The twenty-first century has pretty much been a nightmare so far. The intractable problems that the twentieth century bequeathed to it were downright manageable compared to those the new century is creating for itself.
Now, nearly two decades into the century, everything is a crisis, magnified in both scope and urgency, driven into the public square and byways through the 24-hour news cycle, instant communications, blanket TV, and compounded by the dominant social media platforms, all of which prosper in crisis.
Of course, all of this crisis demands instant answers. Like instant coffee, instant answers suffer by comparison. They are often the wrong answers provided for the wrong reasons, without the benefit of thoughtful reflection, common sense or in some cases sanity.
We have smart phones, smart cars, smart appliances and more smart stuff coming online every day. We just don’t have many smart decision makers it seems.
Worse, the free citizens of these United States have been increasingly excluded in any meaningful way from providing the answers or approving of the answers that they are not only expected to live with and follow, but which they must like and celebrate no matter how stupid or debased.
This is the massive disconnect in American politics and culture.
The “ruling class” of politicians of both political parties, the unelected administrative state and bureaucrats, academics, cultural and media elites, progressive religious leaders, and an increasing number in the transnational business sector are intentionally forming intersecting models and alliances that maximize their ability to demand financial and cultural conformity through unchecked power and the control of enormous amounts of money, much of it from the taxpayers.
The only fly in the ointment has been the majority of American citizens who started paying attention and began digging in their heels and being uncooperative; they elected Donald J. Trump.
He was the only candidate among seventeen Republicans who ran in 2016 to voice an understanding of this disconnect. He alone grasped the enormous disquiet and anxiety that gripped average Americans as they watched a dysfunctional and stagnate economy increasingly being run by cronyism, while being told this was the new ‘normal;’ the deliberate wrecking of affordable healthcare; uncontrolled immigration devastating lower income jobs and displacing American workers (and culture); trade deals that were obviously one-sided and stripping the country of its ability to make basic ‘things;’ the rule of law enforced only for taxpaying citizens while there are special rules that apply to the wealthy, well-connected or illegal; and the constant assaults on the social institutions, customs and history of the U.S.
Now elected, President Trump seems to be alone again, locked in a battle with the 91% of Washington, D.C. that voted for Hillary Clinton – and nearly alone even in his own administration evidently. His robust agenda that includes repealing and replacing Obamacare, is now on a gurney, put there by his own party. Taxes and repatriation of overseas cash reserves is still far from certain. The immigration mess is still a mess, perhaps even worse. And the attacks on American’s institutions have taken a violent turn promulgated by the radical left.
The “ruling class” is in all-out war against this President, and appears comfortable with failure for the country if that is what it takes to derail President Trump and his “America First” agenda.
Which brings up the question of exactly what does the nation’s ruling class and political elite think will happen if they do succeed in the war against President Trump, driving him from office at the expense of continued failure for the country? Do they think those voters will magically forget who is responsible for much of the mess in the country, and embrace them?
Washington’s ruling class still doesn’t get it. “Country class” Americans have come to detest them. They elected Donald Trump, warts and all, because he talked like them and talked to them, not at them. He wants America to win. He wants them to win. And they want to win.
In addition, they understand the systemic corruption that has exploded in Washington during the last thirty years is a great danger to the Republic and to them personally; it is now in the open for everyone to see. It’s not only the corruption of money, the rule of law, rampant cronyism, position and process – but the corruption of the soul.
In just the past week, two events simply reinforce how extensive the corruption extends. First, in brief, we learned that in fact President Trump was correct in claiming that his campaign and quite probably he himself as President-elect, were “wiretapped.” We now know that former FBI Director James Comey lied about his knowledge of this surveillance, in addition to the public lies he has already been caught in, and that he clearly broke the law by leaking classified, confidential material to the press, and by lying to Congress, as did at least three other top intelligence officials who served under former President Obama. Will anyone be held to account?
Also this week, Sally Quinn, the queen bee gatekeeper of Georgetown socialites and VIP’s for forty years, revealed that she was a practicing occultist and that three people she “hexed” earlier in her life all soon died. Ms. Quinn, a former journalist and author, is best known as the wife to the late Ben Bradlee, the powerful executive editor of the Washington Post for decades, and friend and confidant to the ruling class. Even admitting a familiarity with dark practices of Evil, scarcely raised an eyebrow in official Washington, where sexual intrigue, debauchery and scandal, addictions, financial shenanigans, and working for foreign powers are hardly newsworthy.
Labeling Washington a swamp is far too charitable.
The elites, the ruling class, want to overturn an election – by inaction and action – to do exactly what? More of what they have been doing? And what about the high moral cost to the Republic, already in a fragile place, with a hostile world on the brink of being more hostile?
When a portion of our leaders decide that votes and opinions only matter when they concur with the brave new world the ruling class dreams of, then the nation is only one step away from tragedy. What that looks like is unclear. How it translates politically and socially is equally unclear. But, past history suggests it wouldn’t be pleasant.
No, Donald Trump can’t fail – or we all fail.