The Point of No Return?

By Hank Silverberg

Commentary & Analysis

Is the United States of America broken beyond the point of no return? At no time since 1861 has our politics been so polarized that the future of our political system is in doubt.

We have no real leadership. Our current President is the closest thing to a dictator the U.S.A. has ever experienced. He defies the courts and defies Congress on a routine basis. 

Don’t say I’m exaggerating and go back to watching cat videos.

Donald Trump’s words and actions have shown either a total ignorance for what our Founding Fathers had in mind, or an intentional effort to destroy American democracy. I’m not sure which it is yet, but no one seems capable or willing to stop him.

Let’s start with words as an example.   

“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”   JFK-Inaugural Address, Jan 20, 1961           (Courtesy JFKlibrary.org) President Kennedy's Inauguration speech was a call to action. It inspired a generation to do better, to think in global terms and not expect the government to be all things to all people. The inspired reactions of  millions of Americans lasted long after Kennedy’s fateful day in Dallas.   In contrast, here is a quote from Donald Trump in his first hour as President. “From this moment on, it’s going to be America First. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.”   Donald J Trump’s Inaugural Address, Jan 20, 2017 I see no inspiration there, only an attempt to blame others for a perceived threat that does not really exist.  It was not: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself," which FDR used to inspire a nation gripped in the Great Depression.  It was the use of fear to create a crisis atmosphere where there was no crisis, and he has exploited it ever since.  Mr. Trump has attacked women, movie stars, foreign leaders, ambassadors, and with frequency, the Press.  He has lambasted the federal courts, denigrated career servants at the State Department, and on numerous occasions threatened any politician who doesn’t agree with him.  He has even used Twitter to intimidate witnesses while they were testifying before Congress. The Republican party, led by Mitch McConnell into a trance, has let Trump get away with it. Trump's words inspired only the alt-right radicals bent on destroying the progress made over the last four decades to eliminate racism and other forms of discrimination. His words after Charlottesville were bad enough, but his continued assertion that they were appropriate set a pattern.   His words have also encouraged foreign leaders like Vladimir  Putin, Kim Jung Un and the rulers of Iran, to pursue their own course without any consideration of an American response or reaction.      He has so alienated our allies so much so that the leaders of Germany and France don’t want to talk with him.   But it’s not just words. In the past three years he has increased the incarceration of thousands of children separated at the border after fleeing crime, violence and poverty in Central America. Perhaps even more cruelly, he has given the children and their parents no path out of the cages. At the same time, he has done NOTHING to change the broken immigration system except pilfer money from the Defense Department to build part of a border wall that has already been breached by human traffickers and desperate immigrants. These are reasons alone to kick him out of office next November. When you add the manipulation of a foreign government  (Ukraine) for his own political purposes and other facts we learned during the impeachment hearings, it is hard to see why he deserves anyone’s vote. (It doesn’t matter if that action was illegal or just unethical, it’s still a reason to vote for someone else.)   But all this raises a deeper question. Do any of the current Democratic candidates provide Kennedy-like inspiration that can not only beat Trump but lead us out of this darkness and back into the light? At this point the answer seems to be-- no. So, here is my quick assessment of some of the Democrats at this stage of the campaign.  Joe Biden: seems lost in yesterday. His ideas seem stale. He lives on past laurels and the legacy of Barack Obama. He has a sound record, but a tendency to say stupid things. Elizabeth Warren: seems to be in touch with what the problems are and what the average American family is dealing with, but she reminds us all too much of Hillary Clinton. Plus, her detailed Medicare For All plan – seems unworkable and for many people with good health care at the moment—undesirable. And her clear effort to capitalize on Bernie Sanders' call to action seems like a copycat.  Bernie Sanders: his time has passed. He is too old for the job and his heart attack only added to that worry. His “mad as hell" white guy image and his  “it’s the big bank’s fault” whine now sounds a bit bitter.    Peter Buttigieg: Mayor Pete may be a “not ready for prime time player.” He seems knowledgeable on many issues and has a calm demeanor as well as an impressive military record. But City Hall in South Bend is not 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He needs more seasoning—say, a number two spot on the ticket.     The entrance of Michael Bloomberg into the race could be interesting. Running New York City may be the second hardest job in the country. But is the country really ready for a white, Jewish, billionaire businessman? He's got plenty of his own money he can spend, but businessmen have not traditionally done well in the White House. Think Herbert Hoover and Donald Trump. (Or say, Tom Steyer?)

There are, of course, many other candidates. But so far, I have heard nothing inspiring from Senators Booker, Harris, Klobachar or any of the others. Those Senators, plus Warren and Sanders, will also be tied up soon if Articles of  Impeachment are passed in the House forcing  a trial in the Senate that goes into January.      Some of these candidates will be gone after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary early next year. It always seems a bit strange that two states with mostly lily-white voters, get so much power to decide who becomes the nominee.  But if one of the also-rans survives, it will be interesting to see if we get anything inspiring from them. So far, we haven’t. Trump’s base is solid. They will vote for him no matter what, even as he says himself, if he “shot someone in the middle of Broadway.” That brings us to a frightening scenario—the re-election of Donald Trump—simply because no one else can inspire a majority of the voters.   Remember, only 24% of the electorate voted for him in 2016.  (24% Trump, 25% Hillary, 2% others, 49% of those eligible didn’t vote at all--uninspired to go to the polls.) A second term for Mr. Trump could spell disaster.  Even members of his own party know this, but they apparently don't have the backbone to say it.   News Notes: The Trump Administration’s assault on the safety net for the poor continues. Three proposed rule changes in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could leave about 3.7 million people without a benefit they now  rely on to feed their families. The changes would cut benefits in the food stamp program for 2.2 million people by $127 a month.  A study by the Urban Institute says 982,000 students would lose access to free or reduced lunches at school. About a million people could then become what economists call “food insecure.”   https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-administration-proposal-could-cause-millions-lose-food-stamps-n1092866 https://www.urban.org/research/publication/estimated-effect-recent-proposed-changes-snap-regulations Don’t think that matters to you? Health issues created by hunger have a huge impact on the health care system. Each hungry person generates about $2,000 in increased health care costs per person per year, driving up the cost of health care for everyone else.  And then there is this: I hate to end these blogs on a negative note so I add this observation. I played Scrabble with my five year old grandson  twice over the holiday weekend. Not Scrabble Junior, not a computer version, but the traditional adult game. I won of course, but both times he scored over 200 points with only a little help. He only knew one word beginning with Z, for example, but he had the advanced concept of filling in between words and how best to use the double word and triple letter squares to increase his score. Again, he is in Kindergarten and only five. It gave me hope for the future.                    (Your comments and suggestions are welcome )  (Copies of my book can be purchased  at Amazon.com or BN.Com or at a reduced rate with a signature by emailing me at HankSilverberg@gmail.com)