We need to spend some time as a country thinking about our health. Not our physical health – i.e., the Covid pandemic, but our mental health – i.e., the Trump syndrome that has infected us for years.
I recently heard a description of the events of January 6, 2021 that put its profoundly serious nature in the proper perspective – this was the first time in the history of our country that the transfer of power after a presidential election was not peaceful.
Instead, there was a violent and illegal forced entry into the Capital building by hundreds of people that temporarily delayed the transfer of power. If things had gone differently that day, our vice-president and various congressional members would have been assassinated.
When a recent poll indicates that 40% of Republicans believe that armed insurrection against our government is justified in some situations, and when a majority of Republicans believe that illegal actions were taken during the presidential election that changed the outcome of the election – despite all such allegations having been shown to be false – one can only conclude that the stage is being set for more violence to come.
We have former high-ranking government officials boasting of their efforts to prevent the will of the people from being carried out despite the outcome of the election. These officials have shamelessly provided a blueprint of their intended manipulation of our Constitution to achieve an outcome that they felt was preferable to that of the actual election.
These officials expressed pride in the fact that their plan did not require any violence in order for it to be carried out. They gave no consideration to the violence that would have resulted if their plan had actually been successful.
The excessive polarization of Americans due to decades of dysfunctional government and the callus profit-driven manipulation of society by special interests has led many Americans to be deeply fearful and distrustful of the government. Many believe that their constitutional freedoms are being threatened by the government, as well as their values and way of life.
In the absence of thoughtful leadership and civilized discourse, and in the presence of a stated unwillingness of our elected officials to respect the will of the people, how can things ever become better?
No wonder that the emergence of Donald Trump struck such a chord in the hearts and minds of so many Americans. Here was a man who spoke his mind without fear or filter, a man of strength of character and sense of purpose. Here was a man who seemed to understand the people and was willing to stand up for them against the politicians, the press, the special interests, the socialists, and everyone else who was not a true patriot.
So, if a violent insurrection or a bloodless coup is required in order to keep Donald Trump in power, then so be it. To hell with the Constitution and the will of the people. Having a strong leader to follow and believe in is the most important thing, a clear example of the ends justifying the means.
The complete surrender by the Republican party to the will and ego of Donald Trump is frightening. That one man could intimidate an entire political party and essentially become its only voice exposes the hollowness of the Republican cause and the weakness of those who represent it.
It does not help that the Democratic party is lead by old politicians past their prime who cannot speak to the hearts and minds of the American people, and who are afraid to confront the simple-minded ideology of the progressive agitative socialist leftist element of the Democratic party.
It is no wonder that, for many Americans, there is no alternative to Donald Trump, America’s strong man, and they may be right.