Thank You, President Biden

by Darryl L. Fortson, MD

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

Dear President Biden,

  It was important to me that I took time to simply tell you, "thank you."  In the midst of all that has gone on with you and the nation over the past five years, I wanted to express my gratitude and appreciation for your efforts on behalf of our nation and its people. 

  The first thing that I wanted to say is that it is important that you leave the White House understanding that there was nothing you could have done that would have returned you to the White House or placed any Democratic candidate there. I marvel now at the pundits who speak of failed strategies by you, Vice-President Harris, or the national Democratic Party, as though any particular strategy would have changed the outcome of the election. The facts are that the only thing a different strategy would have done is change the nature or the size of the defeat. If you had stayed in the race, you would have lost. If you had elected not to run early on, your replacement would have lost. An open convention would have met with the same fate that the closed one, and you and the rest of your supporters need to be liberated from any notion otherwise. 

  What you have to understand, Mr. President, is that America wanted "some strange." "Strange" is a street term for a sexual encounter outside the bounds of marriage, fidelity, tradition, or convention. It may involve prostitution, group sex, alternative lifestyle sexual encounters, or even sexual encounters that may not be within the bounds of law. Sometimes, even though people may present themselves as upright, moral, holy, decent, and proper - and may think themselves so -  there are times and seasons in their life when they want "some strange" - times when they crave the meretrix, the homely and desperate woman or man who is effortlessly accessible, the Diddy party, the Cabaret girl, the swinger, the "side piece,"  "the down low, " that which is seedy, or the leather and the whip. In fact, there are folk who always want "some strange."

  America didn't want you anymore, Mr. President, or anyone remotely like you. They wanted "some strange." They didn't want decent. They didn't want informed and measured. They didn't want civil or moral or self-disciplined - they just didn't. Like a young, pretty and daft high school girl, they wanted a rogue, slathered in tattoos, riding a motorcycle too fast without a helmet, with beer and cigarettes on his breath. They wanted somebody with a "street rep" and a rap sheet, and they wanted to pledge their undying loyalty to him. And as hard as it may be to do, you can't take that personally, because it really isn't about you, and it never was. 

  America has been seized by a spirit that it doesn't know it possesses and of which it knows not the origins. A few years back, I wrote of White supremacy (I call it "Wealth supremacy" now) being a four-stage disease that mimics syphilis in its natural course. America has reached the end-stage of this condition, and that stage is the stage where a nation begins to lose its mind. 

  You have to understand that America chose the leadership they wanted. You fought mightily against that urge, but their desire was too passionate and persistent for you and your allies to best. Moreover, your opponents were aided by the greatest collective display of cowardice in the history of American leadership. The appalling, retreating failures of the Special Counsel on Russian Interference in the 2016 Election, the current United States Attorney General, multiple members of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government during the presidential Administration preceding yours, malevolent performance artists in the U.S. House of Representatives, the previous Senate Majority Leader and the Senate jury of both of the Impeachments and prosecutions of the former President, and corrupt enablers of his on the Federal judicial bench and the Supreme Court, the billionaire class, as well as the mainstream and online media, made it impossible to sustain the momentum to properly inform, empower, and protect the American electorate from its darker angels, and so, here we are. I don't fully know the proportions of the factors of pride, ambition, the desire to serve and to finish what you started, the will to win, self-denial, anger or desire for revenge that may have played a role in your decision to seek re-election, nor do I know the proportions of the factors of fatigue, ill health, fear, frustration, or a sense of betrayal or disillusionment that may have led to your departure from the race. All I know is that the outcome would have been the same regardless. 

  When the Jews chose King Saul over God, there were consequences. When the people of Judea chose to free Barabbas over Jesus there were consequences. When George Washington chose to decline a throne and accept an elected presidency, there were consequences - in the latter case, good. November 5th - Election Day, 2024 - will have consequences. These consequences flow not so much from your decisions, but from the people's - this is a democracy after all (at least, for now). The reality is that the American people - at long last - need clarity. They need clarity on the value of government in their lives. They need clarity on the value of Medicaid benefits and Social Security, on the value of a robust Civil Service system, and on the impact of government intrusion on women's reproductive rights. They need clarity on the impact of global warming, on the importance of a free press and a diverse and inclusive workforce, and effective checks and balances between the three branches of government. They need clarity on the difference between being religious and having faith, and the difference between believing in God and believing in the mercy of God. They need clarity on the value of immigrants to our economy - even illegal ones. They need to really see and understand some things clearly - things that God wants them to see and understand, and we have reached a point where the only way for people to see and understand these things is lose some of these things and to suffer. Sadly, that is where we are and that's just the way it is. 

  I am sorry you pulled out of Afghanistan so abruptly and haphazardly, but I understand why. I believe it was because of Beau, your son. His service there exposed him to burn pits and later, brain cancer, and I know you weren't going to stomach any more of his fellow soldiers dying over there, largely for nothing, so you called the whole thing off. I am sorry that Hunter conducted himself in a way that compelled you to stretch the discretion of your power to its limits. But I am certain that seeing your son in prison, while so many people operating in your political orbit - people who lied, stole, unlawfully retained records, cheated on taxes, fomented insurrection, and pandered others into unseemly and criminal behavior, and even sexual molested women - walked free and largely with consequence, would have straight up killed you in the next two to three years, and dramatically foreshortened Hunter's life, so I understand that as well. 

  Please get the book, "The End of Alzheimer's" by Dr. Dale Bredesen. It will give you some practical steps that you and your doctor can use to address your cognitive challenges of aging. Whatever you do, don't drink alcohol in any significant amount at all. President Johnson, who left office in a way not dissimilar to you, went back to Texas and increased his alcohol intake. He only lasted four years, ironically dying on January 22nd, 1973, almost four years to the day after leaving the White House, and he was only 64 years old. Don't let your detractors drive you to do that and get the best of you.

  Finally, don't worry about your proverbial "legacy." Your legacy, like President Jimmy Carter's, is in the hands of the Lord. Did you end the senseless killing of American soldiers in Afghanistan? Did you work to save lives and keep people fed and sheltered during the Pandemic? Did you give groups of people heretofore shut out of leadership and power in government a change to work and shine? Did you objectively strengthen our economy over your term? Did you give those condemned to prison or execution a second chance at life out of prison or repentance in it? 

  Did you fail in some things or not act in others? Of course you did, but God looks upon the heart and "love covers a multitude of sins." It is clear that you loved America and its people. You have given over half your life and nearly the entirety of your adulthood in their service. You could have retreated to a life of exorbitant lucre long ago, but you didn't. I, for one, appreciate you and your wife and family, and all you have given to America. 

Again, thank you...

Sincerely, 

Darryl L. Fortson, MD

Las Vegas, Nevada