Enough With The Lies (An Editorial)
Over the past year I have argued that American exceptionalism has been eroded and perhaps never existed. Daily, I have hoped that my writings would be proven false. I’ve wanted to be challenged on my views about the pandemic, class inequality, gun violence, police brutality, racism, climate awareness, elective politics, and most recently the Supreme Court. Yet, since 2015, I’ve been losing faith in America as the wrong things keep happening. Other historians keep suggesting that there is still time to make changes. They have written that the more progressive voices are wrong and that the center will hold. Their views are that this happens with every nation and within every century. America is simply getting ready for a course correction. They point to the Roaring 20s, decade before the Great Depression, and the Gilded Age to highlight similarities.
In contrast, I believe that the center is cracking, that the more conservative historians are wrong and that the American experiment is on its last legs. That we need brave men and women to take action to change the course of this nation. There are too many problems, and that they are greater than a fragile democracy is capable of resolving. The greatest one is saving democracy itself.
Thanks to the January 6th Committee we have awakened to the reality that private citizens, para-military groups, and the members of the United States government, people loyal to President Trump, were engaged in a conspiracy to overthrow the government of the United States. This is the closest the nation has come to an open conspiracy leading to a civil war since 1861. That the plot includes members of Congress, the Secret Service, Justice Department, and Pentagon, is quite disturbing as it is frightening. And that members of Congress continue to downplay this news is a clear sign that many are not interested in the fate of our democracy.
We have watched a person question the process, a time honored process in such a way that he could not lose. And when he lost, a good percentage of the nation refused to accept his defeat. Why? Largely through a cult of personality, but also due to a series of manipulating interests which have yet to be exposed.
However, there was no evidence of foul play or election fraud. Yet, from that foundation a conspiracy of lawsuits with wild and scandalous charges emerged and when all else failed, a plot developed to use white supremacy groups to storm the capitol to stop the completion of the electoral college votes. In the process there were attempts to capture and kill the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, other Senators and members of Congress.
This plot, if successful, would have wiped out the entire chain of succession and made Donald Trump a dictator. Joe Biden would have been reduced to a questionable elected official but one who had not been sworn in as his election had not been certified. Would Americans been satisfied with the deaths of Vice President Pence and Speaker Pelosi? Would they have been satisfied with the singular rejection of Joe Biden? (I think Americans have already demonstrated a lack of principles. They didn’t seem terribly disturbed by Bush v. Gore or the Russian influence in the Trump campaign or even the Access Hollywood tape.) They don’t seem overly bothered by the death of the police officers or the female protestor.
And, where are we more than a year later? Armed with lots of information, we are debating whether or not Donald Trump should be allowed to run again and if he committed a crime! Is this an example of American exceptionalism? Due to the introduction of the concept of alternative facts, there is doubt on everything! However as the smoke clears and we see the number of wiped cell phones and files in Mar Largo, Florida instead of in the archives in Washington, D.C., people have to accept the difference between coincidence and collusion. We know that Donald Trump and his PAC arranged for the rally and that he did nothing to deter the armed groups from marching to the capitol, or sending law enforcement to protect the building and government officials.
Meanwhile Americans are lying to themselves. What should the Justice Department do? Can a former president be above the law? Can a former president be accused of a crime and found guilty? If he is charged will it create the grounds for a Civil War? How will such events affect the legacy of the United States?
In reality, the damage is done. You have already seen the first stages of the civil war. You cannot ignore the impact and influence that he has had on the elements that you fear. Currently, he is campaigning for another chance to run for Republican nomination. He is sanctioning candidates across the nation to primary candidates who voted to impeach him and who disagreed with his attempts to overturn statewide results. Many of his candidates are employing the same “the system is rigged” campaign slogan and they are refusing to concede (even when placing fourth in a primary). And the majority of Trump supported candidates are winning Republican primaries.
The contradictions are clear. When it came to retaining the presidency, Donald Trump had no respect for the virtues and values of the nation. He did not honor the Constitution or the concepts of Democracy. Mr. Trump has broken the Republican Party. He has severely damaged public confidence in electoral politics and political systems. Through his actions leading up to January 6th, the law and order president broke the law. He lied countless times. After January 6th, he did nothing to mourn dead police officers, showed no empathy to officers who battled crowds for hours and instead called the event a love-fest! The president who claimed to do the most for blacks since Abraham Lincoln called out racist para-military groups attempting to secure his presidency, tried to deny the black vote in countless urban areas, and allowed his supporters to contrast the January 6th protesters to the George Floyd protestors and say that the George Floyd protesters were anti-police.
Ultimately, Donald Trump is willing to continue to betray the trust and confidence of the public to keep power. If he regains the presidency by any means, it proves that any shred of American exceptionalism is over. Trump and Trumpism, the disease that he is spreading across the nation, must be stopped before it is too late.
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