• home
• about
• new
• essays
• AI
• book

Elliot Benjamin is a philosopher, mathematician, musician, counselor, writer, with Ph.Ds in mathematics and psychology and the author of over 230 published articles in the fields of humanistic and transpersonal psychology, pure mathematics, mathematics education, spirituality & the awareness of cult dangers, art & mental disturbance, and progressive politics. He has also written a number of self-published books, such as: The Creative Artist, Mental Disturbance, and Mental Health. See also: www.benjamin-philosopher.com.

SEE MORE ESSAYS WRITTEN BY ELLIOT BENJAMIN

Aftermath of the U.S. 2024 Presidential Election

My Personal Integrative Perspective

Elliot Benjamin

It is now over 3 weeks since the U.S. 2024 presidential election, and this is certainly not the sequel to my previous essay that I wanted to write [1]. I was ardently hoping that Kamala Harris would beat Donald Trump, but this is not what happened. Like many people who strongly opposed Trump, I have been going through a multitude of emotional states the past few weeks: from shock to sadness to fear to anger to a determination to fight Trump and his agenda.

Becoming reinvolved with the grass-roots Progressive organization Indivisible [2] has been a shot in the arm for me and has awakened my being an active member of the Resisting Trump movement [3]. I was thinking that with all of Trump's extremely concerning cabinet nominations, there was effective political work that could be done to influence at least the needed four Republican senators, inclusive of my own moderate Maine Republican senator Susan Collins, to vote against some of Trump's most controversial nominations, or at least to vote against Congress adjourning for 10 or more days so that Trump could get his nominations approved through a Recess appointment without the Senate needing to confirm them [4]. However, as I learned more about Trump's Recess appointment attempt, I realized that there may very well not be anything that can be done to stop him. All he has to do is to persuade House speaker Mike Johnson to pressure the House to vote for a 10 day or more Recess, and if successful then Trump has the constitutional authority to declare that the two houses of Congress are in disagreement and consequently that the president can declare that there is a Recess [4], [5]. But on the other hand, a more optimistic perspective is that a handful of moderate Republican House members will find their backbone and not vote for the Recess—we shall see.

The list of things that Trump is going to do to undermine United States democracy and the health and welfare of Americans and the world is staggering in its destructiveness—both with his unscrupulous cabinet appointments and through his solo executive actions—ranging from mass deportations to further climate catastrophe through extensive drilling for oil to economic turmoil through his tariffs and renewed tax benefits to billionaires and mass deportations to trying to destroy progressive organizations that oppose him [6]. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect to me of Trump's re-presidency is the fact that he has gotten away with all of his many very serious crimes, inclusive of attempting to overthrow the United States government and being a convicted felon on 34 counts, making a mockery of our whole judicial criminal system [7]. But then why in the subtitle of this essay did I bother to include the words “personal integrative perspective”?]8] The reason is related to the criticisms I have voiced of President Biden in regard to his policies in both the Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Gaza wars [9]. I have also voiced criticisms of Trump in regard to his frail ego that could easily get triggered into getting us into a nuclear war [10]. But to stretch my mind as much as I am able to in an integrative way, here is my personal integrative perspective.

The Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Gaza Wars

In regard to the Russia/Ukraine war, I was quite stunned to see Ukrainian President Zelensky actually make the statement that he thinks the war will end quicker with Trump as U.S. President, and that maximum efforts should be made to end the war next year through diplomacy [9]. This is actually consistent with Trump's statements about ending the war quickly and that there needs to be a negotiated deal made to end the war [11]. So Zelensky is apparently now ready to work with Trump to end the war? Perhaps Zelensky realizes that he has no choice but to work with Trump and will now be more willing to compromise in some kind of a deal to end the war? It also appears that Ukraine may be starting to shift its priorities, being more concerned about having protections from future Russian attacks than they are about keeping all their land, so perhaps giving up some of their land could become part of a “deal” with Russia? [12]

I know fully well that voicing my political inclinations to end the war through some kind of a deal is going to bring about some heavy criticism on Integral World from readers and writers who believe that Ukraine needs to persevere and continue the war for as long as it takes, as I have received this kind of criticism in some of my previous Russia/Ukraine essays [13]. But President Biden's decision to let Ukraine use U.S. made longer range missiles to infiltrate deep into Russian territory is especially alarming to me [14], as I think this has tremendous dangers of escalating the war into untold horrors inclusive of nuclear war [15]. However, it also may be the case that Biden's decision to let Ukraine use U.S. longer range missiles may actually give Trump more negotiating power to give Ukraine the best possible deal to end the war [16]. If President Elect Trump has on the top of his agenda the prospect of getting Ukraine to engage in some kind of a deal to end the war, I certainly understand the dangers of capitulating to all that Russia wants, but I also think this war needs to end and that some kind of a deal needs to be made.

Admitting that I actually feel more comfortable with Trump than Biden in regard to the Russia/Ukraine war is difficult for me and is the crux of what I mean by my “personal integrative perspective.” This was by no means enough reason for me to vote for Trump over Harris, but I always had grave concerns about what I viewed as Biden's extreme United States patriotism and Harris' continuation of this patriotism, and I decided to accept my concerns and still not vote for Trump for all the “other” reasons that I have previously written about [8]. But now that like it or not we have President Trump on the horizon again, my personal integrative perspective is that despite my concerns about how Trump may override Ukraine's interests, I am generally supportive of him trying to end the Russia/Ukraine war.

O.K. I said it, let the chips fall where they may. But I should at least briefly mention the other war—Israel/Gaza, which I have also written a few Integral World essays about [17].

I have been critical of President Biden for continuing to give Israel weapons and bombs that have been used to kill now over 44,000 innocent Palestinians in Gaza and Lebanon [17]. Vice President Harris was not willing to break from this policy in any kind of concrete way, and I believe that this cost her many votes from Palestinian Americans in the election [18]. But I was always concerned that Trump “would be worse” and that he would give the green light for Israel to kill even more Palestinians. Trump has said that Israel needs to “get it over with,” which means bomb even more than they have been doing, to convince Hamas and the Palestinians to agree to end the war on Israel's terms completely [19]. This is far different from how I wanted Biden and Harris to help end the war, by discontinuing giving Israel the bombs that they have been utilizing in Gaza and had been utilizing in Lebanon [17], [20]. Senator Bernie Sanders has continually tried to get the Senate to vote to stop giving Israel bombs and weapons of destruction that they use in Gaza and until recently Lebanon, and it goes nowhere [21]. As much as I don't like it, I don't think there is any realistic way that the war is going to end unless Israel gets everything that they want. I don't feel good about the terms that Israel will enact to end the war and that Trump will in all likelihood fully support. But I want this war to end as soon as possible, to stop the killing of innocent Palestinians and especially innocent Palestinian children.

Summary

To summarize, the United States is fighting to preserve its democracy in the fight of its life. Trump 2.0 is a dire threat to every principle that the United States stands for. But I also must begrudgingly admit that I think Biden has put the United States and the world in grave danger by escalating the Russia/Ukraine war, and that it is more likely for the war to finally end when Trump takes office, even though I certainly have concerns about the appeasement of Russia that Trump may likely undertake to end the war. Similarly, I think Biden has supported Israel far too much and is partially responsible for the continuation of the war that has enabled Israel to kill thousands of innocent Palestinians with United States bombs and weapons of destruction. I certainly do not feel good that Israel will likely get everything they want at the expense of the Palestinian people, with Trump likely fully supporting Israel. But I want the war to finally end—as soon as possible. There are no easy answers here.

Notes/References

1) See Elliot Benjamin (November, 2024), United States Election Drama: Integrative President Kamala Harris or Fascist President Donald Trump? www.integralworld.net

2) See the Indivisible website at www.indivisible.org in which they include The New Indivisible Guide: Practical Strategies, Tactics, and Tips for How Everyday Americans Can Fight Back Against Trump 2.0.

3) Another progressive organization that has been very active in resisting Trump since the 2024 election is the Working Families Party, which has sponsored numerous We Are Worth Fighting For meetings: .weareworthfightingfor.org

4) See Peter Aitken (November, 2024), How Trump Could Skirt Congress to Get His Cabinet Picks Through. www.newsweek.com

5) See the petition to generate support to prevent Trump from getting his recess to make his cabinet appointments without Senate approval: "Sign the petition to the incoming Congress: Do not adjourn. Protect the constitutional rights of Congress as a check on executive power", actionnetwork.org

6) One particular alarming scenario is the recent passing in the House of HR 9495, which enables Trump's treasury secretary to designate nonprofit organizations as supporters of terrorism and consequently remove their tax-exempt status. The bill will go to the Senate after Trump takes office. See Minnah Arshad (November, 2024), House Passes Bill that Would Allow Treasury to Strip Nonprofits of Tax-Exempt Status. www.usatoday.com

7) See Madeline Halpert (November, 2024), Special Counsel's Last Criminal Case Against Trump Dismissed. www.bbc.com

8) See a number of my Integral World essays at www.integralworld.net, inclusive of my essay in [1], where I have used integrative in the subtitle of my essay, to signify the inclusion of diverse and contradictory perspectives.

9) See a number of my Trump essays on Integral World at www.integralworld.net

10) See George Wright & Aleks Phillips (November, 20240, "Zelensky says war will 'end sooner' with Trump as president", www.bbc.com

11) See Helene Cooper, Andrew E. Kramer, Eric Schmitt, & Julian E. Barnes (November, 2024), Trump's Vow to End the War could Leave Ukraine With Few Options. www.nytimes.com

12) See Kristin M. Bakke, Gerard Toal, & John O'Loughlin (September, 2024), Growing Number of War-Weary Ukrainians Would Reluctantly Give Up Territory To Save Lives, Suggests Survey. phys.org

13) See Frank Visser's essay: Thoughts About the Ukraine Crisis: An Overview of Essays at www.integralworld.net (continually updated) for links to all my Integral World Russia/Ukraine essays, and see in particular a number of the critical comments to my essays by Brad Reynolds.

14) See Aamer Madhani, Colleen Long, Zeke Miller, Matthew Lee, & Ellen Knickmeyer (November, 2024), Biden Authorizes Ukraine To Use US-Supplied Longer Range Missiles For Deeper Strikes Inside Russia. apnews.com

15) See Anna Chernova, Nathan Hodge, Christian Edwards, & Clare Sebastian (November, 2024), Putin Fine-Tunes Russia's Nuclear Doctrine After Biden's Arms Decision on Ukraine, in Clear Signal to West. www.cnn.com; and Andrew Roth (November, 2024), Putin's Ukraine Missile a Warning to West Before Second Age of Trump. www.theguardian.com

16) See Frederick Kempe (November, 2024), Biden's Ukraine Moves Are a Gift to Trump. www.atlanticcouncil.org

17) See Frank Visser's essay: Thoughts About the Gaza Crisis: An Overview of Essays at www.integralworld.net (continually updated) for links to all my Integral World Israel/Gaza essays.

18) See Arno Rosenfeld (November,2024), Gaza Didn't Cost Harris the Election. But Her Approach Pointed To a Broader Problem. forward.com; Nesrine Malik (November, 2024), One Thing I'm Sure Of: Harris Ignored Voters' Anger Over Gaza, and It Cost the Democrats Dear. www.theguardian.com; and Sydney Kashiwagi (November, 2024), Rep. Ilhan Omar Says Harris-Walz Tapping Liz Cheney Was “Huge Misstep.” www.startribune.com

19) See Tia Goldenberg (November, 2024), Trump Promises To Bring Lasting Peace To A Tumultuous Middle East, But Fixing It Won't Be Easy. www.pbs.org; and David Hearst (November, 2024), Trump Has a Choice: Obliterate Palestine Or End the War. www.middleeasteye.net

20) A cautiously optimistic recent development is the 60-day ceasefire that Israel has agreed to with Lebanon; see Kathleen Magramo, Deva Lee, & Sophie Tanno (November,2024), Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Begins in Lebanon. www.cnn.com; and see Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's explanation of why the Israeli security cabinet is agreeing to a ceasefire with Lebanon at "Watch Netanyahu address why Israeli security cabinet is agreeing to Lebanon ceasefire now" www.cnn.com

21) See Alexander Bolton (November, 2024), Senate Rejects Sanders-Backed Proposals to Block Arms Sales to Israel. thehill.com for Bernie Sanders' most recent attempt to stop the United States from giving bombs to Israel that are used against Palestinian civilians.