Forgiveness is optional, but they’re falling like dominos. Cohen (3 years), Flynn, Manafort on deck. Then Kushner, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, and who knows after that? Will the long arm of the law ultimately reach President Trump? Will he be wearing that matching color-coordinated orange jump suit soon? Hard to say. I’m certainly no one to judge anyone else (“Judge Not, Less Ye Be Judged”) but I think that Trump’s “Lock her up!” mantra will come back to haunt him.
Being tried in the media is a rough deal, but they call ‘em like they see ‘em. Donald Trump will be the first one to tell you it’s a tough world out there and that “life sucks”. Yes, he actually said that. Trump is no stranger to the roughhouse real world. Although he presents like a prima donna he’s been beaten up, ridiculed, bought and sold dozens of times and he knows how to take a punch. In fact, he seems to like it. His uncanny sense of his own self-righteousness and childlike naivete, and his willingness to humiliate himself in front of God and the world seems to fuel his lust for punishment.
Well, get ready Mr. President, you’re gonna love what comes next. Even Kavanaugh can’t save you now.
It’s ironic that there is a certain “truth” to The Donald that is remarkably omnipresent. He’s not even aware or in control of it. He talks off the top of his head without much thinking beforehand, he doesn’t respond he reacts. Like a child would. There’s an innocence about him, demonic as it is, and that is truth in its purest form.
Trump is not capable of hiding his lies. So, when he lies, he’s actually telling the truth ...and the truth is, he’s lying! Maybe Rudi Giuliani had a point when he said, “Truth isn’t Truth” referring to Trumps quirkish, childlike personality. That’s some expensive legalese phraseology coming from the president’s lawyer. And it’s some great defense, too ...”Your Honor, my client is incapable of lying, he always tells the truth, even when he’s lying!”
Well, here’s the truth as I see it. When you are President of the United States, or the president’s lawyer, or the president’s best friend and advisor, or his national security advisor, or his son or son or son-on-law, or daughter, however you or anyone else takes those stations seriously, you are assumed to be a mature, responsible, accountable, intelligent, adult human being. Honesty should be a given, but dishonesty should be assumed. Guilty until proven innocent in this case. A childlike innocence, no matter how vigorously the demonic part is assuaged, or a defense of ‘not knowing‘ or ‘not knowing better‘ should simply not fly.
It’s amazing that America has come this far with this guy. It’s us, not him, that should be examined closely. We elected him. Or, maybe it’s time to closely examine our democratic system. It’s not working. It’s ‘breaking bad’, and it’s broken all over. Everywhere you look it’s broken, and it’s plain to see that Donald Trump is the result, not the cause.
Where we go from here is the question that needs to be answered.
It’s always hard to change a paradigm. And our elected president being the result not the cause, should have us looking at ourselves both as individuals and also as a free society. We need to assess the damage of our abuses of our freedoms. Ask ourselves what values we espouse. Do we deserve the freedoms that others have worked hard for, died for, for us to enjoy? What do we, you, bring to the table? “Ask not what your country can do for you .......”
Americans have become so politically critical and mistrustful of its ‘leaders‘, and rightly so, and so politically critical of each other that we are evolving into a species of conceitful, vengeful, paranoid liars. We don’t know who to trust. “Trust” has taken on a whole new meaning. The mainstream media, social media, and the new technologies of convenience are the catalysts for this phenomenon of our ever-evolving lust and greed for easy street fame and wealth. Everyday tasks are being made so easy for us now that we soon won’t be able to do anything for ourselves but become entertained and amused. Because in the end, it’s us and Mother Nature, and as we all know, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.”
The root of this phenom problem is complex and long suffering spread over time and generations. So, it’s not going to be fixed by firing Donald Trump. I am most concerned, shudder, about who we will pick next for a president.
I hate to admit it but the cause of our ‘problem‘ may be freedom itself. We are our own worst enemy. “I have seen the enemy and he is us.” Abraham Lincoln noted over a century ago that America‘s downfall won’t be from outside enemies, but it will come from within, from ourselves.
Jeez, we never learn.
The truth, judgement and reckoning regarding our current government situation with Trump and associates could be, should be, the course correction America needs right now.
Prison for Cohen is warranted. Prison for Manafort is warranted. Prison for Flynn is also warranted. Him the most, because he, above all the rest, no matter how much he “cooperated” should have known better. The bar is set higher for him. Our system of justice needs to show that it is infallible. It needs to show America and the world that we take our democracy, justice system, and freedoms seriously. Otherwise, we will fall on our sword and continue to circle the drain and ultimately disappear.
Being loyal to a boss or employer can go only so far. When you sell out like Kellyanne Conway, for example, you are on the wrong side of history not to mention your own integrity and self-respect.
Our White House looks like a bunch of adults acting like kids. Back stabbing, ass grabbing, bickering. What a hornets nest! Trump can’t find people anymore to work for him, and the ambitious vultures are circling just waiting to take his presidency.
Congress is proven itself to be useless. Dead in the water. Tied up with special interests and self-interests. The Republicans should be ashamed of themselves for siding with the monster in the White House. The Democrats need to buck up and get a backbone. They, and President Trump are their own worst enemies, and ours.
Freedom is a precious thing that we often take for granted. Just ask Michael Cohen what it’s like to have your freedom taken from you. More important is the recognition and respect for the integrity, humanity, responsibility, and power of the system that was obligated to do it.
Judgement day will come for each of us as individuals. A truth and reckoning are imminent. Forgiveness, optional. I sincerely hope that our collective American “system” corrects itself through these current truth and reckonings so that we as a nation, as Americans, have something to believe in again. Because right now, the choice is either “Make America Great Again” or “In God We Trust.”
Take your pick.
John Kushma is a communication consultant and lives in Logan, Utah.
