The Framers were not entirely comfortable at the thought of power passing completely in the hands of The People, without there being in place some balancing mechanisms to check that unbridled People Power.
So, they created the Electoral College to balance Popular Vote.
And Trump won the majority of Electoral Votes -- 270 of them, out of a total of 538.
That is why he is the next president of the United States, even though the Popular Vote seems to have gone against him.
God Bless America -- part of my Earthly Home, if this earth is home to anyone.
And God Bless Your Home Too, wherever you live!
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