Sitting in the stands for a portion of Cathedral School’s home football game against Adams County Christian School with my 3-year-old daughter Friday night, I realized I was surrounded by literally dozens of daughters and their proud parents.

My daughter, Anna, has been infatuated with the dance team at Cathedral since she first saw a video of them some time ago after she came home from preschool and asked her mother what a “pepu-rally” was. Mom tried to describe the nature of a high school pep rally before eventually searching the Internet and finding a short video of some cheerleaders and dancers at a past rally.

Since then Anna has been itching to go to her first Friday night football game. Cathedral versus ACCS, two Christian-based schools, coming together for a football rivalry.

We made a brief appearance at the prior week’s game against Trinity Episcopal Day School, but Anna came away disappointed. As luck would have it, the game was Trinity’s homecoming game, so the half-time festivities didn’t allow time for on field dancing.

So there we were Friday sitting next to longtime friends Hayden and Barbara Gerard Kaiser.

Anna was oblivious to the action on the field. The only thing she wanted to see was the dance teams — and the cheerleaders.

She was in luck as ACCS brought their own dance team and cheerleader squads. Combined with Cathedral’s two dance teams and cheerleaders, meant Anna had five different halftime shows to enjoy.

She danced, rocked and clapped as the girls on the field jumped, spun, kicked and flew into the air.

At 3, the world literally always has a party in the wings. All you need is a little music and something new to watch.

After the football game resumed, Anna’s bedtime called so we walked back to the car.

After climbing the hill to get back to our car, my mind flashed back to all of those daughters, proudly performing for parents, grandparents and great-grandparents on the field.

On the back of a truck parked in the lot, was a bumper sticker supporting Donald Trump for president.

While my own daughter snuggled in my arms being “too tired” to walk any more, I thought about the comments Trump was recorded having said a few years back.

I won’t recount those comments here, but they’re available online if someone missed hearing them.

His lewd and disrespectful comments about women speak to the core of the man.

I’d venture to say not a single father from either side of the stadium Friday night would stand still if Trump said such comments about their own daughter. More likely the New York billionaire would get a heaping helping of Southern knuckle sandwich if he had made such comments.

But I wonder how many of those same fathers are going to throw their support behind him on Election Day?

Morally and ethically I cannot.

Someone at church recently pointed out that God, not man, chooses earthly kings.

Trump has apologized for the outlandish statements he made. But it’s difficult for me to erase such comments from my mind.

Like many people, I don’t like any of the alternatives, either, but Trump is simply too disgusting, too self-absorbed and too disrespectful of others — particularly women — to earn my support.

I got into a discussion with someone the other day who was adamant Trump was the lesser of two evils. That may be the case, and I hold no personal ill will toward anyone who chooses him. I simply feel our country has enough hatred and disrespect as it is. We certainly don’t need more from an arrogant, disrespectful leader.

Hopefully, more fathers of daughters will agree and simply choose to vote for someone else come Election Day.
Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.