Grappling

Along with perhaps 100 million other Americans, I’m grappling with what it means to have our democracy imperiled to the nth degree. Courts responding in a somewhat timely manner, but then upset by the Supreme Court, or the Supreme Court making a decision that narrows the matter so much as to be marginally important. In other words, grave doubts have appeared suggesting the Supreme Court is not doing its full job.

That’s one third of the tripartite form of government our constitution provides. The other two, Legislative Branch, and Executive Branch, are already in play and control of MAGA. If their control is not overturned by the next set of elections, then our system of government is pretty much toast.

The Executive branch may be headed by Trump, but his minions in the White House and Executive Office Building are doing the primary work. He doesn’t understand it well enough to actually do the work; that’s for others to do. But if we remove him from the White House, problems will remain. JD Vance is next in succession; he would surely continue the Trump agenda. If Vance is removed, then the succession turns to House Speaker who is also in thrall with the White House. No change there unless we elect a Democrat majority in the next election. But the margins of representatives and senators demarking Republicans from Democrats is razor thin. Only a solid majority will ensure a defense against the scoundrels in the Executive Branch.

Another administrative bother is the downsizing of the federal agencies. The number of employees terminated is well over 50,000. More are planned. This may mean agencies will not have the manpower to perform their functions. Entire agencies are slotted for elimination as well. So, the work of the federal government may not be performed in full soon. This will have significant effects on most of us, including the stability of the global community.

I have come to appreciate government workers at many levels. They are professional, hardworking, goal oriented and mostly well managed. Yes, there are exceptions in all of this, but so are there in private industry and social organizations. That’s a fact of life and we learn to live with it. But government is not all bad by definition. For the most part it is necessary and working well.

Meanwhile, for those in political favor of MAGA and Trump, unbelievable things are passing congress and allowed by the courts. Our standards are being eliminated or redefined to a much lower standard. Our international agreements are being erased. Trust in our America is vanishing as we speak. Most of us are sickened by this turn of events. It is a horror show with long term effects. We must resolve to discuss, write, publish, collaborate and plan resistance to all of this. It takes all of us to be America, not just a few. We must not allow this to continue without a fierce fight.

July 18, 2025

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