The general election for president of the United States for tomorrow, Tuesday, November 3, 2020 winds down to a choice of two candidates: Donald J. Trump and Joseph R. Biden — unless you want to vote for Jo Jorgensen of the Libertarian party or Howie Hawkins of the Green party of the United States or Don Blankenship of the Constitution party or Gary Swing of the Boiling Frog party or literally thousands of other candidates.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden? Is that really the best that the United States can do? Are there no better candidates for the job?
I am Still Running for President of the United States in 2020
Because of the amazingly poor choice of candidates — they seem to get poorer every four years — I decided to officially announce my candidacy to run for president of the United States on Sunday, May 15, 2016 despite my disdain for politics…
…or perhaps it is because of my disdain for politics.
“If you are wondering about my political affiliation, I am an independent person; or — to put it another way — I “like” Democrats just as much as I “like” Republicans…” is what I wrote in this article pertaining to how much presidential candidates such as Hillary Clinton received from companies in the travel industry — such as airlines and lodging companies as two examples. Donald Trump is running on the Republican ticket; and Joe Biden is running on the Democratic ticket — so to lodge myself into this election, I have decided to run on the Airline ticket; and my slogan will be “Hey — I cannot do any worse.”
To be automatically considered a candidate by the Federal Elections Commission, I was required to spend or raise greater than $5,000.00 dollars for my cause — which never happened; but even if that did happen, could I have repaid the people who helped to fund my campaign?
I just wonder how the 7,361 entries of candidates who are currently running for the office of the president of the United States managed to somehow get the minimum amount of funding to appear in this list — such as Taco Cat, Take Mr. Jones, Your Mom, Big Chungus, Talalupe Fonzie Vavao, Rome Vibe, President Emperor Caesar, Rally Robot, Jonathon The Impaler Sharkey, Vermin Love Supreme, and Jo 753.
Furthermore, I am not on the ballot in each state within the United States; so I hope to be a “write-in” candidate where my name is written on the ballot by each individual who wants to vote for me. I am cool with that.
Why You Should Vote For Me
Here are some reasons why you should vote for me for president of the United States:
My first order of business — once I get myself comfortable in the Oval Office — is to sign an executive order abolishing the Transportation Security Administration, as that agency has no hope of ever being fixed. Perhaps returning to the contracting of private agencies is the way to go; and they will be required to operate within a certain budget as determined by the revenue derived from taxes paid by passengers on airline tickets, which I vow will not increase…
…and as an incentive, any private security company which exceeds expectations — such as consistently shorter wait times on lines at airport security checkpoints without sacrificing real security measures — will receive additional funding.
Speaking of budgets, it is about time that the federal government became more efficient and adhered to a strict budget — but not so lean that nothing can be accomplished. I intend to cut a significant amount of waste and fat from the federal budget and wipe out the federal deficit — no one will get a boarding pass from me with regard to waste — but I will need your help convincing your elected representatives in the House of Representatives and the Senate to join me in achieving this goal.
Without compromising the security of the borders of the United States, by reducing — or, better yet, eliminating — the fees to secure a visa for a visitor, I believe that more people from around the world would consider visiting the United States; and I also believe that the economic benefits would more than make up for it. That $160.00 per person for a visa to visit the United States could instead go towards patronizing businesses and other areas of the general economy, which in turn would increase tax revenues for the government as one of many benefits. I am by no means an expert on economic policies in global economies; but I believe that charging exorbitant visa fees actually does more harm to countries economically in the long term than helps them.
In an attempt to wean airlines and rental cars off of the necessity of operating using mainly fossil fuel, I would ensure that all modes of transportation would have choices of fuel for an environment friendlier to living beings on our planet — including but not limited to solar, hydroelectricity, coal, wind, methane, nuclear, hydrogen and fossil fuels — so that we are not dependent on one source of energy. There would be a balance of the combination of sources of energy to be used while simultaneously establishing methods and policies where those energy sources can be used as safely as possible.
Airlines, lodging companies, and rental car companies which have frequent travel loyalty programs would be required by law to publish their award charts publicly and adhere to them in terms of public disclosure. The United States will already be better off because of that proposed law.
Once elected to office, I promise that I will not use business hours to campaign for myself or for others who are running for office. That I will do on my own time, as I have a job to do: to serve you as best as possible. More importantly, I intend to significantly reduce the amount of time you are delayed have to wait to catch a flight at an airport just because I have Air Force One parked on the tarmac. I am no better than you. Why should I inconvenience you — especially when I am not even serving you?!? Is campaigning even a valid reason to interrupt your travel?
I have no intention of accepting funds from lobbyists and other sources of self interest, as I do not want to be indebted to them. I have already proven that in a way by refusing to partner with affiliate credit cards despite the potentially lucrative income from which I could have benefited.
Many problems are addressed in a reactive manner — such as terrorism. I intend to be proactive about eliminating terrorism by getting to — and resolving — the sources of what causes terrorism in the first place…
…and one of my goals is to ensure as best as possible that we can all travel freely to enjoy this wonderful world in which we live — and do so in the safest manner possible. This will require a lot of negotiations with the leaders of certain countries — but hey, I am willing to at least try.
I also promise to correct all of the mistakes associated with the extra-long fish sandwich sold by Burger King.
There are many other issues which I would attempt to tackle and conquer; but I will not list them all here…
…but on a high note: if I am elected and you can prove you voted for me for president of the United States, you will get a ride in Air Force One; a night as a guest in the White House; and ground transportation to and from the airport in the official limousine. Talk about the ultimate frequent flier dream trip! If you are a legal resident of the United States, your tax dollars paid for this sweet ride and cool lodging; so you may as well enjoy them.
Politics as Usual Just Does Not Cut It Anymore If You Want Real Change
One thing I have learned over the years as a lifelong resident of the United States is that effecting real change towards a better country will not come about by voting for candidates from either the Democratic party or the Republican party. Both parties seem to increasingly represent extremes which only serve to further drive a wedge in dividing the United States instead of — well — uniting the country.
Especially during what has become an unprecedented year due to such factors as the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic, the country — even the entire planet, for that matter — needs to come together more than ever if we are to tackle and solve the problems and issues which we face as human beings: eliminating violence, preventing wanton destruction of property, unreasonable financial inequality, unfair racial and religious injustice, beneficial progress in technology, freedom to travel and cross borders while protecting them, ending terrorism and crime, ensuring reasonably healthy living conditions for all, and giving every person a chance to be heard and be included in deciding our future.
As I originally wrote in this article pertaining to the “middle seat” in society these days, I have always felt that society in general is like a car which goes way too far to the left at times — spinning its wheels in the mud in the ditch — and then overcorrects and goes way too far to the right to do the same inefficient thing…
…and the sad part is that although a new straight road with smooth clean black asphalt is available — which would get the car to its destination and goal much faster — the driver nevertheless chooses to continue to keep zigging and zagging and tracking mud while unnecessarily creating a mess and never really getting anywhere.
If the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic did not cause problems, it certainly uncovered existing ones and even exacerbated known issues with society in general and the travel industry is especially included — like it or not…
…and the rapid spread of that pesky and adamantly unwavering virus has arguably brought out the worst in people, the worst in business, the worst in politics — even the worst in travel — to the point where people have chosen sides; and those sides seem to be even more extreme than prior to the pandemic. The debate over wearing masks is one of numerous examples, as the number of reasons to wear masks roughly equal the number of reasons not to wear masks.
As long as we continue as a society to be deeply divided without actually listening to each other, finding common ground on which to unite, and working towards resolving the issues which plague our world, we will never accomplish achieving our goals and dreams of advancing together as a species. The time is long overdue for all of us to meet in the middle and strive to continuously improve instead of needlessly battling with no productive outcome. We need to communicate with each other, collaborate as a show of strength, and compromise — while simultaneously disagreeing in a respectful matter when necessary — and not simply blindly choose sides without keeping an open mind, without questioning what does not make sense to us, and eschew discussing the points of view of each other.
As 2020 is an election year in the United States, the stakes are high — to the point where people will do just about anything to skew the momentum towards their candidate or party of choice, which has been repeatedly demonstrated in recent weeks. The stage is already bloodied from the vicious combat between Republicans versus Democrats — you can read between the lines when I say that I “like” one party as much as the other — and yet, this disgustingly repulsive scenario has been unfolding for months for the highly coveted prize, which will be determined tomorrow.
How about we try something different this year: how about voting for someone — even if that person is not me — who is not affiliated with the Democratic party or Republican party tomorrow if you want real change?
I believe that we as a society are — or, at least, should be — much better than this.
Summary
Unfortunately, travel in general is not free from politics. I would argue that in 2020, travel has been affected by politics more than ever. That is why I am writing about politics in this article: because it does affect travel…
…and sadly, cities are preparing for the possibility of riots, violence, and civil unrest as a result of the outcome of this election — and many airlines are even developing contingency plans in case that occurs. For example, members of flight crews received a communication from United Airlines on Friday, October 30, 2020 pertaining to moving them away from hotel properties in downtown areas of cities across the country — including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle, and the District of Columbia — starting today, Monday, November 2, 2020 and lasting for approximately a week in anticipation of potential civil unrest. “As we approach the 2020 presidential election, there is a possibility of renewed protest activity,” the alert from inflight administration said, according to this article written by Dawn Gilbertson of USA TODAY. “We are taking precautionary measures to ensure your safety and suitable rest are met.”
The members of those flight crews are being relocated to hotel properties at airports in “specific cities due to potential disruptions that could impact layovers at these locations.” How pathetic that airlines and other entities in the United States seem forced to resort to these measures.
I cannot imagine I can do any worse running this country than Donald Trump or Joseph Biden; so why not leave the job to someone who truly cares about the United States and not about his or her own self interests — someone who will not condescendingly look down on you as some mere proletariat, as many politicians seem to do?
Know that I will do everything I can to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States — as well as your rights. This is not rhetoric.
I know that the odds are quite long for me; but think about it: who would you rather see elected to the office of the president of the United States in 2020 — or at any other time, for that matter? Trump, Biden, or Cohen?!?
By the way, I could use that salary of $400,000.00 per year; and I pledge not to augment it with affiliate credit cards…
All photographs ©2015, ©2016, and ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
