In a week that saw Donald Trump installed as the 47th president of the United States, some say that what is happening is what they voted for. So far, it certainly hasn’t lowered the price of eggs.
Others believe that these first few days of this administration are indicative of what the coming months will hold: chaos, havoc, and danger. All of us need to brace ourselves, and perhaps follow the example this week set by four brave women.
It should be noted that it took Adolf Hitler only 53 days to dismantle German democracy; a fact pointed out by several national news organizations recently. But more important, American’s should realize that when Hitler set about destroying a constitutional republic — he did it through constitutional means.
Over the past several years, in more than one Ark Valley Voice Our Voice opinion piece, we have continued to point this out. In fact, here is the fascist primer we wrote back in 2020 about Trump’s threat to democracy. Readers might want to bookmark it for rereading:
Among Trump’s first acts this week: the pardoning of more than 1,500 (608 of them charged with assault of police officers) who in 2021 stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. This is nothing less than an assault on the Rule of Law.
But this is hardly the only executive order and action this week. Rational Americans need to look past the bluster and self-interest, past the verbal assaults from whatever happens to be the passing thought in his head, past the culture war claims and rambling rhetoric, past the self-serving victimhood (rich, given he’s made billions just since the November, 2024 election) to what he is actually doing.
Among his steps this week: a brazen attempt to supersede the 14th Amendment, that guarantees all of us born on U.S. soil to be U.S. citizens. His executive order has been stayed in a U.S. court — for now.
A bill introduced in the U.S. House that would amend the 22nd Amendment that limits a president to two terms: because of course Trump is so great that he needs more time to cement his legacy.
This morning we learned that overnight, he purged a dozen federal, independent Inspectors General, circumventing federal rules. It is their job as federal watchdogs to ensure that the Rule of Law is upheld, that federal agencies are acting lawfully and aren’t misusing authority or taxpayer money. Apparently Trump now wants them to be completely loyal to him.
Among the most disturbing is his declaration of a national emergency on the southern border, activating thousands of armed, active duty U.S. troops to the border — not to aid and rescue as is their mission when on U.S. soil, but to enforce and police citizens and migrants alike — which is NOT a legal military action within our country’s borders.
Our Voice: Believe Him, No Matter What Crazy Thing He Says, He Means It
Women Again Leading the Way
Democracies — while they may have strong frameworks, are fragile — held aloft by the winds of freedom and fairness, as well as human civility and a shared commitment to facts.
Often the female sex exhibits more courage adhering to these tenets than the men around them. Perhaps because it is the women who fight for a civilized world – and often have to clean up the mess created by men. This week Our Voice celebrates four women who all appear to have more of “a certain part of the male anatomy” than most of the men around Trump:
Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde — who used a prayer at the end of her remarks during the National Prayer service in the National Cathedral to call upon Trump to have mercy on those who are frightened because of his actions. It was a completely Christian appeal, delivered in a manner that has centuries-worth of historic precedent.
As a thoughtful piece by Elizabeth Bruenig this week in The Atlantic reminds us “Exhortations for mercy are never easy for the powerful to hear.” Budde reminded him of “the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals.”
But Trump has viciously attacked her on social media, again claiming victimhood and demanding that she, God’s bishop, apologize to him.
Senator Lisa Murkowski (I – Alaska) and Senator Susan Collins (R – Maine) — who each refused to cave to intense pressure from Trump to vote to appoint Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. Both had their own reasons, but they amounted to a lack of character (womanizing, drinking, and bigotry) and experience (having mishandled small assignments and without the leadership record) necessary to do the job.
They were joined by the conservative-principled Mitch McConnell, but no other Republicans from the Senate Republican majority was brave enough to stand with these three. This caused newly installed Vice President J.D. Vance to vote to break the tie and enforce Trump’s will.
Pam Hemphill — a January 6 defendant, a grandmother who served 60 days in jail, and is serving a three-year probation for going with the MAGA mob into the U.S. Capitol that day, has refused to accept Trump’s blanket pardon.
“It would be a slap in the face to Capitol Police offers and the Rule of Law,” she explained. “It was not a peaceful protest, it was an insurrection.”
Hemphill said two occurrences shook her free from what she describes as “the MAGA cult”. She spent some time with a therapists who asked her if she realized she wasn’t a victim — that she was a volunteer. That, she says, woke her up.
Then, she began to realize that the MAGA group was fueled by lies, that they were rejecting facts. “In a cult you get gaslighted so much … they’ve been given a green light to be violent. Any peaceful protest they are going to be out there, and [peaceful protestors] need to be careful. What Trump is doing is turning the clock back on civil rights.”
Having courage in the face of the headwinds against democracy right now is a radical, but necessary act. Perhaps more people should try it.
This post was originally published on here
