Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Trump Administration Threatens Democracy

By Mildred Robertson

I have been absent from the blog for about one month; somewhat overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenges faced by those who fear for the state of the Union.  As I flip between CNN, MSNBC and the local news channels each night, attempting to make sense of the senseless babble emitting from the Washington Beltway, I shudder at the thought of 3 more years of Trump, or even a day of Pence, or any other successors who might ascend to the Whitehouse were we to successfully unseat the poser who presents himself as the leader of the free world.

The nightly drip of information revealing the ineptitude, subterfuge, nepotism, and juvenile arrogance that marks this administration is disheartening and frightening. I wished for, labored for, voted for a different administration. While I expected policies that were at odds with those I would support, that does not mean that I wished for this one to fail so miserably.

I expected a bad healthcare bill, and a heartless attack on our national social safety net. I knew that business would get a tax break on the backs of working Americans. I figured we would face more efforts to gerrymander votes and I expected attacks on a woman’s right to choose and endless babble about building a wall. I expected a good old-fashion political battle. I did not expect espionage, collusion, and possible treason that would shake the very foundation of our Democracy.
What is happening in Washington D.C. is not normal. The threat to our way of life is real, and I am appalled that it appears that no one knows how to adjust that reality in a way that will do us no harm. I imagine this must be the way Dorothy felt when she woke up in Oz. Unlike the denizens of Oz, our wizard cannot even create the illusion that he is all-knowing, even for a moment.  

So what are we to do?  While Trump has been slow to appoint leadership to a number of key administrative positions, what about those appointments he has made. If it turns out that he ascended to the White House through treasonous collusion, does his appointment of clearly unqualified people to his administration such as Betsy DeVos and Ben Carson stand? Are he and his family held accountable for clear acts of nepotism? Does the American Treasury recover the windfall received by his various properties and holdings based upon his ascension to the Whitehouse?

As we watch the drama unfold in D.C., it is difficult to focus on those legislative issues that face our country. The Wizard and his crew of flying monkeys have kept all eyes focused on Oz. The Republican-led Congress is clearly lost in the poppy field right outside the gates.

So what is to become of us and our national pressing issues? Who will be our champion and forge a way forward from this malaise that threatens to destroy our democracy? None named thus far seem capable and/or inclined; not the Senate or House subcommittees, not the special prosecutor.

I look toward 2018 with anticipation…and hope. I hope that those who thought it a good time to make a political statement see that voting should be neither whimsical nor emotional. I hope that those who have been disillusioned will come back and take up the fight. I hope that those who have been disenfranchised will pursue their right to vote. 

Our democratic way of life is being stolen from us minute-by-minute; day-by-day. It is unthinkable that I would actually quote Donald Trump, but it really is time for decent, upright, patriotic Americans of all genders, hues, religions, and orientations to TAKE BACK AMERICA. Whatever the internal battles that separate us, Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal; we must redirect America’s course for our common good.