THE PRICE OF FREEDOM

There is an aphorism, alternately attributed to either Joseph de Maistre or Alexis de Tocqueville which states that people get the government they deserve. Perhaps this has never been more clearly demonstrated than with the election and continued prominence of Donald J Trump as President of the United States. “America,” Michael Douglas pronounces in the movie, “The American President,” is advanced civics. It’s going to put up a fight. You have to want it bad.” He then goes on to assert, “you want the freedom of speech?” “Then you have to be willing to defend with your life the right of someone to shout from a soapbox at the top of his lungs, that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.” “You want to talk about the Land of the Free?” “Then the symbol of our country needs to be not just a flag, but the right of someone to burn that flag in protest.” “Celebrate that, teach that in your classrooms, and you can talk about the land of the free.”

In the last few days, a commission set up by Donald Trump to investigate his entirely debunked “voter fraud” claims sent a request around to all of the states requesting voter information that would include name address telephone number party of registration Social Security number and a variety of other facts about each individual in the country who has ever registered to vote. Although more than 40 states have given him the answer that most of us would like, specifically “NO WAY,” the fact that such a commission could even ask for information like that shows how far we’ve fallen from the democratic dream of our Founding Fathers.

In 2016, only about 59% of eligible voters actually cast their ballots. This means that over 40% of voters in the United States either did not care who was elected, were too lazy, or failed to vote as a protest that their chosen candidate was not the one actually running for president. The result was that despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans, and despite Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote, we have a Republican House of Representatives, a Republican Senate, and Donald John Trump occupying the White House. Edmund Burke, an 18^th century Irish philosopher once admonished us that, “all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” So it is with elections.

On this day, July 4, 2017, I annually posted my tribute to the things I felt made America great. I cannot do that this year because Donald Trump and the American voter have, together, initiated our fall from grace. In November, 2016 only roughly 59% of Americans went to the polls. For Republicans, voters eliminated 16 other candidates who, whether more or less Conservative, were at least qualified and (mostly) intelligent. Whether or not any of them were a good choice to be President of the United States, we would rest easier if one of them had won. Our current administration blames debunked “voter fraud” for his loss of the popular vote, just as he blames the “Main Stream Media,” AKA “False News” for people being against him and President Obama for everything else. Now, as 44 states have refused to violate your privacy for a potentially tyrannical purpose, he sees a massive conspiracy among all the states. “What to they have to hide,” he tweeted? The answer is simple; “you!”

The President has, in less than 6 months, undone generations of the Good that made the United States that “shining city on a hill.” He put billionaire oligarchs in charge, is doing away with everything that keeps the corporations from raping America, appears to be allowing Vladimir Putin to dictate our policy, drawing us into multiple real and potential military conflicts (some nuclear), and has alienated nearly every nation on Earth including our closest allies. His stream of lies has caused everyone to mistrust us, he is pointing the economy toward shambles, and wants to remove all safety nets from our most vulnerable populations so that he and his cronies can accumulate more wealth. And if all of that is not enough, he has flouted the Constitution, attacked women, the disabled and the poor and, finally, withdrew us from the Paris Climate Accord jeopardizing our children’s’ and our planet’s futures, all while encouraging internal dissent, bigotry, misogyny and violence.

I was asked, today, am I still proud to be an American? The answer is yes. I am proud to be an American, but ashamed of America and the voters who elected an incompetent clown to be president and the roughly 36% of voters who remain loyal to Trump. Mr. Trump, it is not only “patriotic” to question our President and members of Congress, it is our obligation as citizens. As for the Press, without whose freedom to comment and condemn as well as inform we would not exist as a republic, I answer with the immortal words or one of their legendary number, H.L. Menken who famously quipped that, “it is the job of the Press to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable!” With those words, I end this the way I believe he would have.

#Resist

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