As we watch the news or read articles about the condition the country and the world are in, anyone who thinks things are fine must be a little crazy. I've been on this planet for more than seventy years, and I have never been so concerned about the direction of things in my life. I lived through the Korean War, the Vietnam War, a number of recessions, the civil rights movement, riots, the Marine Corps, and even the assassination of a president. But nothing I have ever experienced has prepared me for what we are facing today. The two main things are of course the pandemic that is killing people by the hundreds of thousands, and the Trump administration's attempt to seize dictatorial powers through executive orders and the weaponization of the justice department.
I find it interesting that so many republicans are keeping silent about the abuses against the U.S. Constitution that are taking place everyday. But something I have heard from people who are well placed in the political arena is that many are keeping silent because they have something at stake by not supporting the administration, while they are at the same time planning to vote democratic.
But I thought this country was better than that. Hundreds of thousands of people have given their lives to protect the system our founders created. Today's republicans will not stand up for what is right just because it suits their momentary convenience whether that be a seat in Congress or tax relief that puts a few more thousand dollars in a millionaire's pocket. Talk about selfish motivation. Lindsey Graham, Jim Jordan, Bill Barr, Devin Nunez, Mitch McConnell are just a few names that would rather allow our system of government cave than lose their exalted positions in the administration. Willing to absolutely sell the country down the drain by following the most incompetent and corrupt leader this country has ever imagined.
Who goes along with this stuff? I know that a lot of people who thought they could hitch their wagons to his star are now disappointed. I have friends who have been supporters of that man who now will not talk about it. What they had idealistically thought would be a needed change from democratic politics to a less regulated republican ideology, now find that the man they listened to is nothing but a liar and a bunch of hot air.
This is still America. And we have what it takes to overcome this malaise that irresponsible and crooked leadership has created. As a man who has lived through crises all my life, (although I will say this one is unique) I look back on some of those other times and in retrospect I am able to leave them in my rear view mirror. There will come a time when we will be seeing this crisis in our rear view mirrors too. That which does not kill us makes us stronger. Now the millennial generation and the gen-exers will have something that brings them together too. They will say they remember when a pandemic decimated the country and a corrupt president, with the help of a number of self serving politicians and supporters, tried to take over the world and (hopefully) failed miserably and were swept out of power.
This is the lesson for generations to come. Fight on. Vote.