WESTMINSTER WEST — Let's be honest: the human touch corrupts all political systems to one degree or another.
Take communism, defined as a communal form of governance and ownership, which results in a classless society of equals. Sounds great, in theory.
Contrast that with the infamous reign of Stalin, whose form of communism resulted in the bloodbath executions, forced labor, and starvation of millions of Russians - quite a stark contrast to Marx's Communist Manifesto.
Our form of government, a democratic republic (or, as some prefer, representative democracy or just democracy) has experienced more of a slow-boil type of corruption: from the post–Civil War travesties of the Reconstruction/Gilded Age and Jim Crow eras to the 20th-century ravages of increasing income inequality.
Economist Paul Krugman coined this income inequality “the Great Divergence,” the acceleration of which started in the 1970s and continues to this day.
And after this last bruiser of a month, how can anyone deny that the bombed-out, internal war-torn state of our government is in tatters?
In reality, it is now closer to an oligarchy than any form of real democracy. The latest avalanche of big money in politics, via the Supreme Court's decision on the Citizens United case, has slammed the door shut for even the most modest influence - or, say, for anyone who falls below the top 10 percent of the wealthiest among us.
The three branches of our system are so rabidly partisan that the hands of democracy have been inextricably tied in all but the most local forms of government.
It makes me weep, and it makes me angry.
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The three branches of the United States government have come to resemble a perverted and unholy trinity:
1. The judicial branch: With the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh comes yet another slap in the face to every woman and girl in America who has ever suffered the humiliation and horror of sexual domination, in all of its forms. I have been such a victim 10 times throughout my life, from annoying humiliations to life-threatening attacks.
The most awful part of my story is that it's such a common one. As a result of talking to women of my generation and the generations before and after me, I've concluded that the range and frequency of my experiences are pretty much the norm for a woman in today's America.
The accusations and taunts during the Dr. Anita Hill hearings, 27 years ago, were echoed again and again during Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's hearing. Except this time around, even the president joined in the mocking cruelties - no surprise there.
The Republican party once again sold its soul to the devil of power in order to secure a majority of ultra-right Federalists on the highest court in the land. At what cost? I hope to heaven a high, long-lasting one.
2. The legislative branch: Mitch McConnell and his army of take-no-prisoners legislators have gutted our democracy. Their cynical refusal to even allow preliminary hearings on Obama's pick of Judge Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court defied all decency.
They stole that important seat, and we will all pay for that brazen theft. It will greatly harm the people and environment of our country for generations to come.
I could write pages about the ways the Republicans have aided and abetted the crazed and downright illegal actions of Donald Trump. I fervently hope that the Republicans will get trounced in the 2018 elections and that, somehow, this branch will find its way back to some semblance of bipartisanship so legislators can actually address the country's many problems.
3. The executive branch: Make no mistake, the current president of the United States is a thug on every and all levels: A man who has been credibly accused of multiple incidents of sexual harassment and assault. A man whose racist, shady, and illegal business dealings would have sent most people straight to jail.
Ah, and let's not forget the walls-are-closing-in Russia scandal.
There's a reason why Trump seems to have an affinity for dictators like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un - he longs to belong to their club.
Trump is a man of many breathtakingly atrocious lows, yet the Republicans continue to stand by their creep. And if that isn't enough, some fear that he's seriously demented.
The president has repeatedly opened the hatch by giving the green light to misogynist and racist and murderous dictator rats throughout the world, and they are emerging from the rotten bilge of their respective ships.
The man is a walking destructo, a swamp creature.
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The most haunting and chilling part of these times are Trump's followers. They roar with approval every time he praises himself, mocks an adversary, or calls out anyone who disagrees with him as unpatriotic.
If Trump embodies patriotism, then Oscar Wilde hit the nail on the head when he said “Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious.” When I watch the president's rallies on TV, I feel like I'm watching a cult of glazed-eyed converts who don't have a clue as to what this monster and his administration are doing to them, to our country, and to the world.
Are they so bitter about their lives that they can't see the destruction that's right before them?
Do they really admire the qualities of narcissism, greed, ignorance, meanness, and corruption?
Is Trump the person they want their children and grandchildren to emulate?
If so, and their numbers grow, the United States is in a deep moral crisis that portends a terrible future for our country.
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These last two years have been both a day-mare and nightmare. In normal times, Trump would have been impeached long ago, but the Republicans visibly cling to him yet do their wincing behind closed doors.
I am one of many who turn their hopes to Robert Mueller's investigation and believe it will reveal such corruption - and, yes, treason - that even the Republicans will abandon the Trump yacht and throw Captain Vicious overboard. Even in the best-case scenario, it would leave our country shaking and take decades to reverse course and regain the trust of other nations.
In some ways, our country has such a sordid history, and this is just another ugly chapter; two of many examples include slavery and the brutal, near-destruction of Native Americans.
Yet, in other ways we are capable of such rich generosity and good will.
I have to believe that our country will weather these dark days and that we will learn from these turbulent times so we can, once again, serve as one of many beacons of hope in our world.
We cannot survive without hope.