By Butch Freedman
This has been a miserable 14 months for our country, no doubt about it. All of the institutions and norms of democracy have been under attack by the far-right wing now in control of the government under a rogue president and his enablers. Every day’s news brings new horrors to light. It’s hard to understand how all this came to be. And, like a lot of people, I am scared that it will continue to escalate to the point that we cannot recover—truly a nightmare. Having acknowledged that sad state of affairs, I want to look at it in a more hopeful way.
Maybe I’m kidding myself, but I do think this reign of oppression will come to an end sometime soon. I know that’s hard to believe. The evidence is not there—not yet. But there are definite chinks in the armor, mainly in the fool president’s increasingly erratic (some might say demented) statements and actions. Never has this been clearer than in his waging of this costly and deadly war in Iran. He obviously doesn’t have a clue about what he’s doing, and doesn’t have the intelligence or the capacity to ask for input from those who do. All we see from this guy is a stumbling, angry old man, forging ahead in a blind rage, wreaking havoc all around the globe. But what he doesn’t yet see, or chooses not to, is that all these other countries, once allies, are turning their back on him. As one diplomat stated, “You don’t start a unilateral war, and then when you get into trouble, call in the rest of us to bail you out.” Even many of his conservative supporters at home have had enough of the insanity. They are coming to realize that they have been lied to, that trump and miller and the rest of the hive of bullies don’t give a damn about the economy or housing, or the deaths of their children. Billions are spent on needless wars, while health care benefits are stripped. Only the hardest of the hard-liners remain. This clown show can’t go on much longer. America does not accept tyranny. The whole ugly takeover is an aberration, a sad moment in our country’s history, but in the larger frame, only a moment. As my father often said when life got tough: “This too shall pass.”
Of course, we still have to stand firm and battle against the assaults. The mid-terms are around the corner, and they will provide the first major test of our resilience as a nation. We need strong leaders who are able to make a difference, and sap the power of these criminals. It starts with taking back the House and the Senate, then moves on to a return to sanity. This nightmare can come to an end.