EDITOR”S NOTE: Michael Johnston, a 1972 graduate of Wayland High Hish School, is a retired history teacher from Kenowa Hills and a Benjamin Franklin re-enactor.
by Michael Johnston
With (well documented, mentally ill) DJT in charge, controlling all four branches of the government, WE now have an emotionally unstable, intellectually deficient, deranged president out for vengeance and grievance settling.
His first action was to pardon those who helped him try to overthrow the Electoral College with a failed insurrection, 1/6/21. He has now pardoned and freed those who assaulted the police and indirectly caused the immediate death of five.
He now has the loyal backing of at least 1300 former traitors like him! Perhaps the beginning of his own army of enforcers?
Trump’s geniusis he used the creaky and slow moving wheels of justice against itself and won, outlasting it! Unfortunately, history unlike the movies or sit-coms, good guys finish last. Evil is always more efficient without checks and balances. Trump cobbled a coalition of dudes, clueless, machismo young white males, fearful older Hispanic males, and men of color who have been left behind by the de-industrialization of America (and within that figure about 40% of union members.)
He got the red, rural communities of the former segregated South. He used and worked the oldest form of American exclusion pre-dating racism, misogyny (bias toward women-Harris) to his advantage.
No one in history has ever tried to overthrow the Electoral College. The founding fathers tried to anticipate a fail safe system, never imagining a Trump type megalomaniac. They reasoned if all else failed. . . electors would step up and save the republic by voting for another candidate who would not endanger U.S.
It failed!!! Ben Franklin anticipated this. After the Constitution was ratified in Philadelphia in 1787, a woman in the crowd awaiting outside asked, “Dr. Franklin what have you given us . . .” He replied, “A Republic if you can keep it.”
Depending how the other half of the country who voted against him (1.2% difference) handle this rogue dude resident occupying the White House, this might just be the wake-up, shakeup our nation needed or the beginning of a quick or prolonged decline.
Republics are not the norm in world history. Only two have survived today, my favorite, the oldest at #1, the Republic of San Marino, since 1600 and the U.K. #2.
The Roman Republic that the U.S. models after lasted about 500 years. We are approaching 248. The history of modern Republics since ancient times is far shorter life spans.
I’ve been on FB for years and dialogue with many MAGAs who started as youngsters listening to the Josef Goebbels of American propaganda. the late Rush Limbaugh (Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.)
COVID deaths plunged this country into grief and anger we’ve yet to recover from. Right now the enemy isn’t U.S. It’s one deranged president aligned with the most anti-democracy elements in our his and her story.
One need only observe South African born Elon Musk, the richest man in the U.S. In the past, we had the Robber Barons and it took about 50 years of organized opposition and a Great Depression to take the oligarchs hands off choking Uncle Sam.
Trump will not last that long, his mental decline is accelerating. The tech lord oligarchs now are counting on it. Trump is perceived by them only as a useful idiot. Someone far more dangerous has already been groomed to take over!
More to come . . .
