Is This the America That You Want?

Get your way “by any means necessary” including drawing blood, even in the political arena:  is that really what you want?  Because that is what is being encouraged in this slow and silent coup.  Even though those who promulgate it claim they are only doing what the Americans want, can this really be true?  Do you want to live in a country where:

            sThere is no respect for our government or its institutions;

            sWe simply remove from office, using unfounded charges, allegations, and innuendo, those with whom we disagree;

            sWhere narrative is everything and facts mean nothing?

Because, that is certainly where this country is headed.  And, if it happens today, to this president, to this administration, then it can happen tomorrow to another president and administration and on and on.  It you create the country in which this can happen simply because you don’t like the current people in power then understand that it can happen again when people you favor are in power.  The will of the people, the cornerstone of our democracy, will be lost, and we will be ruled by those with the best narrative who seek power for themselves and often not for the good of the country.

It is time for the country to right itself and accept certain basics of our democracy.  First, we don’t always get our way and everyone does not and is not required to agree.  We have different views on how best to accomplish what is best for the country.  We have different lifestyles.  We value different things.  Or system of laws, our form of government and its processes, our democracy has ways of dealing with this.   Conducting a coup is not one of them.

Tolerance for other views is essential for the continuance of America as we know it.  If we instead continue on the current path of intolerance and hatred for anyone not like us then this democracy, which has for so long been a beacon to the world, will cease to exist.  We may not like people not like us, we may not like their beliefs or their life-style or other aspects about them.  Because they are not like us we may see them as outsiders and perhaps fear them (certainly the professional politicians see President Trump as an outsider, not like them and perhaps fear the shakeup that he brings to Washington).  But just because people are different, not like us, does not make them evil.  Without tolerance for those not like us we cannot have a democracy, because if we allow any one, or one group, to dictate every aspect of our lives, every thought we have, then we have lost the voice of the people, the voice that is the key to America.

If this concerns you, then stand up for America.  Demand respect for our institutions (even while disagreeing with a particular action or while disliking the person currently inhabiting a particular office).  Follow our laws and our constitution and our democratic processes.  Remove someone from office by working for a different candidate to replace him or her in the next election, not by working to destroy them or remove them or incapacitate them by keeping them constantly under attack.  Demand facts, not narrative.  Do not accept any means necessary for the end you seek; instead seek out honorable and democratic means to achieve your goals.  And demand the same from others.  That, my friends, is the best and only way to save this country.