A while back, there was an article which presented an appraisal of the state of the national government, raising concerns about the state of affairs inside the beltway and its impact on our societal stability. The discussion raised serious concerns about rampant corruption and in the end, raised the challenge ,  as Professor Glaude of Princeton put it so succinctly, of an honest reckoning as to who we are as a nation. Time has moved on and with no hesitation, one can definitively state that circumstances inside the beltway have deteriorated from borderline dysfunctional and blind partisanship to singularly unbalanced and deranged of catastrophic proportions.

 The evidence is clear that the White House has fallen to a level of corruption unseen in modern history. Even the infamous Tea Pot Dome scandals of the twenties and the WaterGate scandal of the seventies  pale by comparison. With brazen contempt for not only the protocols of government but also for the rule of law, this regime has taken kleptocracy to new heights. Paired with the occupant’s own particular brand of extreme bigotry, the arrogant display of disdain for constitutional mandates, a domestic policy agenda which focuses on deregulating all the protections for the everyday consumer, the appalling display of fawning over some of the worst dictators in the world while denigrating our own government services,  all have rendered the Office completely compromised possibly beyond repair  While demeaning the press as an “ enemy of the people” along with the constant and continual spewing of complete fabrications and outlandish conspiracy theories, this regime has openly violated the emoluments clause of the constitution, the principles of separation of powers and has failed miserably in understanding that members of the cabinet do not work for the individual occupant of the oval office, they work for the people.

As all this was unfolding over the past three plus years, one may have hoped that the system of checks and balances put in place from our founding just might  have stemmed the tide of corruption. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. In actuality, it has proven to be the precise opposite.

The concept of checks and balances was designed to accomplish just that and, while often the task seemed insurmountable, over history, it has prevailed. That is, until the present regime. Not wishing to succumb to the flow of conspiracy theories, one has to harken back to one key conspiracy echoed time and time again about the so called “Deep State” conspiracy that the White House has promulgated and preached at every red hat rally. Truth be known, the “Deep State” theory is awash in its own alternate reality. However, the tactical scheme put forth by early White House advisor Steven Bannon has not only taken  root but has and is the underlying principle behind the trump regime. To paraphrase Mr Bannon, the “deconstruction of the administrative state” is the objective of our agenda.  This is what the regime, possibly under the influence if not the direction of the Kremlin, came to Washington to do and the White House embarked on this path from the start. Along  with the collaboration of the senate, the attacks on our very system of government have gained traction at an alarming rate.

Consider the senate at the time of the inauguration of the previous and actual administration. On the very night of the inauguration, GOP leaders were meeting in a hotel suite to plan its downfall – an agenda they proudly announced to the public in the following days. It was to be “… a one term presidency”. Once they achieved control of both houses. they did absolutely all they could do to block any efforts to move the national agenda forward, including gutting the recently passed health care legislation and completely blocking all nominations to the Supreme Court. Matters became even more destructive during the second term so by the time the current regime arrived, the senate was ripe for what can be described as a scorched earth policy on government as we know it.

From positioning on the federal bench  shamelessly unqualified jurists to confirming cabinet heads whose sole purpose is to dismantle their respective departments to the stonewalling of over four hundred pieces of legislation passed by a democratically controlled House,  the current iteration of the United States Senate bears little resemblance to the body charged to provide check and balance to an out of control White House. It has proven to be not only unable to provide those checks but clearly unwilling – indeed, being an accomplice to the abuse of power flagrantly displayed by the Oval Office and certain executive offices , specifically the Department of Justice, now headed by one who, in his own words in speech and in writing, has declared that the occupant of the Oval Office is above the law.

The discussion of the many facets of this systemic collapse could continue at great length, as indeed it has in news media, in political pundit circles and in academia. There have been theories advanced as to the how and the why as well as back and forth on the idea of who or what is to blame. Suffice it to say , there is blame to go around aplenty. Both sides of the aisle have failed miserably in their charge as members of Congress. Most of all, however, perhaps it is as much the body politic which has failed. 

Consider some particulars. In the 2016 election, over one million eligible and registered voters decided that it either was not important enough to vote or, having dislike for both candidates, they voted for a write in or a candidate with no chance whatsoever of coming close to winning. One can understand not liking either candidate but we are often faced with the choice between the lesser of two evils and we saw how that played out.Then there are those whose sole and total source of news and information are networks, such as Fox, Sinclair and RT, which rarely deal in facts and whose broadcasted stories are regularly built around conspiracy theories. It plays to ignorance of reality. And finally, at least for here, there are those schools who have, over the years, dropped civics and government as a course of study. Acknowledged that many have returned to offering that but one should not have to wait until college years and have a political science major to be taught how government works. All in all, one figured that, with political ignorance at an all time high and a near baseless xenophobia carried to the extreme – stoked by so called news sources as above – it was time for a regime such as we have. Playing on ignorance and fear and an underlying racism still present in this country, we now have what we have – a pivotal times in the history of the Republic and its future.

So it is not time to turn it all around. It is time to wake up, educate and participate. It  is time to search our valid news sources and exhaust fact checking. As a colleague of mine wrote, I want this all to be a bad dream but when I look around, you are a living example of how Hitler took over Germany. Disbelief that your leader is capable of this kind of evil…..newsflash – he is !!

Wake up and take hold… if not for this generation, for future generations. It is time to make change – a complete new direction. Dies Irae….. the Republic is headed for its requiem…..