Donald Trump: He will be president​

Welcome to America, a corporate entity. After a too long and too vile campaign for the presidency, we find ourselves in the exact industrial-military complex which Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower warned against in his farewell address in 1961,

Even in the fog of his many lies (or more politically correct, post-truths), Donald Trump played brilliantly to the fact that the American political system as it has evolved since at least the late 20th century has left virtually all Americans, except the very rich and the white upper class, economically more fragile.

During the 60-plus years since, Democrats and Republicans alike have failed to address the changes that globalization, technological advances and disastrous wars were making in American lives. All "the cans in the road" were just kicked along hoping that someone else would would have the political will to deal with them. As we were searching for someone or something to make it better, Donald Trump entered the political arena. People wanted to believe his rhetoric repeatedly spoken that he and only he could and would fix it ... "fast, very fast, folks!"

And enough voted for him to get him over the needed 270 electoral votes; in that process the votes of almost 3 million other Americans were made null and void. Those who voted for him believed that despite his racist, bigoted, vindictive, xenophobic and sexist views, Trump is the person best able to represent America in today's world. The political and social atmosphere at home is so very much like that which prevailed in Germany in the '30s. We would do well to humbly remember that the Germans elected Hitler also.

Trump did not invent any of the odious ways of being in and seeing the world. They were all there; what he did do was to bring them into the open. That in and of itself could be a good thing if we had a national dialogue that let us talk to each other ... that let us hear other peoples' experiences. But what Trump did, with the aid of a deaf citizenry and a disemboweled media, was to anoint hateful words and behaviors as normal, and encourage their use as a tool to flog, verbally and/or physically, anyone who dared to disagree with his views. Too bad more of us did not heed Maya Angelou's encouragement to "listen to people when they tell you who they are" before we voted.

That Trump embodies all those perverse characteristics is not my real personal fear of his presidency. Each of us on our own can fight any such tendencies in ourselves. My fear is that this man, with the maturity and impulse control of a 5-year-old, will use the power of the office for his own self-interests rather than for the nation's interests. All the rails that keep excess power at bay in a democracy, the checks and balances so carefully written into the Constitution, are all in Trump's corner. Democrats essentially have no congressional leadership at the top and have inadequate numbers to effectively enact or oppose any legislation. Republicans in the 114th Congress were successful in denying President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court in spite of the fact that Judge Garland had been vetted favorably by bipartisan voters in the past, so the Supreme Court is Trump's for the taking. The Republican congressional members who have spoken in opposition to Trump have been disparaged and others appear to be falling in line, apparently cowed or placated by unknown tactics. The fourth rail, traditional media sources, has been so hollowed out by corporate takeovers, or in the case of public media by severe funding cuts, that investigative reporting free from outside constraints is limited. Trump's unbridled presidency has the power to fundamentally change American democracy in ways that disregard constitutional law and the amendments enacted to enable the nation to work toward a more perfect union for all Americans.

Nothing Trump or his cabinet nominees have said or done since the election suggests that he is capable of either moderation or humility, both of which are essential to good and just governance. Neither has Trump given any signs that he is capable of providing the leadership role for the world that has been part and parcel of the heavy mantle that American presidents have worn for over 100 years.

While the next administration tries to get it right, I intend to do all that is legally within my power to stand with all Americans, and with those who want to be Americans, who are harmed by hateful speech, bigotry and laws that disenfranchise their rights; rights that are either God-given or guaranteed by current American law. Opposition to tyranny is patriotism. History is replete with examples of the power of right action. I hope that we will stand up for each.

When governments deprive one group of citizens of lawful rights, we are all diminished, and such action never stops with one group. Divide and conquer is an especially effective tool of war. I especially hope that we can learn to hear what others who may disagree with us are saying and that they will extend the same civility to us, so that together we can once again remember that we all want to participate in the American promise.

I really dislike being wrong, but I am praying fervently that my assessment of a Trump presidency is so, so wrong. I am praying that at the end of the next four years I will be able to say President Trump out loud without experiencing a jolt to my brain, heart and soul.

Patricia W. Frey
Dagsboro