Brace For One Scary Halloween

Blogger Note: As a retired teacher who dedicated over thirty years of his life to instill success in in his students through positive modeling of behavior, I wish to dedicate this blog to Leslie Kluchin and all other educators who pursue(d) this honorable profession.

As Halloween soon approaches, it seems fitting now to address some scary revelations of mine as evidenced by the alpha male behavior of Donald Trump and his rabidly loyal followers in our upcoming Presidential election. One might be advised to use great caution in planning their Halloween costume from the disturbing images discussed below.

In watching Donald Trump lurk menacingly behind Hillary during the second Presidential debate, I cringed at his terrifying resemblance to the Frankenstein monster, hovering menacingly over the scientist who created him. His defiant scowl, stalking closeness to Hillary, and those sinister eyes were a clear reminder that this Republican candidate’s image of predatory behavior then clearly projected repulsive images of this classic evil monster.

A second, eerie likeness appeared in my mind as I viewed the hyperactive motion of hands in Donald Trump’s debate presence. As he continually thrust his fingers to draw attention to his forceful attack against Hillary, I vividly recalled my fear as a child of watching the finger pointing antics of the Wicked Witch of the West as she threatened innocent Dorothy with death in The Wizard of Oz.”

A wounded soul can be a dangerous one in times of attack. As I observed Donald Trump angrily strike back against actual footage of his demeaning statements about women, I was quickly reminded of the crazed retaliation of a madman in the film “Taxi Driver”. Choosing the “low road” of vicious attack rather than apology for these sexist transgressions, Donald’s rants drew an immediate parallel to the character of Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), whose paranoiac reaction to the outside world led him to embrace militaristic violence against his fast pursuing enemies.

Soon after this debate, I saw a clip of a raucous, Donald Trump rally. Playing to the emotions of his followers, he pleaded for them to join his movement to lock up “crooked Hillary” and defeat the enemy political party as a last chance to save our country from impending disaster. Ensuing calls from the crowd for political revenge and acts of violent revolution reminded me of a critical moment in the short story, “The Lottery”, where the citizens of a small town gathered annually to perform a senseless ritual of stoning people to death for the sake of loyalty and tradition.

I imagine then it would be a risky choice for a parent to condone “Donald Trump ” as a role model for children on the “Allhollows” Day holiday celebration this year. More importantly, these impressions of Presidential scariness present “trick or treat”, critical choices for my country right now. Will we allow a ranting lunacy of lies and deceptions stoke our worst fears or will we remain resolute to see the fruits of optimism in our country’s future? Have a fun Halloween but realize we are a critical role model for our children who will be watching the “mask” we choose for our next president.

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