Political Bites

“Who Cares?”

That was the response a Trump supporter gave when I referred him to Trump’s comments regarding his personal Vietnam.

Trump compared his efforts to avoid sexually transmitted diseases in his pursuit of a dissolute life style to the hardships of American Vietnam soldiers fighting for their country. Trump’s comments came in an interview with radio shock jock, Howard Stern.

The Trump supporter justified his expression of apathy and its implicit disrespect for those who served their country during that troubled era on the basis that the interview took place 20 years ago. Who cares about such comments if they occurred 20 years ago?

That might be a fair point except that Trump’s selfish lack of respect for those who have spent a part of or all of their adult life in service of our country has not lapsed. He remains the selfish boor he has always been. What has changed over the years is the astounding number of Americans who tolerate and endorse his boorishness.

We can observe his boorishness metastasizing across the airwaves and throughout social media as more and more Americans follow his example.

We see it in Congressional Republicans as they forsake their oath of office to defend the constitution in order to defend Trump’s abuse of power.

We see it in the abandonment of longtime allies and friends that have fought alongside of us.

We see it in the escalating number of senior government officials leaving government service because our government is no longer the one they signed up to serve.

Rather it has devolved into a feudal state of sorts wherein fealty to the lord of the manor matters most. ‘Serve this lord not your country’ has become the standard to follow.

There are optimists among us that believe we can reverse the current trend. It will not be easy, if it is at all possible. Defenders of our constitution and republican form of government will have to turn out like never before in the 2020 elections.

To pull it off, they will have to elect some new members of Congress as well as a new president. They will need to remain engaged long after the election to insure our future republican wellbeing.

The question looms: Do Americans have what it takes to preserve their republic or will they cede the contest to a boorish, would-be tyrant?

Currently, the smart money favors the tyrant. I will put my money on the constitution and the republic.

Jerry Marsh is a long-time government teacher, retired, at Ellsworth High School.