Monday, December 02, 2019

The Dumbing Down of America

As a nation, we are indeed in the midst of very troubling times. The current resident of the White House has clearly shown himself to be a demagogue espousing white supremacy and an individual with an extremely troubling array of personality disorders including pathological narcissism. His delusional state of mind has led him to believe that he alone is capable of deciding what is good for the nation while systematically discarding and demeaning the inner workings of government that are so essential for the successful implementation of well-reasoned and finely crafted public policy. His total disregard of the kinds of advice that a leader in such a position of global responsibility requires and his apparent inability to comprehend the nuances of complex issues has resulted in policy positions that have no real credibility. His unhinged contempt for the fundamental values that have heretofore sustained this Democratic Republic has injected a level of chaos and misdirection that seems to have no real historic equivalent or precedent.

To date, the implementation of his uninformed, misguided and essentially destructive point of view has resulted in the following –

· A decision to opt out of the Paris accords around Climate Change with signatories including approximately 200 nations based upon his conviction that this global threat is, a hoax in spite of the extreme weight of scientific data in support of the reality of this global crisis

· The cruel and insidious separation of immigrant children from their families at the nation’s southern border placing them in a horrific imprisoned environment so as to purposely discourage people fleeing from unsafe and violent circumstances from seeking asylum in the US. The lack of a reasoned policy around the issue of illegal immigration is purposeful and reflects a bigoted and white-supremacist point of view. This outlook also extends to Muslims worldwide

· An abysmal failure to address domestic gun violence, a clear demonstration of support of the use of torture in regard to the treatment of political prisoners and the legitimization of extra-legal killing on the part of military operations abroad

· The implementation of a crazy-quilt and chaotic array of trade policies that amounts to trade wars against a growing number of our trading partners. This chaotic state of affairs is a wholly predictable consequence of making policy on the fly without integrating the suggestions and advise from those with the appropriate experience and professional working knowledge

· The promulgation of foreign policy decisions made from conclusions drawn from uninformed sources with a complete disregard of the advice offered by experts from both the diplomatic core and the military establishment. The implementation of these initiatives has invariably led to disruption and disarray on the part of the nation’s career professionals and the international community at large

· The issuance of executive orders designed to undermine the regulatory policies instituted by the Obama administration demonstrating a blatant disregard for the progress that has been made in improving the quality of the natural environment. Apparently this President does not seem to have any concern for the health and safety of the American people or the sustainability of the ecosystem on which life depends. It should be remembered that this President was the same person who freely admitted to having conducted a fraudulent and prolonged investigation into the birth credentials of Barrack Obama for the sole purpose of discrediting a Black man with incomparable intellect and intelligence

· An apparently endless stream of abusive commentaries, blatantly false accusations, outright lies and distortions of reality - obviously a product delusional thinking and remarkable small-mindedness

· Finally, the illicit use of executive power to promote purely personal political ends and overt obstruction in regard to Congress’ oversight authority to the point of resulting in articles of impeachment being drawn against him.


In spite of all the incriminating and unassailable evidence that will be ultimately be presented to the US Senators during the upcoming impeachment trial, the majority of jurors is more than likely to allow this President to continue in office. Therefore, it will ultimately fall upon the electorate in the upcoming election to exercise their judgement and due diligence in choosing the next occupant of this office.

This President has shown himself to be not only completely inadequate for the powerful position he holds, but also poses a significant threat to the safety, stability and viability of a nation built upon democratic principles, the rule of law and a well formulated system of government with a balance of powers that lies at the very core of the nation’s Constitution.

He has effectively dumbed down the country to the extent that there is an entire major political party and a significant segment of the population that actually relishes and applauds this kind of leadership. This reality is exceedingly troubling. For, in any sane democratic society where the rule of law and justice prevail and the populace is sufficiently educated to make thoughtful and judicious decisions, such a disturbed, intellectually challenged, mendacious, bigoted, cruel, criminal and unbalanced personality would never have been chosen to fill a position of such enormous power and authority.

If we are not careful, we may end up with this man as President for a second term - a demagogue who will feel empowered to exercise power without the constraints ordinarily imposed by the Constitution of the United States.  This would certainly represent a new reality with the possibility of irrevocably transforming this country with no clear path back to the kind of country that the inspired leadership of Abraham Lincoln or Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Barrack Obama had envisioned.

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