For the third time Donald Trump has thrown his hat in the Presidential Ring.  Some are calling it "Trump 3.0"

What shall we make of that?  What should the person who wants the best for our country, who wants us to succeed, who wants our system to work and to prosper DO?  For sure, the thoughtful person will not panic.  The election is a full two years away - time enough to see what happens and to find out all we need to know to make a sensible and well-considered decision.  If that is, indeed, what you want to do.

It is already clear, from the speculation during the ramp-up to his announcement and in the very few hours that have passed since he formally declared as a candidate that there are a significant number of people who not only do NOT want or intend to make a careful, well-thought-out and logical decision but rather will immediately and totally oppose Trump at all costs and seemingly without reason or actual justification.  They oppose him just because he is Trump and because they hate him.  They are the same people that are largely responsible for a great deal of the troubles faced by Trump's administration and Presidency the first time around.  They are, collectively, a mob of the emotional, the illogical and the irresponsible who are already baying like hounds without minds to bring him down once again.  Already some are saying that Trump should not run or should not be re-elected because it would result in too much discord, too much contention, too much confusion and difficulty.

So, shall we sacrifice our precious decision about the future of our country, about who should lead us, about where our country should be going in order to gain a little "peace and quiet"?  To paraphrase the words of  Benjamin Franklin, "Those who would give up control of our nation for a little 'peace and quiet" deserve neither."  If we will allow the discomfort of a difficult struggle to prevent us from preserving the principles and goals of our nation, the ideals and values that our Founders fought for so valiantly then we do not deserve to enjoy them in the first place.  We may as well lie down meekly and submit without objection to whatever we are told by our masters to do.  All too many Americans already have done that by allowing and accepting what was done to Trump the first time around.

The truth is that this is really only Trump 2.0 - or even Trump 1.0 - Part 2 if we want to be strictly correct.  Why?  Because beginning with his success in winning the Republican nomination for the 2016 election almost the entire US political establishment mounted a campaign to prevent his election, then once elected to prevent his administration from having any success, then when successes were accomplished to destroy the man personally and discredit him completely and, finally, when that was not achieved to prevent him from ever being able to hold office again - an effort which continues even now.  No other person in the history of our nation has been subjected to so much hate, so much destructive effort and so much opposition.  NEVER in the history of the United States, perhaps in the history of the modern world, has so much effort been made to prevent ONE PERSON from doing what The People chose him to do.  So the reality is that he was never actually given a fair chance to BE President and DO what he might have done for our country.  It's a minor miracle that he was able to accomplish what he did accomplish.  Why do they fear him so much?  And why can they not give him a fair chance to serve our nation, just as others have been given their fair chance?

I believe they fear and oppose him PRECISELY because he is the first candidate in many, many decades who is not in the pocket of one of the political parties or the special interests.  He cannot be bought and is therefore free to pursue an agenda without obligation to any donor or power group who would hold him hostage for their support.  THAT is the biggest benefit of a Trump candidacy - it was so the first time around and it's equally true now.  The Trump Presidency showed us clearly just how deep and foul "The Swamp" has become.  We can see now just how little the established Washington Bureaucracy cares about what The People want and need and just how much they care instead for the interest of those who fund them, who benefit from and for their own benefit and profit.  Washington has become a cesspool of the corrupt, who feed on our taxes and manipulate us to maintain their positions of power and profit.  BOTH major parties as well as the entrenched "Deep State" complex of departments, agencies, bureaus and committees are invested much more in what benefits THEM than in what is good for our nation or for the average citizen.  THAT is what needs to change ... and it will take an outsider who owes nobody his allegiance except to the American People.  More than anyone else in recent history, Trump meets those criteria.

But some complain that Trump is a "wild" card.  Can we accept and/or tolerate his maverick tendencies, his ego, his changeable nature and the other "quirks" that many have complained about?  First we should take a closer look at the man as he is NOW.  Again, we have two full years to see exactly how he behaves and there is no reason why we should not reserve judgement or be conditionally supportive until we have seen what we need to see.  That same window of time will allow us to observe others who seek the office and how they compare.

If the election were held today I would absolutely, positively vote for Trump over any of the other likely candidates because what he brought to the table in 2016 he STILL brings to the table now and there is nobody else out there who is offering anything better, in my opinion.  Everyone else seems to be a choice for the same old domination by Big Government and special interests.