The presidential oath of office in the United States needs to borrow a clause from the Hippocratic Oath of doctors: to do no harm. Come the time for an accounting, let us hope that the damn fool who told Trump about presidential directives gets his or her deserts. Trump is not only abusing his executive powers but he is doing catastrophic damage to the reputation of America around the world and for a long time to come.
“Land of the free,” be damned. Trump has tried to slam the door on the welcoming lamp of Miss Liberty in the New York Harbour. He has defiled the promise of freedom of religion. He has no concept or understanding of truth or justice. He mocks those who seek justice. And he mocks justice itself.
Trump does not just sit in the bully pulpit; he is a bully. He targets the weak and the vulnerable. He directs that Obamacare be scrapped without any concern for the millions of Americans who will be left without dignity in seeking medical care. And who will be his next target?
“The home of the brave,” is being ridiculed. America needs its heroes. Trump insults them. He has never worn a uniform and he is now commander-in-chief of the best-equipped military forces in the world. He rattles sabres at people he does not understand. He claims friendship with those who want to use him.
On America’s formerly welcoming shores Trump wants to build walls. He is a bigot, a womanizer, a racist and an uncaring person but he wants to be leader to feed his all-consuming ego. And when he spoke to the world at his inauguration, he chose to damn America rather than to laud it.
When he declared himself in on the crowded Republican nomination race, we were at first shocked. We then denied that he could ever win the nomination or the presidency. We felt anger at his brazen lies to the voters. We watched the bargaining between him and the Republican establishment seeking accommodation. We felt the guilt when he won the nomination of that party. It was through the rest of the campaign that the depression set in. And, even after the inauguration, it took a while to accept the facts. And if that sequence of feelings seems familiar, it is from psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ seven stages of grief following a death.
It is anyone’s guess as to what will happen next with Donald Trump in the White House. Whatever, it will not be good.
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Copyright 2017 © Peter Lowry
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