Last March, I wrote a newsletter about where America stands on the progression outlined by the classic “The Story of Nations.” The heart of the classic reads:
From bondage to spiritual faith,
From spiritual faith to great courage,
From great courage to liberty,
From liberty to abundance,
From abundance to selfishness,
From selfishness to complacency,
From complacency to apathy,
From apathy to dependence,
From dependence to bondage.
At the time, I wrote: “From what I can see, our place on that list teeters on bondage. … But the question is, must it become necessary? Must we suffer through bondage again, this time under the reign of King Donald and his merry-making billionaire oligarchs, or can we skip over the bondage part and go straight to the spiritual faith that led us to toss off our bondage and become a great nation?”
Today, nine months after I wrote that, we have our answers: yes, we do have to suffer through bondage again, and yes, it is bondage under the reign of King Donald.
The bondage has already begun. In the nearly one year that Donald Trump has been in the White House, he has become the American dictator, the American king. Not will be king. Is king.
Only a king could get away with doing what Trump has done and continues to do. In order to find government money he can shovel into his and his billionaire buddies’ pockets, he cruelly allowed (so far) nearly a million people around the world to die by canceling USAID; took food away from some 41 million poor American children, helpless elderly and disabled adults by canceling SNAP, the nation’s most important anti-hunger program; is causing health insurance premiums for millions of people to skyrocket by letting Obamacare die – again, all that for no other reason than to let Trump stuff money into his and his billionaire buddies’ pockets.
But that’s just for starters. Trump likes “nubile young girls” and raped at least one of them, if you believe what Jeffrey Epstein wrote. He has murdered more than 100 defenseless men (so far) because he believed they were carrying drugs. This list could go on for pages, but unless you’ve either had your head buried in the sand all year or you depend on news sources like Fox News and Newsmax to tell you what’s going on in the world, you know the list.
But even beyond that near-endless, monstrous list, Trump is acting like kings and dictators always act, with, for one thing, merciless self-aggrandizement. With that, he’s gone overboard. He is putting his face and name to major U.S. institutions, cultural landmarks, and currency, often illegally.
He’s even had his cronies in Congress introduce legislation to rename Washington Dulles International Airport the Donald J. Trump International Airport, rename Washington’s Metrorail system the “Trump Train”, and add his likeness to Mount Rushmore.
Plans are afoot to put his image on the $100 bill, create an unprecedented $250 bill and put his image on it, and strike a commemorative one-dollar coin that could have his image on both sides.
Also, the Department of Homeland Security introduced the “Trump Gold Card” that offers wealthy applicants (white ones, anyway) a fast-track to U.S. residency and citizenship in exchange for a $1 million “gift” to the Treasury.
Also, The Interior Department unveiled a new design for America’s national park passes that replaces traditional scenic imagery with Trump’s face.
Also. Trump had his name displayed on the outside of the United States Peace Institute.
Also, he declared himself chairman of the board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, replaced its board and its longtime president with his cronies, and their first decision was to give the center a new name: the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. (Trump said that surprised him; didn’t see that coming.)
And now Trump is pressuring the Washington Commanders NFL football organization to rename its stadium the Donald J. Trump Stadium.
Trump even surrounds himself with kinglike applications, such as adding so many gold accents – real gold — throughout the Oval Office it looks like a king’s parlor. He had the room’s ceiling gold-leafed, and the presidential circle in the room’s ceiling outlined in gold. He installed gold curtains behind the Resolute Desk, added gold trim to details along the ceiling and doorways, even gave the cherubs inside the door frames a golden makeover.
So, there should be no question about it: the madman thinks he is the king, and for now he is the king. He controls not only the Executive branch, but also the Supreme Court, both houses of Congress, the United States’ military, even the “independent” Department of Justice. He can do anything he feels like doing, no matter how cruel or destructive it is, and get away with it.
The question is, what should we do about it?
And the answer is, we’re doing it. All we have to do is keep on doing what we’re doing — turning out and speaking up, peacefully and loudly – and Donald J. Trump will be impeached, convicted, and dumped onto the trash heap of history.
That’s where the spiritual faith that destroys bondage comes in. It does not necessarily mean religious faith, although many people see it that way, and that’s fine; it all ties together. But the spiritual faith that destroys bondage, the kind that is leading us to victory over the modern-day Royalists and those who want to live under a dictator, is energized togetherness.
It worked for our ancestors in the 1770s when they overcame the rule of King George III, and it is working for us today as we overcome the rule of King Trump. That kind of spirit is contagious, and that is exactly what is happening right now. Our numbers and our power are growing.
The evidence of that is plain. A nationwide anti-Trump rally across America last April drew 5 million people; a nationwide No Kings rally two months later, in June, drew an estimated 5 million people to 2,500 sites; and a rally four months after that, in October, drew 7 million people to 2,700 sites. The next nationwide rally is expected to be in early spring and leaders and participants alike are counting on even bigger crowds of happy, sign-waving, peaceful, loud, determined people.
One more thing we can do. Next year, as election day approaches, people seeking office will be forced to come out of their offices and meet us face to face. Indivisible says we need to single out Trumpites and demand they answer such questions as:
- Why did you vote to slash Medicaid and food assistance but give Elon Musk a big tax break?
- How do you justify cutting meals for poor kids, helpless elderly and/or disabled people, while cutting taxes for billionaires?
- Republicans claim to be fiscally responsible, so why are you increasing the deficit for the benefit of billionaires?
So, give it up, Donald Trump, you and your kind are through. You’ve been king for a day but now your rule is ending. We’re in the process of kicking you and everyone associated with you out of the government. We’re dependent right now, but it will not last much longer. Not this time. You’re toast.
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