The United States prides itself on being a “model democracy.” The reason this can be surmised is the fact that our government is all over the world messing with other countries’ business under the guise of promoting and protecting “democracy.” The irony is that the notion of a real democracy is going down the toilet in the U.S.
Our chief executive, President Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, has been charged with Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress. He was impeached by the House of Representatives and has been on trial in the Senate since January 16, 2020. The chief allegations are that he unlawfully solicited Ukrainian authorities to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election in order to benefit his campaign.
The process has turned out to be very partisan with a few exceptions. The full House of Representatives approved the articles of impeachment, but the Senate has predictably been less accommodating. A Republican cabal has basically conspired to protect the president. They have rejected the use of witnesses in the trial who could add very important testimony. Basically, what the Senate is doing is obstructing the impeachment trial. While this is happening the whole country is watching side-eyed to see how things will turn out.
Several things are very clear at this point. It is clear that Donald Trump has the hearts and minds of the Republicans and his cult-like following sewn up. And even though it is very clear that he has lied numerous times, and that he has very little respect for almost anyone but himself, people are standing steadfast behind him. The Republican senators, for the most part, have lost all of their backbones. It is obvious that there is major corruption taking place in this administration, but the guts to face it are seemingly non-existent. There is impropriety in high places.
Outside of the impeachment trial, Donald Trump has been bad for the country and for the world on several other levels. Interracial hatred has grown exponentially since he took office. Donald Trump has disrespected citizens far and wide, including Gold Star parents of a deceased veteran and a handicapped reporter among others. He has rolled back regulations that would protect the environment while, at the same time, incredulously, denying that climate change is a reality. He has threatened to take away safeguards like Medicare and Social Security while giving tax breaks to the wealthy.
Donald Trump is a poster child for what it means to be a Robin Hood in reverse, i.e., he takes from the poor in order to help the rich. And he has the power of persuasion that works mightily in his favor. It is as though he can do ANYTHING and get away with it. One of the most horrendous results is that there are poor whites who have aligned themselves with him without understanding that the policies that he proposes will hurt them. Actually, he is using their gullibility and tendency toward racial bigotry and white supremacy to actually work against them. Many of them don’t understand that they will be adversely impacted by Trump’s policies.
Actually, since Donald Trump has refused to cooperate in any way to provide documents requested, up to and including his tax information, the United States is no longer protected by the checks and balances built into our democracy. He is making decisions like a dictator, and no one seems to control what he does. In other words, at this point, the United States is not operating as a democracy. It has been totally given over to the plutocrats with Trump at the lead. The members of the Senate who are in lock-step with him could care less about the average American citizen; they apparently are only concerned about keeping their jobs and protecting their wallets.
Donald Trump came into office demonstrating an obvious infatuation with world leaders of a dictatorial bent. This was no secret. If clear-headedness and decency don’t prevail, this reverse Robin Hood will continue “robbing the hood” until nothing is left. To prevent this, we need to vote as though our lives depend upon it, because, in fact, they do. A Luta Continua.
