Editor, The Beacon:
More than 72 million Americans voted for Donald Trump to be our 47th president. We don’t know if they voted more for him, or if they voted more against Kamala Harris. Perhaps they were hit with the “Stupid Stick” while sleeping. Each probably had their own reasoning.
Voting for a woman of color is challenging for a good portion of white male America. The clear message, however, was that change was necessary, and that Trump could provide it. That change will now challenge our nation’s institutions and Constitution.
Trump’s financial backer Elon Musk has been promised by Trump to lead a new Cabinet post, the “Department of Government Efficiency.” The stated purpose is to radically slash what they call our “federal bureaucracy” to the tune of trillions of dollars. Social Security may be included. This could be necessary, since large corporations would again have their taxes reduced.
Each of our Cabinet posts has a clear purpose. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) makes sure that what we consume is tested and safe. Our Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ensures that corporations do not poison the air we breathe and water we drink. The list goes on.
Each agency was created because of public need and corporate malfeasance. Each of these “bureaucracies” could be defunded at Mr. Musk’s whim.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been promised the Health and Human Services (HHS) Cabinet post. Medicare, Medicaid and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) would be under his supervision. This to a man who has questioned the efficacy of vaccines and fluoride in our water. Voodoo health care and premium increases loom on the horizon.
Having campaigned on a platform of revenge and retribution, with pending criminal charges, the Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) will most likely be used for vindictive purposes.
Cutting wasteful spending is an issue that most of us would agree on. But political partisanship, not financial acumen, will become the guiding criteria.
Climate change will become heresy. Project 2025 (Google it) is preparing to gut the environmental, legal and safety protections we currently have. Large multinational corporations (think Space X, Tesla, X, Cryptocurrency) would be free of any governmental constraints in pursuit of their profits and political ambitions.
Very likely, these issues did not enter into the minds of most Trump voters. Change probably meant lower grocery and gas prices, and affordable mortgage rates. Though the president controls neither, he gets the credit or blame.
The power of social media and Fox cable “news” was significant in shaping political perceptions as well as spreading misconceptions. Few are savvy to the manipulative algorithms used on the internet to shape opinions.
Many Trumpers have fallen victim to the “Jonestown Kool-Aid” cult (Google it), and a disturbing number are ignorant of our own history and civics. To elect someone with crippling moral and psychological defects speaks to the vulnerability and desperation of half our nation.
Misogyny and racism were the silent partners on the Trump ticket. However, it also suggests that the Democratic Party has failed to understand some of the issues important to working-class Americans.
Immigration policy is the responsibility of our Congress, not the president. Yet how many blame Biden and Harris for an “uncontrolled border”?
We are gorging social media and rarely read books (though banning them is in vogue in Florida). We watch an array of podcasts, but can’t tell news from opinion. When we switch from print media to electronic, how many of us can discern a Russian troll posting?
Too many preachers are preaching politics under the guise of religion, and ignoring how the Ten Commandments should relate to our conduct and our candidates.
I admit that I am embarrassed to be an American if I travel overseas today. And I am ashamed of what our country has become. With all three branches of our federal government soon firmly to be in MAGA control, we face a very perilous future.
When asked if we have a monarchy or republic, Benjamin Franklin replied “A Republic … if we can keep it.” We stand at this crossroad now.
Chuck Oakwood
DeLand
