It is safe to say that we truly live-in crazy times, an era that feels like it borders on absurdity. We have, currently, in the White House, a sitting president whose hallmark is demanding that we the people believe him, and him alone, and never the press. It doesn’t matter if we see it for ourselves, in live and living color. At best, he claims, our eyes are lying to us. At worse, we’re manipulated by a lying media or at worse, a billionaire named Soros paying people to stir up trouble, fake protest, and whatever other delusion he can pull from his magic hat.
One thing that Trump’s first term awakened my eyes to, was how quickly and easily, Americans could embrace fascism if it was packaged correctly. All of a sudden, Americans desired a president that was answerable to no one, not even the constitution. Between his first term and his current, we’ve seen many sights that we felt could not happen here. That they could only happen in other far away countries ruled by a despot driven mad by his thirst and pure unadulterated lust for unchecked power.
We have seen several “wars” launched on home soil. We’ve seen a war on women’s rights. We’ve seen a war declared on members of the LBGT community. We’ve seen a violent, and purely vicious war declared on equality. Without actually saying the words, Trump has signaled that equality and diversity is a threat to America. Years ago, during his first term, after the tragedy in Charlottesville, Trump tried to down play it, saying that there were “good people” on both sides. Something Trump and his close-knit minions have claimed was taken out of context. When looked through the prism of current events, it’s clear Trump said what we all thought he was actually saying at the time.
There has also been a war declared on intellectualism as well, with Trump using diversity as a cloak to strip Ivy League schools of funding. Doesn’t matter to this administration that what they are doing is wholly unlawful and unconstitutional. Then again, it’s been long established that Trump views the constitution like an unpleasant road block. He’s stated often his disdain for the checks and balances of the governmental system. A system, and document in the constitution, that was created as a shield against a president drunk with power and ambition.
Many of Trump’s edicts have met resistance from the courts. Courts that look to halt his power grab. Instead of challenging those decisions in court, Trump, has been the hallmark of his life, plays the victim. He’s the victim of activist judges that want to keep him from, in his words “Making America Great Again.” Trump has demanded the judges be censored and removed from office, in hopes of judges being installed that are more friendly to his end run around the U.S. constitution. Any member of the Republican party that dares question Trump, is under threat of primary and being voted out of office. Kyle Rittenhouse, who dreamt himself a vigilante, and shot and killed two innocent people during a Black Lives Matter rally that sadly, devolved into chaos, thus making darling of the MAGA movement, found out quickly what disloyalty wrought. In questioning dear leader, Laura Loomer, Phillip “Catturd” Buchanan and others brought the full weight of MAGA upon Rittenhouse. Buchanan provided the most menacing tone, saying that Rittenhouse needed to be “reminded” of who he owed his freedom to. Less than 24 hours later, Rittenhouse, under duress, deleted his controversial tweet and proclaimed himself a supporter of Trump.
What happened to Kyle Rittenhouse doesn’t show that MAGA is a cult, but something worse, something even more sinister. In Russia, anyone that speaks out against Putin, does so at their own risk. He imprisoned the members of the band Pussy Riot for supporting LBGT rights. Kim Jun Un in North Korea executes military generals who dare question his orders. As alluded to earlier, Trump executes the same, if less bloody, demand for loyalty. As Kyle Rittenhouse learned, even those you considered allies will turn on you in a heartbeat if you display disloyalty in their eyes, towards Trump.
America has never seen a trump like Trump. Not even Richard Nixon, himself a man who lusted for power, went as far as Trump. And Nixon actually bugged his political rivals. America has never seen a president that viewed the U.S. Constitution as a hostile enemy. One that lied with such ease, and that had his followers justify those lies with words like “Alternative facts.” Trump sends his press secretaries to the podium like lambs to the slaughter. They lie on his behalf, and must turn abrasive when their lies fall apart. Karoline Leavitt is the current spinner of lies. She spins Trump lies with a gleam in her eye, essentially becoming the bubblehead bleach blonde Don Henley sang about in his 1982 hit, Dirty Laundry.
More Americans have lost their rights under Trump than have any other sitting president. Other nations warn their citizens about vacationing in America. Colleges abroad have seen a drop in students looking to study in the U.S., fearful they could be snatched at random, and without due process, deported to whatever country Trump and his regime can dump them in. Other countries have quit turning to America as the voice of reason. They happily work with other nations, and leave America out of the loop. Something that will send America into a tailspin, and will assure that this country will never maintain a top spot on the world stage again.
Will America ever recover from the damage Trump and MAGA have inflicted, time will tell. It may be generations before America is anywhere near what it was in 2015. Respected on the world stage. The scars Trump and MAGA have inflicted upon America are deep. There’s no playbook on how to stop the bleeding. Trump and MAGA may have succeeded where every foreign power from the past failed.
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