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We have spent the last two years enduring all manner of
insult to our democratic society. With
the election of Donald Trump, an era of autocracy in the United States began. The hints of its arrival have been
foreshadowed for the past twenty years by movements like the Tea Party, the Alt
Right and now the Freedom Caucus. But
then on January 20, 2017 the full measure of this new modality of our
government actually began.
As Americans, we have been raised on the notion that whatever the result of an election, we must abide by the concept that the electorate has spoken and is entitled to have its way by virtue of a voter mandate. And so with the arrival of the Trump Administration we were told that the era of “American Carnage” was finally over. What we didn’t realize is that the era of “American Carnage” was just beginning.
Starting on that dark January day we watched as our new Chief Executive set about methodically dismantling the levers of government that over the past 240 years had delivered a society that certainly has plenty of flaws, but has given all of us a standard of living that is the envy of the entire world.
Those first actions were a harbinger of the chaos that would soon envelop us: the Muslim ban, the escalating prejudice against minorities, the effort to instill fear in our populace concerning the ‘other’, the constant lying, the appointment of corrupt executives to the President’s cabinet, etc.
So, here we are two years after that with a government that is purposefully understaffed in almost every realm; a sinister strategy to undermine our law enforcement structure and corrupt the rule of law; the unbridled effort to undermine the Mueller investigation,; the abdication of Constitutional oversight responsibility by the Congress; the reversal of practically every regulation promulgated over the past 50 years to clean up our environment; the ominous rise of ‘nationalism’ and hate related crimes; the rise of pernicious racism; the campaign to paint the press as the ‘enemy of the people’; the creation of new tax cuts that do nothing for the average citizen except add over a trillion dollars to the national debt; the poisonous destruction of the fabric of who we are as a country.
The results of the midterm elections have shined a light on what has evolved, and have made a start at revealing all the bad things that have resulted from this new Trumpian era. But that does not mean we are out of the woods….just look at what has happened in the few short days since the election: Trump continues to threaten a warlike stance against the new Democratic majority in Congress. (He is threatening to go to war with his own government!) His methodology of distracting and creating unnecessary crises continues with the ‘threat of the caravan’ from Mexico.(Have you heard anything about this "threat" since the election?) His policy of voter suppression is expressed in his and his sycophant's statements and actions about the elections in Arizona, Georgia and Florida. He is purposefully sowing the seeds of doubt in voter's trust of the integrity of the election process. You can be sure that he will double down on that effort in advance of his attempt at re-election in two years. And most recently, his appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting Attorney General is wrong and perhaps unconstitutional.
Considering all of the above, the question arises: Why is it so difficult to reign in Trump and his black-hearted legions? One would think that the majority of Americans would have more power in containing this malignancy. It is a constant struggle to oppose his endless effort to fulfill some sort of personal mission he has to make this country his empire, with himself as king, and poison our relationships with all our allies in the world.
Faster action is stubbornly opposed by forces that do not relate to an understanding of society as the majority of us know it. The minority is still ruling the country! And that is the fallacy in our democracy. It is true that the rights of the minority should be protected in our country, but that doesn't mean that the minority should rule when they have not actually obtained a voter mandate.
A democracy is supposed to be guided by the majority. But over the past 30 years there has been an effort by the Republicans to undermine that basic concept. From voter suppression to gerrymandering to corrupt special interest money financing politics, the will of the majority has been consistently thwarted. The Republicans claim majority, but the reality of their actual majority is a lie.
So, to right the ship, we must turn the boat, however it is the proverbial battleship that cannot turn on a dime. It IS turning back in the right direction, but we can hardly see the change. We have to be committed to hold the wheel firmly in the right direction. Our vigilance will, over time, return us to a more humane and less chaotic society.
It is a painfully slow process to fix this mess, and we will still suffer mightily during the next two years, as we fight this sickness infecting our country. I hope we all learned a lesson about vigilance and the preciousness of our democracy. One election does not a victory make, but at least we are starting our own rehabilitation.
What can each of us do to persevere in the face of the difficult two remaining years of Trump’s presidency? We can try to hold back our passion and rage at each indignity Trump hurls at anything having to do with truth. We must simply understand that he is who he is, and will be that way until the bitter end. We must focus on the future and what we will need to do to fix the damage after he is gone. That’s why the recent opposition campaign focused on health care and infrastructure was more successful than Trump’s focus on fear and dangerous immigrants. I think our citizenry implicitly understands this.
Our challenge is to relax about the fact that he is unchangeable. We must continue to counter each abuse he hurls with a ‘wall’ of truth and integrity. We can only oppose each outrage with steadfast belief, and the action available to each of us to support the rule of law and speak out for what we know is right and true.
We have what it takes to win the long game. We must all keep the faith. In the end, majority rules.
Majority Rules!
Starting on that dark January day we watched as our new Chief Executive set about methodically dismantling the levers of government that over the past 240 years had delivered a society that certainly has plenty of flaws, but has given all of us a standard of living that is the envy of the entire world.
Those first actions were a harbinger of the chaos that would soon envelop us: the Muslim ban, the escalating prejudice against minorities, the effort to instill fear in our populace concerning the ‘other’, the constant lying, the appointment of corrupt executives to the President’s cabinet, etc.
So, here we are two years after that with a government that is purposefully understaffed in almost every realm; a sinister strategy to undermine our law enforcement structure and corrupt the rule of law; the unbridled effort to undermine the Mueller investigation,; the abdication of Constitutional oversight responsibility by the Congress; the reversal of practically every regulation promulgated over the past 50 years to clean up our environment; the ominous rise of ‘nationalism’ and hate related crimes; the rise of pernicious racism; the campaign to paint the press as the ‘enemy of the people’; the creation of new tax cuts that do nothing for the average citizen except add over a trillion dollars to the national debt; the poisonous destruction of the fabric of who we are as a country.
The results of the midterm elections have shined a light on what has evolved, and have made a start at revealing all the bad things that have resulted from this new Trumpian era. But that does not mean we are out of the woods….just look at what has happened in the few short days since the election: Trump continues to threaten a warlike stance against the new Democratic majority in Congress. (He is threatening to go to war with his own government!) His methodology of distracting and creating unnecessary crises continues with the ‘threat of the caravan’ from Mexico.(Have you heard anything about this "threat" since the election?) His policy of voter suppression is expressed in his and his sycophant's statements and actions about the elections in Arizona, Georgia and Florida. He is purposefully sowing the seeds of doubt in voter's trust of the integrity of the election process. You can be sure that he will double down on that effort in advance of his attempt at re-election in two years. And most recently, his appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting Attorney General is wrong and perhaps unconstitutional.
Considering all of the above, the question arises: Why is it so difficult to reign in Trump and his black-hearted legions? One would think that the majority of Americans would have more power in containing this malignancy. It is a constant struggle to oppose his endless effort to fulfill some sort of personal mission he has to make this country his empire, with himself as king, and poison our relationships with all our allies in the world.
Faster action is stubbornly opposed by forces that do not relate to an understanding of society as the majority of us know it. The minority is still ruling the country! And that is the fallacy in our democracy. It is true that the rights of the minority should be protected in our country, but that doesn't mean that the minority should rule when they have not actually obtained a voter mandate.
A democracy is supposed to be guided by the majority. But over the past 30 years there has been an effort by the Republicans to undermine that basic concept. From voter suppression to gerrymandering to corrupt special interest money financing politics, the will of the majority has been consistently thwarted. The Republicans claim majority, but the reality of their actual majority is a lie.
So, to right the ship, we must turn the boat, however it is the proverbial battleship that cannot turn on a dime. It IS turning back in the right direction, but we can hardly see the change. We have to be committed to hold the wheel firmly in the right direction. Our vigilance will, over time, return us to a more humane and less chaotic society.
It is a painfully slow process to fix this mess, and we will still suffer mightily during the next two years, as we fight this sickness infecting our country. I hope we all learned a lesson about vigilance and the preciousness of our democracy. One election does not a victory make, but at least we are starting our own rehabilitation.
What can each of us do to persevere in the face of the difficult two remaining years of Trump’s presidency? We can try to hold back our passion and rage at each indignity Trump hurls at anything having to do with truth. We must simply understand that he is who he is, and will be that way until the bitter end. We must focus on the future and what we will need to do to fix the damage after he is gone. That’s why the recent opposition campaign focused on health care and infrastructure was more successful than Trump’s focus on fear and dangerous immigrants. I think our citizenry implicitly understands this.
Our challenge is to relax about the fact that he is unchangeable. We must continue to counter each abuse he hurls with a ‘wall’ of truth and integrity. We can only oppose each outrage with steadfast belief, and the action available to each of us to support the rule of law and speak out for what we know is right and true.
We have what it takes to win the long game. We must all keep the faith. In the end, majority rules.
Majority Rules!
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