The United States of America that I have known all my life appears to have vanished in one month. Hopefully, I am wrong. America has always been a visibly imperfect nation, but as Martin Luther King, Jr. said in 1968, ƵThe arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.Ƶ For now, that arc has been severed. Good-bye our America; I will miss you.
America no longer has three branches of government. It only has the tyrannical executive. Congress is in shambles. The Republicans sold their souls to the highest bidder. On the infamous Jan. 6, Republicans knew that what President Trump had done was illegal, unethical and unconstitutional; many said so. On Jan. 7 Republicans woke up, though they werenƵt Ƶwoke.Ƶ They realized that their jobs and clout were on the line.
Even those not seeking re-election were too chicken to publicly say that TrumpƵs behavior had led Congress and the vice president to run for their lives. In 2025, congressional Republicans no longer have a voice; they are simply echo chambers.
The Democrats are no better. They hid President BidenƵs mental status from the public so long that selecting a Democratic presidential candidate who had a real chance against Trump was limited. Whether or not Democrats liked West VirginiaƵs Sen. Joe Manchin, he was right to call for an open primary. Theoretically, this country was ready to elect a woman of color for president Ƶ but only theoretically. Meanwhile, the Democrats remain ineffectual and in a coma.
The judicial branch has become the enabler of all things far-right conservative as the six Republicans on it defer to Trump, who has usurped their powers. Remember, Congress and the Supreme Court said TikTok would stop in the United States, but Trump overrode both branches, saying he would decide in 90 days.
It may not matter what the Democrats do, or even those few Republicans who care what is happening to our nation, because we have legally elected a president who has anointed himself as the supreme leader of everything including, of all things, culture at The Kennedy Center. Say what you like, but when the person elected president immediately calls all the shots, plans to take over other countries, instantly fires thousands of government employees, obliterates governmental agencies he doesnƵt like, installs high-ranking staff by loyalty not ability and finds blame for AmericaƵs problems on immigrants and those who oppose him, America has a dictator who cares nothing for the principles upon which our nation was founded.
Equally disturbing is TrumpƵs lack of respect and understanding of AmericaƵs long-standing international friends and supporters while he cozies up to dictators evidenced by his praise for Putin and HungaryƵs Victor OrbanƵs visit to Mar-a-Lago. In his first month in office, he has expressed plans to take over Greenland, the Panama Canal, perhaps Canada and sounds like he is hankering to build a Trump Hotel Gaza. Apparently, many Americans feel comfortable with a government that tells them what they may do, read or believe and castigates the free press. Quickly read George OrwellƵs Ƶ1984Ƶ before itƵs banned.
Goodbye, our America. I will not leave you, but you have left me. You will be missed.
Diane W. Mufson is a retired psychologist and regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch Opinion page.
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