This Retrograde Presidency

Donald Trump had managed to convince a near plurality of voters to elect a presidential candidate who never disguised his intention of moving the country backwards to a darker era of the nation’s past.  Now that he his president, those who voted for him should not be surprised at the cabinet he has chosen, and those he has assigned to provide him the advice he needs to make momentous decisions.

Neither should they be shocked by the actions he intends to take to propel the national government to a time when power was deeply entrenched within the domain of white males; when corporate power controlled all aspects of American life; when the central government played no role in regulating the influence, policies and reach of the powerful; when the natural environment was not considered in the formulation of public policy; when diverse opinions were regarded as essentially irrelevant; when civil rights and human rights had no place in the national discourse and when keeping the population as ignorant as possible - especially in the realm of science - was seen as a necessary tool of governance.

For the most powerful nation on the planet to move in such a direction in the 21^st century is an astounding prospect and is deeply troubling.  There is no time like the present for all of us to awaken to the inherent dangers of these political developments.