The First Nine Days

It’s been barely over a week since Biden took office and he has already signed over 40 executive orders and actions. It is stunning how quickly America is being dismantled.   

                Gutting America’s Core

President Biden begins by forgetting that we have three branches of government: the Presidency is not a dictatorship.  But, when one rules by executive order, bypassing the other branches and hence the representatives and voice of the people, what can one call it but a dictatorship?

Now, to be fair, House Speaker Pelosi applauds this dictatorial bypassing of the legislature; she supports Biden’s “transformative executive actions.”  Those words should place fear in all of us as we ask “to what are these executive actions intent on transforming?”

The President is also supporting assault on the judicial branch and its independence.  He has appointed a “commission” to study the possibility of reforming the courts beginning with packing the Supreme Court so as to make it nothing more than a political arm of his party.

President Biden’s refusal to address the ongoing and escalating censorship of opposing or unapproved ideas is another assault on one of our most cherished freedoms:  the freedom to speak and believe unpopular views.  Biden’s Department of Justice has even begun prosecuting people for memes used during the 2016 election. 

               Where is the Transparency and Accountability?

Biden, along with his press secretary, seems to be adept at avoiding answering any controversial questions.  Of course, such avoidance is easier when you have a friendly press that will not push for answers to difficult questions or even avoid those that have the potential of putting Biden in a bad light.

Biden has failed to speak about the continuing violent protests (riots) on the West Coast.  He has failed to speak out on the GameStop affair, including saying nothing about his Treasury Secretary being paid by a fund linked to the scandal.   The administration simply says they are “monitoring” the situation.

However, as part of this Administration’s “transparency initiative,” Press Secretary Psaki did inform us that the President’s favorite snack is ice cream, and his favorite flavor is chocolate chip.  Ahh, such important news they deign to share with us common people.

Military State

We have troops quartered in our nation’s capital.  Our symbols of freedom are surrounded with razor wire to keep the people out.  

Bringing the National Guard to DC for Jan. 6 and its immediate aftermath may have made sense, but now the Biden Administration has extended their presence there for months.  The excuse is the possibility of threats to Congress, but they point to no such viable threats.  Instead, this looks like the fortification that one used to see only in countries ruled by dictators paranoid about losing their power.

In a similar vein, again looking like those paranoid leaders of totalitarian regimes, President Biden fully backs not only the impeachment of the former President, but also purging any and all who are not fully on board with the Left agenda.  People like the head of Voice of America or the National Security Agency general counsel who had previously been vetted through a bipartisan process.

Not only is there a purge of former officials.  The “purge” goes forward toward any and all who might raise a dissident voice.  Former Democratic Presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard put it this way (in response to a statement by John Brennon):

Brennan says: “Members of the Biden team who have been nominated or appointed are now moving in laser-like fashion to try to uncover as much as they can about what looks very similar to insurgency movements they’ve seen overseas where they germinate in different parts of the country and gain strength and bring together an unholy alliance, frequently of religious extremists, authoritarians, fascist bigots, racist, nativist, and even libertarians.” This is the extent that they are going to try to undermine the rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to every one of us, and it is incredibly dangerous.

A good example of where this sort of purging leads is playing out in Russia right now with the imprisonment of opposition leader Navalny and his supporters.  Indeed, the attitude of this administration smells of the fear of opposition that one usually sees in a totalitarian leadership obsessed only with retaining its own power.

               The Policies Belie Unity and Healing

Unless you are blind, stupid, or ignorant, it has become fairly clear that Biden’s “unity” is nothing more than a move to force all to march in lock step to this administration and party’s approved beliefs.  That is not a democratic unity but a unity of oppression.

The Left’s preferred method of achieving this uniformity seems to be via identity politics.  Biden’s policies and executive actions thus far seem to signal that he will use his polices to maintain if not accelerate the identity wars against social enemies.  Why else, by fiat alone would Biden using executive orders essentially not only reverse policies on immigration and climate, but things like abortion, LGBT and Transgender issues, including creating athletic policies that are unfair and biased against women, reinstating the debunked and biased Critical Race Theory indoctrination while cancelling the 1776 project, and other hot button social issues.  

These are issues that require dialog, objective input, and understanding.  Instead, President Biden is stoking the fires of identity hatred in hopes of furthering a Leftist agenda.

Not a Moderate

Biden told us he was a moderate when he ran for President.  If that is so, that he underwent a major transformation once he took the oath of office.  His environmental actions, while doing nothing to actually help the environment, are costing tens of thousands of jobs and costing states millions in lost revenue.  His sudden embrace of increasing the minimum wage can and likely will be devastating to already struggling small businesses. 

 And, like the rest of the Leftists, Biden seems to loathe America and all she stands for.  Without discussion he accepts and promotes the view that America is built upon and still is plagued by “systemic racism.” He called the 1776 report “offensive” and “counter-factual”; apparently he disagrees with statements therein such as “The bedrock upon which the American political system is built is the rule of law. The vast difference between tyranny and the rule of law is a central theme of political thinkers back to classical antiquity.” 

President Biden stated that America has never lived up to her promise, yet, despite the fact that America has had and probably always will have its flaws, “America’s history has always been a relationship between those principles and a nation trying, aspiring to uphold those principles.”  The abolitionist movement began here.

As stated in the preamble to the Constitution, our mission is “to form a more perfect Union.”  Perfection may not be achievable in this world, but there is nothing wrong with continuing to aspire toward it.  And our Constitution and our core democratic principles are our roadmap for that quest.

We have always been the shining light of freedom and democracy.  Yet, if these first nine days are any indication, that is about to change because what we are seeing are the first steps in a march toward dictatorship.

And So It Continues – (in circles?)

It was exactly 4 years ago tomorrow that I began this blog.  Donald Trump had just been inaugurated and the Democrats and the Left were exceedingly angry.  The ability to have civil conversations was already falling apart and this seemed a good place to present my viewpoint without the childish games of Facebook and other social media.  (see my first post HERE)  

So, today I want to look both back and forward. 

As part of my introductory post 4 years ago, I wrote:

I am not an ideologue.  I do not belong to any political party and am happy to vote for Democrats, Republicans, or others depending on whom I believe will be best for the country as a whole.  My political leanings probably identify most with what were once called the “blue-collar lunch bucket Democrats” – a group that really doesn’t exist anymore.  In the 60s I was a self-styled “hippie” and antiwar protester.  I put myself through college and law school and practiced law before becoming a professor.  I have always been deeply committed to the Constitution and to the equal treatment of all along with the concept of individual responsibility and a “no excuses” approach to life.  I have always believed in America.  I have voted in every election since I became eligible, and as to presidential elections, I have voted for slightly more Democrats than Republicans.  In 2016 I voted for Donald Trump.  I do not think he is a perfect person, nor do I agree with all his policies, but I do believe that he was not only the best candidate but indeed a good candidate who believes in America and its promise.  I also believe that now that he is president, if we will allow him to govern and put our interests in what is best for the country as a whole, that we really will see a better and stronger America.  I hope to explain my reasons behind these statements in upcoming posts.

               Looking Back

What I said 4 years ago holds true today.  Yet in that 4 years the country has been through a lot.  The liberal Democrat party has become extreme progressive Left.  The Democrats never were able to accept Donald Trump as president and instead tried to block his every action whether good for the country or not.  Unable to get over their anger they allowed it to evolve into an intense, vitriolic, and irrational hatred for not only Donald Trump, but anyone connected with him including those who simply voted for him. 

Meanwhile, despite being under attack 24/7 by not only the Left but its handmaiden the media as well, President Trump indeed accomplished a lot for America.  Some of his accomplishments furthered policies that the Democrats opposed, but others did for America what Democrats themselves had been promising for years but unable to deliver. 

Most important to me was that he tried to counter the identity politics that for the previous at least 8 years had been used by the Left to tear this country apart.  Instead of identifying Americans as members of this or that victim or oppressor group, he simply furthered policies that treated all Americans the same – in the spirit of our Constitutional belief and aspiration that we all are equal.  And, despite some programs being identity blind, those whom the Democrats regularly identify as victim groups actually benefited the most – take for example jobs and the economy and the effect it had on the Black community, or Trump’s prison and criminal justice reforms.

The implementation of many of the Trump policies led Americans to once again have hope and a belief in the promise of this country.  For years prior to his election we had been led to believe that America was not a good country and it was our duty to feel guilty and apologize, both to those within our country who had been convinced they were victims with no hope as well as to the rest of the world.  President Trump put his and our country first and allowed Americans to be proud of who and what they are.

               Yet the Hatred – when and how did it begin?

Yet, along with the many positives that were accomplished by the Trump administration (but seldom reported by media), the anger level of the country reached the red zone.  This anger is expressing itself daily as pure hatred.  Many assert that it is traceable to the election of Donald Trump.  I disagree.

I saw hate grow for at least the 8 years prior to Trump’s presidency.  During that time we had a president and a progressive party who played group against group in an attempt to further their own power agenda. 

To grasp at an understanding of “why?” we must go back far more than 4 years, probably to the founding of this country or before.  Books could be (and have been) written.  There are many events and examples that have contributed to various degrees of anger and its cohorts fear and hatred. 

Let’s consider slavery as an example.  When the world came to realize that slavery was wrong, it ended it in a variety of ways.  In America, with no class or caste system, it was actually possible for former slaves and their descendants to rise to positions of wealth and power; some did.

But not all with a history of slavery did well.  There remained discrimination which came to a head in the 50s and early 60s.  While some Blacks had found a way to be successful before Civil Rights, the legislation of the 60s gave hope to all that they would truly have a better life.  And most were motivated to do the work necessary to personally succeed as they chose.

But, enter a series of programs, sparked at least in part by a desire to help but also, I believe, by a more sinister and racist belief that Blacks were/are not capable of succeeding on their own.  This, of course, completely contradicts the American belief/ideal that all humans are equal.   Nonetheless, a series of social programs, mostly created by the Left, created a dependent underclass of dissatisfied Americans.

Never ones to let discontent go to waste, the Left reminded those dissatisfied of their victim class.  We saw identity groups develop into battling warriors of us versus them.  The victims vs. the victimizers.  Blacks vs. Whites; Poor vs. Rich; Women vs. Men; Gay vs. Straight.  Intersectionality developed, giving us a framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege.  It became all about that – discriminated victim or privileged oppressor – rather than about the individual and that individual’s substantive character.  Individual substance has no place in a world governed by identity politics.

The anger of the oppressed was cultivated.  Those assigned the oppressor status felt unjustly accused and began to hate back.  And that is where we were when Donald Trump became President Trump.  And, despite his hope to see all of America thrive as one, he was thwarted repeatedly by the Left who ramped up their fomentation of hate among their malicious identity group creations. 

As President Trump’s 4 years progressed, the Left seemed completely unable to see people as people; rather, they were simply representatives of a particular identity group.  Conservatives and whites were deemed evil and essentially inhuman, thus not only justifying, but necessitating hatred and violence toward them.  Meanwhile, every member of designated victim identity groups was to be honored and always believed: almost superhumans capable of no wrong.

               The Election and January 6

The election had irregularities.  Many believe there was widespread fraud.  This came to a head on Jan. 6, the date the votes of the Electors were counted.  As was their right, some Congress people planned to object to those votes.  As was their right many Americans gathered near the Capitol to protest the counting and to support the objections.  As was his right, the President spoke to his supporters.  And as often happens when there are actions and protests that are highly charged, a small percentage of those present turned violent; those few misguided individuals illegally stormed the Capital.

What is now called the “insurrection” by the media and Democrats has given the Left an excuse to continue to promulgate their hatred against not only President Trump but anyone who does not fall into lockstep with the Left’s positions.  We now see calls to “cleanse” the Republican Party, blacklisting of Trump supporters, silencing and cancelling of all opposing views, and a general litany of threats toward anyone who is not on board with Leftist policies, all under the guise of “healing.”

It also gave us a militarized capital that looked more like what one sees when a dictator (always in fear of being unseated) takes over.  These were troops that the Democrats demanded be vetted as not anti-Biden before they could take their posts.  This look of a police state is something that America should never become desensitized to.

               Looking ahead to the Biden presidency (or is it looking back?)

So here we are.  We have just experienced the inauguration of a new president.  What are my thoughts now?

I fear that we are actually circling back to the era immediately preceding President Trump.  We see already President Biden’s litany of signing executive orders to cancel former President Trump’s accomplishments. 

We see a clear return, actually mandate, of identity politics as Biden proudly proclaims not the qualifications of his various appointees but their superficial identity instead: “We'll have a Cabinet of barrier breakers, a Cabinet of firsts” he said.   And so we will have the first woman of color VP, first transgender person as Assistant Secretary of Health, first Native American Secretary of Interior, first openly gay Secretary of Transportation, First Black Defense Secretary, first Latino to head Department of Homeland Security, first woman of color to head Office of Management and Budget, first woman Director of National Intelligence.  The list goes on and on.  (Those appointments that are not “firsts” seem to be mostly retreads from the Obama years.)

I have nothing against people of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, and beliefs holding these positions; in fact, such diversity is generally a good thing.  But what I object to is the bias inherent in picking individuals specifically for those qualities.  Such bias by necessity excludes a number of qualified individuals from even being considered.  It is racist, sexist, and otherwise discriminatory.  That is not American where a core principle is equal opportunity for all, not just for members of specific identity groups.

This dividing of Americans into groups also counters President Biden’s words calling for “unity.”  Group identity does nothing but divide us.   It is becoming more and more clear that the “unity” that the President and his party are calling for is simply a silencing of all opposing views.  Without any dissent we may have the illusion of peace and unity, but we will have lost America. 

A unity born of silencing also requires elevating narrative over truth.  We saw during the campaign that candidate Biden had no qualms about repeating by then disproven allegations against President Trump.  We see the same disregard for the truth in the first presentation of President Biden’s press secretary.  Jen Psaki vowed to “combat misinformation” while during the same press conference proclaiming that Biden had issued an executive order ending Trump’s “Muslim ban.”  That misnomer was proven false at the time the ban was issued and again last year when Biden used it on the campaign trail.   (What Democrats call a “Muslim ban” was an executive order issued on January 27, 2017, that barred tourism and immigration from seven countries previously identified by the Obama-Biden administration as being particularly vulnerable to terrorism, partly because their internal record-keeping was substandard. These seven nations happened to be Muslim-majority countries, but there was no blanket ban on Muslims from other Middle Eastern countries or the two largest Muslim countries, India and Indonesia.)

The Press Secretary also made it clear that hypocrisy is alive and well in the Biden administration.  She informed us that it was perfectly OK that President Biden violated his own mask mandate because he has “bigger issues to worry about.”  Apparently, the American people are not one of those issues.

So, without a respect for facts, without a respect for all Americans or a belief in the equality of all, without a true respect for America and its citizens, I am concerned when I look at what the next 4 years may bring.  In many respects it is not forward, but a circling back to the often anti-American policies of the Obama years. 

The Biden Administration will not give us the utopia that many dreamed.  I believe that it will, however, give me much to write about as this blog continues.