Last night something amazing happened. Thousands of
Americans flooded into streets to publicly proclaim
they want the Mueller investigation protected, and that is to say, they want corruption rooted out of federal government. This happened on the heels of the
midterm election in which people voted in record numbers. I wouldn’t
exactly call Democrats taking back the House of Representatives a reversal of fortune, since the Trump party controls the Senate, but Democrats now have opportunities to do damage
control. People whose rights have been trampled on by the Trump party perhaps feel somewhat safer and empowered. I do. I no longer see us as a country on the same precipice as when our democratic checks and balances were not
working at all.
We have been living in a country at
risk and it has been very frightening to a lot of people. Money is power in this country and the financial inequities are devastating in many ways. The Trump party has had and still has a lot of power; because they are desperate to keep that power this is a dangerous hour. “We, the people” have stood up, are standing up. The midterm election popular vote intends a check on Trump
party power. This then is the hour in which abusers of power feel most threatened.
We have just seen Trump fire the U.S. Attorney General in order to promote a
member of his own gang into the position for his protection.
In response to the midterm election Trump spoke
publicly and answered questions. For the first time since he took office, I was able to listen, not just read about it, or listen to news analysts. My take? He was totally dishonest with himself and with
us, as he always has been, but the stakes are now higher. He could
not accept the realities of the election results, so he spun and spun. He stroked his ego
in the longest press conference he’s ever given. He needed to prove himself, possibly to himself. It
didn’t succeed because the press wouldn't bend to his will. The
press confronts him, not with his, with their reality and public perception. He angrily, aggressively bullied
journalists.
Soon afterward came the surprising news, in
contradiction to statements he’d made in the press conference, he had fired
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and promoted a man who will serve as his
protector. So last night people took to
the streets. They stood in front of the speeding train. They pulled the reigns
back on the runaway horse. They carried signs that said protect the Mueller
investigation. They knew now that it is no longer
futile to demonstrate publicly. They knew there is strength in numbers. They
knew and they know Trump has defied the democratic principles on which this
country has been built since even before he took office.
Trump is not now and never has been a people’s public
official. He was a reality television celebrity businessman who defined his brand
of a rich and famous white man. That he has a fan base is a reflection of a
hollowness within American culture that is both perpetuated and filled by television. As Trump took to the political arena he filled the moral vacancy
in American society with his own hatred and anger and fueled an antagonism in a society already divided by race and socioeconomic class. He appeals to some people across some of the class lines, to those whose lives are propelled by
motives similar to his own, for instance. I don't want to sound self-righteous, but those motivating forces are not moral or ethical values like compassion for the disadvantaged and disenfranchised, appreciation for racial and cultural diversity, and commitment to environmental protection, safeguarding the natural world rather than furthering its exploitation.
From what I have read I learned Trump was a businessman who operated from a “mob” or
gangster paradigm. He used inherited money to brand himself, endowing himself
with illusory power, and used and continues to use media to make himself
famous. It should hardly be surprising that he has abused the sacred office of
the Presidency to continue to perpetuate his own myth and power. And in this he has
been aided and abetted by fans, a fact of life that has befuddled me. There must be many different reasons why Trump
supporters cling to him. Not all of these people merely identify with the myth. The growth of a movement has its own momentum especially if one
uses the media to purvey it. A tragic consequence of abuse of power are the fractures and breaks it causes. Trump’s approach has evidently been “divide
and conquer". Together we are strong, and he doesn't want us to be stronger than him. He demands loyalty and needs adoration.
The ever-widening chasm between so-called conservatives
and so-called liberals is now so vast and deep many of us perceive the middle
ground as unfathomable. But navigating the unfathomable is what we need
to do. We have long needed to do this but it has now become imperative. We can't allow another malignant narcissist who is unfit, unqualified, uneducated for public office occupy that space where people are divided because of racial and socioeconomic differences. We have to embark on learning to live with each other without fear and derision and without incitement to violence
that provokes a combination of political violence and crimes by the most desperate mentally ill people among us. Civility is an imperative and we so desperately need
leadership that will restore an atmosphere of civility, fairness, and compassion. It
is why I write this today. This is both a thank you to all who took the steps needed to participate in democracy as well as a cry for help from whatever powerful forces are out there for an end to violent rhetoric and senseless violence and a new beginning for social justice.
Emily Kretschmer