Just when we thought it could not get worse, this government has given up on democracy, on basic decency, on the kind of principles that have always been identified with the United States of America. Throughout the centuries this nation has stood as a bastion of democracy, setting an example for the world.
Yes, part of our history includes slavery, but Americans fought a Civil War to make sure that it came to an end. And it has taken a long time and lots of blood and tears to ensure equal rights for all races, for men and women, for immigrants. It took a few decades to understand and feel the impact of Martin Luther King, Jr., but his sacrifice and that of many Civil Rights leaders led to President Barack Obama. We thought his ascension to the presidency would bring an end to the racism that has been so hard to eradicate in spite of the gains.
But the Trump administration seeks to dismantle the guarantees of equality, the government of the people and by the people to create an autocracy. Trump has been trying to erase the words inscribed at the feet of the Statue of Liberty that have greeted immigrants from all over the world. He wants the courts to obey his will, but the courts will not follow his instructions. He doesn’t understand the constitution and the balance of power. He has stated: “The American dream is dead,” because that is what he and his minions would like to do, to kill the dreams of millions throughout the world to come to this country in search of a better life.
His public utterances drip racist rhetoric and his executive orders have banned Muslims from entering this country. He cynically used the threat of a Caravan of immigrants from Honduras to create fear around the November midterm election. His failure to frighten us led to the shellacking his party suffered in that election, but he has not surrendered to the reality of his loss. It was worrisome but still somewhat amusing to contemplate the clowning on the world stage. It was embarrassing to see this president kowtow to Vladimir Putin, the ex KGB agent who has a grip on Russia attempting to recreate the Soviet era.
He does have a lot of power to issue presidential edicts, but he cannot force the Justice Department to prosecute Hillary Clinton for her email use as he supposedly did. He also wanted to prosecute James Comey. He was told by the White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn that he could not do that because it could be considered an abuse of power and he could face impeachment. We can be fairly sure that Trump thought he could get away with abusing his powers. This president is now under siege and facing the consequences of his outrageous acts. He knows that the new Congress will rain subpoenas on his administration. And it’s about time. Somebody will have to protect our democracy.
Editorial.
