Watching Democracy Crumble

             I have been silent, not writing much, watching what is going on in our country. It is troubling and frightening. It has been disappointing to see Republican lawmakers allow the president to run roughshod over the constitutional requirements of those who have been elected to office; they are supposed to “protect and defend” that document, which I call “sacred.” While this president has worked to assume total power, step by step, his GOP comrades have stood by and said nothing and done little. Today I read that Vice President Pence told graduates of West Point that they should “expect to see combat,”(https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-pence-west-point-graduation-vice-president-says-they-should-expect-to-see-combat-today-2019-05-25/). The president has decided to bypass Congress and approve the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia. He has given the attorney general complete power to de-classify information because he wants to punish those whom he considers political enemies. Religious people, mostly from the Religious Right, believe that God sent this president to this nation; Jon Voight urged people to “stand behind our president,”   (https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jon-voight-declares-trump-the-greatest-president-since-abraham-lincoln-in-late-night-video-message) and Michele Bachmann, among others, has claimed that this man – apparently a non-church-goer, the “most godly president” this nation has ever had.(https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2019/04/17/michele-bachmann-trump-most-godly-biblical-president/3495256002/

I cringe because what is happening here sounds so much like what happened in Germany. The German people likewise believed God had sent Hitler to “save Germany.” Hitler got rid of his political enemies. He ruled much by “his gut.” And he believed in the supremacy of white people, not all white people, but specifically Germans of Nordic stock. Other white people were disposable – the Slavs and Polish among them. He demanded total loyalty from his inner circle; those who were not were attacked and some were murdered.

Hitler wanted to conquer all of Europe. It is not clear what the president of this nation wants, at least not to me. I am appalled that he seems to want to be best friend with known dictators. I worry about the loss of the allies this nation has had for generations. What would be the purpose of a war with Iran? What is in it for this country? I am not sure.

It occurs to me that there are racists …and that there are racists filled with hatred, which is an entirely different group. Because of the way white supremacy has been taught and uplifted throughout the world, many people are racist because racist thought and opinions have been taught to all of us. But racists filled with hatred are different; they believe they are justified in using violence to either kill or terrorize people whom they deem to be beneath them. Some of the groups that our president courts seem to be hate-filled; some, like Dylann Roof, who murdered nine black people at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015, believe that they have the right to destroy and eliminate people who are not white, or white enough.

I am not saying that the president of this nation is hate-filled, but he appeals to those who are hate-filled. I am not sure what he wants; does he, like Hitler, want a “racist war of annihilation?” I am not sure, but some who love and follow him absolutely do. (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/04/adam-serwer-madison-grant-white-nationalism/583258/) Dylann Roof definitely said he expected a race war.(https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/us/no-regrets-from-dylann-roof-in-jailhouse-manifesto.html) Those who are hate-filled – in that way – have been empowered to act on their basest impulses, and “we the people” dare not expect protection from our governments – state, local or federal – or from the courts.

Those who study Germany said that Hitler pushed for World War II because he and others were angry that they lost World War I. Here, it is said that the South is angry that it lost the Civil War. Just this week, a lawmaker said there needs to be a separate Christian state. (https://www.rawstory.com/2019/05/republicans-attend-rally-to-carve-out-new-christian-state-its-either-going-to-be-bloodshed-or-liberty-state/?fbclid=IwAR0BHCmpyij-Qefxh7hd1-aABDTEcayRsyBxnKLkD3dH5kceh34WxGKYi4o#.XOiSF0rRWaU.facebook)

This does not feel like a safe country anymore – for many of us. The president’s team has said it is not “practical” for them to follow and honor the Constitution. (https://hillreporter.com/trump-administration-says-not-practical-comply-u-s-constitution-1083) If that is their feeling, they should not be in office. But they are; people are in office who apparently do not respect democracy. Neither did Germany or, I would suppose, many autocratic countries.

Our Constitution was supposed to protect us from this. It is failing to do that, helped along by a group of lawmakers who apparently believe it is more important to pledge loyalty to one man than to be concerned about the masses of people who elected them. We are watching democracy crumble.

A candid observation …