Save America

One person’s opinion

Updated from an earlier post

There are many Americans across the political spectrum who believe that America has reached a crossroad.  The recent events in Minneapolis have resulted in two deaths.  The Trump administration is blaming Democrats.  The mass of protesting people blame the harsh tactics of the Trump administration in enforcing immigration laws.   Liberals and conservatives cannot agree on policy direction.  Should we focus on humanitarian issues such as right to free speech, freedom of assembly, and other Constitutional rights, or should we focus on making America great by removing immigrants who, some believe, threaten the American way of life.  Should we work on building our economic strength and hope for the trickle-down effect that Reaganomics promised?  Unfortunately, too many Americans fall into this dichotomy, failing to recognize all the options that exists between these two extremes.  The most unfortunate result of the focus on this dichotomy is that the real issues that Americans face are not debated.

In 2025, with the success of the MAGA movement in gaining political control, the promises of greater opportunity, prosperity, and a return to “true” American values appeared to be on the horizon for those who believed in the MAGA movement.  Yet, after only one year in office for President Trump, the prospect of a better America that he promised seems elusive.  Many middle- and lower-class Americans have experienced the cost of food and everyday living  soaring.  The Trump administration appears to be at odds with itself.  The Secretary of Homeland Security and Steven Miller are at odds over the Minneapolis shootings. Top Pentagon officials have resigned over the way that the Secretary of Defense has handled a variety of issues, including the “arrest” in Venezuela. The courts are being attacked for their stand on issues that many Americans see as Constitutional guarantees.  The Senate, which was established to represent the states, seems to turn a blind eye to the increasing interference of the federal government with states’ rights. Minnesota is currently in the firing line.  California and Illinois also had to deal with the attack on states’ rights.  It also appears that the federal government is attempting to impose the administration’s values on all Americans.  Attacks on private schools, using monetary blackmail, is not in America’s interest.  Cutting federal services with a “chainsaw” has not brought about savings.  Rather, various agencies seem to be falling into an ineffective quagmire due to lack of staff.   Even the polls have turned against President Trump’s handling of almost all issues except for border control.  Today’s polling shows a 56% disapproval rating for the President. 

If it were up to me, how would I go about fixing our now very dysfunctional government?  I would advocate for Impeachment of President Trump.  While not likely to happen given the lack of courage by Republicans in our House of Representatives, I believe an organization’s success or failure starts with the person at the top of the chain of command.  In the case of President Trump, I believe he has failed to show good leadership.  His picks for cabinet members showed little thought for professional competence, instead focusing on personal loyalty.  His attack on the economy has been a disaster.  His establishment of DOGE was a total waste of effort, which has caused serious damage to a functional government (which arguably does need serious reform). 

But since Impeachment is unlikely, and other Constitutional remedies are also out of the picture, I would suggest that the Senate start to focus on doing its job.  It was created as the voice of the states, just as the House was created to be the voice of the American people.  The Senate has, in my opinion, lost sight of this responsibility!  Too often state governors are left with the responsibility of maintaining the states’ rights.  Perhaps it is time to undo the 1913 legislation (17^th Amendment) that moved the selection of state senators from the hands of the state legislature to a popular vote, in essence creating another tier of legislators who are now concerned about popular votes rather than the welfare of the states they represent.  In the original design, state legislatures picked their senators.

The people’s chamber is also failing.  Members of the House seem to be more focused on their parties rather than on the concerns of their voters.  There was a time when representatives were picked by their neighbors and served the community.  Many gave up lucrative jobs to serve. Today many representatives view the position as a job, not a service to their voters.  As such, they are often focused on getting reelected to a position that guarantees a good pension after five years.  Campaigning has become a full-time business.  I would suggest that representatives serve at least three years.  Salaries should be commensurate with other local business leaders. (The Current salary is $147,000.)  The guarantees of a retirement salary after five years of service should be stripped away.  Perhaps then representatives would serve their constituents, not monied interests and their political party.

While I have criticized our President and Congress, perhaps the greatest failure has been the apathy of most Americans.  Until the ICE occupations, most Americans have not participated in governing the country that was created as a nation of “We the People.”  When only 2/3 of eligible voters bother to vote in presidential elections, there is a problem.  Worse yet, only 20 – 30% of eligible voters turn out for state and local elections.  To aggravate this problem, most Americans are not casting an “informed” ballot.  Of those that vote, many cast party ballots without careful consideration of the candidates.  It takes effort to know what the issues are and where candidates stand.  Complicating the issue is the problem of knowing which information is accurate!  I believe American education needs to instill a sense of government responsibility in our youth.  In addition, we all need to learn how to recognize “fake news” in contrast to what is factual.  We need to understand what is opinion and what is news.

While it would take years before the effects are realized, we might save this democracy if enough Americans hurt by the policies of the current administration get involved. Americans need to take the time to learn about current government policies, the Constitution, and our history.  This great nation deserves more effort than most have given it.  All Americans need to get involved by calling, emailing or writing their senators and representatives.  The power of the vote might get some Republicans to reconsider their support of President Trump.   Americans need to recover the government of “We the People!”