Never did we expect to see our nation collapse—explode?—in slow motion in our time. We have long known that all the great empires of history had sooner or later collapsed, but we thought we were the exception with our wonderful words of laws. Alas, a successful nation requires more than words on paper. Responsible citizens must implement the laws that allow people to live peacefully together respecting those of different opinions.
Where are those responsible people? Certainly, not in the majority party now seemingly dedicated to power over and above the concepts of our founding fathers. Again, I must note no women were allowed despite Mrs. Adams’ plea to husband John not to ignore women.
It is my principle not to condemn an entire group but it is almost impossible to find a responsible person in the current Republican majority party in Congress. They are not even putting on a face of pretense of serving the citizens instead of the party leader who, unfortunately, was elected President.
I say “unfortunate” because he has bragged about his breaches of morality while denying the criminal convictions involved. Now in office his exercise of power reinforces the qualms of us in the opposing party. Too many in Congress and the Supreme Court are not upholding their documented responsibilities.
Corruption and quest of power seem to be the order of the day with the inmates running the asylum to use an old Southern expression. Instead of reining him in, they have joined him in issues totally contrary to our vaunted constitution.
They seem to have little realization that they cannot please him sufficiently to protect themselves from being thrown into his pile of former admirers. Or if they do, their own fear and lack of ethics blind them.
At this writing, there is one and only one indication of his misbehavior that even he fears his admirers might not accept: Seeing his name on the Epstein list of participants in one of society’s more dastardly crimes. Yes, given all we know of previous conviction of the two leaders of that operation coming to light and his history most reasonable humans would be more surprised if his name is not on the last than to find it there.
Sometimes no amount of erasing, denial, can overcome the act. Without question, it is unacceptable for anyone, especially older men, to abuse young girls even if equally impure women helped to set up the horror. Be it in more personal life or in the evils of society, it is a crime regardless of who participates or how it came to happen.
Almost as bad as the crime or, at the very least, right up there with it, is that it takes this kind of action for the MAGAs and this president to have a bit of concern and maybe, just maybe, a bit of shame where much is due.
Will this be the impetus for waking up the voters? After all, they have ignored the mistreatment of refugees desperately seeking relief in this nation of immigrants, the elimination of citizens’ healthcare so many depend on, the need for housing or even bodily needs for the homeless, and the misuse of ICE and the National Guard with numerous other hardships of the unfortunates who might have worked just as hard as you and I but did not get the breaks.
What do we do? Could this be the straw that broke the camel’s back? The one thing this president does not want exposed? The one thing beyond the MAGAs’ tolerance?
Looking ahead to the next election, the party seems to think it cannot win ethically, so it is resorting to big-time gerrymandering in several states to create districts more likely to elect their kind.
Added to that trouble is the prospect of states with the opposite political leaning feeling they must resort to the same type of action (not that they have been above the same antics in the past) fighting war with war just as we and others did in the development of the atom bomb.
The trouble is that two wrongs do not make a right even when there seems no alternative. Consequences remain with us directing the future, so we need to be aware of the lesser of the evils.
In all this tirade, I have not even mentioned the role of money, another long-standing abuse by humans. That we leave for another time.
Is there any wonder that it is difficult to accept, much less admire, conditions in U.S. society at this time. We who have been the example, the hope of the world’s downtrodden, must renew our efforts not just for ourselves but for the planet.
