It is Time to Decide

The current political and social climate has made me very concerned.  I am a “boomer” who has lived through the healing process following WWII, and the turmoil created during the Korean War, Vietnam War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the civil rights movement, Watergate, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, 9/11, and other events.  I was involved in the Vietnam protests, first as a student observer and later as a police officer on the front lines.  In all my years living through these events, I never felt like our democracy was threatened as much as it is today.  No matter what crisis the American people faced, there was always a sense that the law would prevail.  In today’s Trump world, courts are defied or manipulated; many in Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, have failed to represent their constituents; long established safeguards have been removed; and executive power has increased to a level never seen in our 250-year history.

I have previously written about executive orders, restructuring our government, our president, education, and other issues.  There are no simple answers to the situation that we find ourselves in today. However, it is money and the power that it yields which have contributed to the problem.  While I am not a sociologist, my view of humankind is that there is a continuum of human caring (empathy).  On one end are those who are so empathetic that they would easily sacrifice their own well-being for the good of the whole.  On the other end of the spectrum are those who crave power and have no empathy. Our political structure mirrors this continuum with very liberal Democrats on one end and extremely conservative Republicans on the other.  The difference is in the organization of the political parties and the membership loyalty to core values.  Over the years I have maintained an independent attitude toward politics, although many would say I have a liberal bias.  I understand the core principles that the Republican party held in the 1950s and 60s.  But I also relate to the central Democratic base. So obviously, I do not subscribe to the far right MAGA philosophy.  I am also wary of too much government involvement in social and personal issues. 

With that said, I do believe that empathy should rule our society, not the money and the power that it brings to the political arena.  Every human being should have the right to feel secure.  When someone needs assistance, society should step up and help.  I have been there as a young married college student, who would not have been able to survive without food stamps.  On the other hand, I had the expectation that I would someday be able to support the family based on my wife’s and my income.  To achieve security, a person needs to have an adequate income!  As a highly educated individual, I have been fortunate to have achieved a sense of security.  Do I need to earn more money?  No.  I really don’t know what my wife and I would do with it except to donate it to causes that we deem worthy.  But for the Musks and Trumps of this world, how much is enough?  I know it is not security that they crave.  Rather, it is the power to control all that surrounds them. 

I hope that America survives the current administration.  MAGA and Donald Trump are not the Republican party of ideals that I can support on many issues.  However, party loyalty for many is the only thing that counts.  Why?  Because Donald Trump has been able to convince roughly 33% of the American voting public that he has the answers to problems that he has either created or exaggerated.  America does not need to be great again.  We are great!  That is until January 2025, when the Trump administration started to turn world opinion against America.  Trump represents the desire to have it all. His supporters want to return to an America that no longer exists.  Humanism has been on the increase for decades.  Racism, gender discrimination, disproportionate distribution of resources should not be tolerated.   If the 33% who sat out the election had spoken up, perhaps America would have continued to find a balance between the power that economic superiority brings and humanism.  It is obvious to me, and many others (including those from other nations), that the money/power side of the continuum is currently trying to dominate.  If successful, America will be much like feudal Europe– a king, princes, vassals, and peasants.

On March 31, 2025, Corey Booker began a Senate speech which lasted 25 hours, until April 1.  Senator Booker took a stand for American values and the power of the people.  On April 5, 2025, many across this nation took a stand for humanity over power and money.  We must continue to fight the good fight.  We must overcome the harm created by Trump and his followers.