Sam Smith – I covered my first Washington story back in 1957 and can’t think of a time when it was harder to write about what was happening to our nation than these days. Political writers don’t have much power; they just hope that those who do will catch on to their ideas and information and do something about it.
But who is there these days ready to act on good ideas? Certainly not Republicans. Even though many have a history far more rational from that of Donald Trump they are clearly intimidated by him far more than any majority in the past. Worse, the Democratic Party, also suffering from intimidation, has failed in many of the basics of a classic effective minority. I can’t think of a time when a minority bunch of Democrats has been so quiet and timid.
And for someone who grew up in the days of the civil rights, women and environmental movements, I also find the lack of popular protest, especially among the young, stunning.
I was an anthropology major in college and so, more than your typical reporter, tend to look for cultural change at a time like this when so few of our leaders are even attempting to be determined as such. From a cultural standpoint, I think of America as starting its downward voyage during the Reagan years and reaching a new low when the richest man in the country, without an ounce of legal justification, becomes effectively our co-president. And he is there thanks to the dumbest president in our history.
This may be our grimmest time ever. Not since the Civil War have so many of our traditional values been decimated and so few have risen to fight this change. The answer is not just get rid of Trump but join with others to restore our real America.
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