To Preserve What’s Left Of The Republic

If the U.S. Senate does not convict Trump in his second impeachment trial this country will no longer deserve respect from world leaders and countries that have a record of respecting the rule of law. That is no small thing. The alliances that this country needs to maintain in the worlds of commerce, banking, diplomacy and other critical areas will be weakened and possibly dissolved.

Politicians hold up the constitution as the guidebook for how this country should conduct itself. But if they do not make a criminal president accountable for his illegal acts while in office then the constitution will no longer dictate the standards for government.


Lock Him Up

The events of January 6 at the U.S. Capitol were inevitable. The stage was set years ago. When this country elected a mentally ill criminal to become president the drama intensified. As the weeks after the election unfolded I was sure that even Republicans would find a way to throw this madman under the bus and allow our country to move on quickly from its biggest mistake.

Instead, what happened was a four year period of enabling Trump to become intoxicated with power and providing him the license to do whatever he wanted. The Washington Republicans are mostly to blame, but both parties have proven to be too tame in their treatment of an incompetent and dangerous president and that is why things have finally gotten out of control.


The Week That Was

How did we fix it so all these things happened at the same time? What were we thinking when we scheduled Brexit, Impeachment wrap-up, Iowa Caucus debacle, and Trump’s State of the Union address within 5 days of each other? Are we insane? Do we want our heads to explode?

Ok, I know no one planned to make all these events coincide, but the fact that they did gives it that aura of fatedness. Clearly the gods are angry. The natives are getting restless. And as is typically the case, the overlords (clueless neocons and neolibs alike) are burying their heads ever deeper in the sand.


An Advanced State of Decay

The American form of government is in an advanced state of decay. An argument might even be made that we are witnessing the final gasps of a failed centuries-long experiment. On the other hand, one might say that what we now have is just a logical evolution of a country created by slaveowners and an elite corps of wealthy white men. There are always many ways to look at events.

When the majority of people in a society are being used as pawns by a privileged few then I believe that the government has failed to uphold basic human values. If we want to nurture a democracy then we have to promote what is best for most of us.


Our Human Obligation

Every so often we need to be reminded that the power brokers of the world are capable of
horrendous atrocities. The road to those atrocities is paved with unrestrained egotism, racism, misogyny, xenophobia and a disregard for the value of human life. World leaders become intoxicated with their power and as it goes unchecked they begin to believe that they can justify anything they do. Modern day examples are not hard to find.

As the U.S. impeachment process plays out it is important to realize that the current president has headed down a road that has led to the justification of the marginalization and torture of people not to his liking. This is the same road that was traveled by Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini and many others.