I’m a senior. A very senior senior.
One of the constants in life has always been the stability of my country. My own life might include some twists, turns and upsets.
But, over the long haul, my homeland was secure. Safe. Stable. Many thousands of our brothers and sisters fought and died to assure that security. That stability.
Then – POW!!!
Stability is threatened, to be replaced with loud noises and divisiveness. Fractures of governing bodies. Attacks on those who have differing views. Institutional instability. An uncertain future.
For the first time in my life, I fear for that future. The uninterrupted continuity of our nation. The consistent presence. The assurance of peace. The guarantee of liberties for all. These and more are under attack by some in our society. Inside our own government.
Adding to that fear is the fact the current dangers to our mutual future are compounded daily. In courtrooms. In halls of governance. In the foundations of our national existence.
Some in our political system want to tear down the very government they were elected to serve. They want to destroy our institutions – our way of life. From local school boards to the halls of Congress.
They offer no hope for the future. They bring forward no plans for a better society. They offer nothing but a desire to disrupt and destroy.
The most recent example of this cancer is the ousting of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. A small group – hardly more than a dozen – hollered and screamed until they got what they wanted. To get rid of McCarthy. Put to a “no confidence†vote, minority Democrats decided to go along.
But – what now?
The office of Speaker is vacant. The miscreants have nothing to offer in the way of an acceptable replacement who can get the 218 votes necessary to win the Speakership.. They destroyed their target but with no plan for the next step – replacing McCarthy.
Now, the House can’t conduct business. No legislation can be voted upon. Members are leaderless. No one who currently covets the job appears to have the ability to garner the minimum votes to win an election for Speaker. Death and destruction with no plan to rebuild or replace.
Those behind McCarthy’s ouster had only that task in mind. They offered nothing more than getting rid of their political target. It will be up to others to repair the damage.
Remember, McCarthy only got the job after 15 votes of the House and only after selling his soul to the devil to gain the favor of the 40 or so members of the far right cabal.
There is an irony here. That cabal that helped him get the speakership was prominent in McCarthy losing the job. That’s because the House voted last year to allow just a single, formal request from the floor to declare the Office of Speaker vacant, to be followed by an election to fill the vacancy. To become Speaker, McCarthy agreed to that change.
Historically, the Republican Party, as we’ve known it, no longer exists. Oh, you’ll face a ballot, a year from now, that’ll have Republican candidates. There’ll be Republican names alright.
But, once the successful Republicans get to the banks of the Potomac, will they join the political violence we’re now witnessing? Is there anything Republican about the Boeberts, Taylor-Greens, the Biggs or the rest of the mob? If you’re a Republican, do they represent your Republican values?
What we’re witnessing now is only the beginning. The battle in the House is only the initial act. The misplaced, ignorant anger that’s been percolating in the GOP for a couple of decades is building to a full head of steam.
We will see it’s effects in other outbreaks. And, there will be other outbreaks. You can bet the farm.
The ‘Pied Piper’ that is Donald Trump will continue to lead the way to more disruptions and violence. Standing on a street corner or from a jail cell, he’ll continue to have 20 or 30 million followers, eager to tear down our society – our government – or whatever other target he chooses.
All of this makes me fearful for the survival of our society and governance as we know it. As we’ve lived it.
We will survive the continued onslaught. Our institutions will remain. We will continue to have a position in world leadership. We will survive.
But, at what cost? And, what will our future look like? Certainly not the future millions and millions of us thought it would be. The predictability has been redirected.
To what?