The president compares thermonuclear weapons to his “button” size! His campaign chief executive and White House chief strategist accuses his son of treason! The president responds by charging him with insanity, in a case of “it takes one to know one,” then threatens legal action! His campaign chairman and foreign agent sues the Justice Department and special counsel for investigating the wrong crimes! That’s just in the first three business days of 2018. Dignity of the presidency, anyone?
Over in Congress, the president’s party lurches between strategies to destroy the system of health coverage that millions of Americans depend on, in their fervor to have the name Obama be stricken from every book and tablet, stricken from every pylon and obelisk in the land, and have the name Obama be unheard and unspoken, erased from the memory of man, for all time. They abet President Trump because he feels the same way. They conduct shadow-puppet investigations of Russian actions to wreck our elections. They drift lazily away from their erstwhile promises to legally protect the investigation of possible Trump or Trump-personnel crimes. They join together as one to pass a tax “reform” bill that is a blatant mockery of the concept. And they have fallen silent, almost to a person, in any criticism or check on a wild, clearly irresponsible chief executive. Dignity of Congress, anyone?
And the Supreme Court? The latest august addition was pleased and proud to step ahead of the former nominee. He, like everyone else, likely understood that his nomination was meant to achieve pre-selected political decisions on the court, as a hypocritical homage to the political process that gave the most votes to the other party. He settles comfortably into his chair on a court that has helped eradicate the restraints on money in politics, the loss of which have helped elect such a president as the man who nominated him. Dignity of the Supreme Court, anyone?
No, the human clay figures who are occupying all the positions in these marble institutions are more than delighted to put their own careers and financial success ahead of the health and accountable functioning of their government. If they oppose the health of the voters, why should they feel any different about the voters’ government?
We are watching the astonishingly rapid deterioration, rather disappearance, of our so-called institutions, and our essential faith in them. We are in a new era. One in which it has to be understood that it is people, not institutions, who we are left to rely on. And we the people had better wake up to what is happening.