Right now America is in the midst of several crises at the same time. That’s bad enough, but if this country, the government, and the people, don’t, collectively, find the ways to reverse the dangerous course that we all are on, and starting right now, we will almost certainly experience a national meltdown.
What’s the difference between a crisis and a national meltdown? A crisis is commonly defined as “a condition of instability or danger, as in social, economic, political, or international affairs.” A meltdown, on the other hand, “is a rapidly developing breakdown or collapse of an entity, in this case, our country.
Here’s what’s happening:
The Covid-19 pandemic: This deadly virus came out of nowhere and hit America in early January 2020. After our sleeping government, the Trump White House and Congress, finally woke up, it had already begun to spread across the country. The national lockdown mandated by Trump and governors lasted a few months. Now all the states are reopening their businesses and other services; some in a well-planned step-by-step process and others in a reckless and dangerous manner.
Nationwide protests: America’s smoldering societal fire, and the terrible, ongoing police brutality against African Americans erupted into a blazing fire with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He died at the hands of a white officer who knelt on his neck and throat until he no longer could breathe.
We then saw these massive protests break out all over America with many thousands of African Americans, together with a great many White Americans, showing their rage at police departments.
Most of these demonstrations have been peaceful, but at some, there have been outside groups that initiated acts of violence, looted businesses, and burned down buildings. Mr. Trump and his associates have, as would be expected, blamed liberals and ANTFA for this violence. In one of the most despicable actions by an American president, he had the Secret Service, and some of the military, clear the area just in front of the White House of protesters using tear gas and rubber bullets. He did this so that he and his cronies could walk safely to a nearby church where he made a photo op, that showed him holding up a Bible.
I almost gagged when I saw this, gross, hypocritical performance.
The specter of the U.S. military hangs over America. Trump has threatened to send the military into various states. He doesn’t understand that this must only be done in very extreme situations that are getting out of control. Military leaders have stated that they do not want to do this. But, if Trump forces them to, I don’t think they would refuse to follow his order.
We continue to see Trump’s complete lack of presidential leadership. He is, not at all bothered by the continuing deaths of Americans, but is concentrating on his reelection campaign by jump-starting his rallies. He says virtually nothing about the pandemic, he is clearly disinterested. He continues to refuse to wear a mask, setting a terrible example for Americans.
Trump is contributing to the escalation of this virus by conducting these campaign rallies in which thousands of his followers are not wearing masks and sitting right next to each other. Just the other day he held a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and today, June 23, in Phoenix, Arizona. He is going to hold one rally after another and what will he accomplish? Infecting more and more of his supporters! This is pure madness.
We have a Republican-controlled Congress, caught up in a state of mental paralysis. Republicans are doing little to nothing to deal with these crises. They just sit there raking in their $174,000 annual salaries. They could care less about their fellow Americans who are depleting their savings and depending on food pantries to feed their families. They and their master, Trump, are like a deadly virus that has infected the body of America with their disdain for the rule of law, their lies, and immoral conduct.
So, how are we going to find the way out of this great dilemma and bring an end to these crises? That’s not going to happen if this nation and its people remain on their current course. It is like a road leading to nowhere.
We need to reverse this course and head in a new direction. But how? We have to get all sides involved on the same page, talking to each other about how these crises can be brought to an end. And, above all, we need to stop listening to Trump and his divisive messages. Shut him off, shut him down, and listen and work with the scientific community.
If we take these and other positive measures, we will reverse the dangerous course that we are taking. If we don’t and continue down the road we are on, we will be heading straight into a national meltdown.
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