We need to congratulate President Trump on draining the swamp.
Well, we should, if only he hadn't filled it back up with toxic sludge.
I have never seen such corruption, graft and sheer arrogance as I am seeing now.
Official after official in the administration are committing crimes of arrogant corruption, things that would ruin most other people. But not these people. They survive and many of them thrive. They travel in luxury on the taxpayer's dime, they buy expensive office decor, they cozy up to lobbyists, and the Trump family uses its connections to weasel good deals from foreign entities and government, not to better things for the American people, but to enrich themselves.
Who is the politician that Trump admires most? Is it some American figure? How about President Andrew Jackson, he of the Indian massacres and Trail of Tears? No, not even he can rival whom Trump most admires - Vladimir Putin. And it's not because the Putin-led Russia did everything in their power to help elect Donald Trump President. I don't even think it's because they have an incriminating tape of Trump, or can reveal his labyrinth financial connections in their country.
No. I think it's because Putin has become one of the richest men in the world, and did it by virtue of corrupt government connections. I think Trump envies that, and desires it for himself.
Arrogance is not just seen in government corruption and in the accumulation of wealth. It can be seen in the little things as well. How one conducts one's self on public business is another factor. How one treats their own family and friends is a factor. How one looks at checks and balances as mere nuisances can be a factor. Admiring dictators around the world is a danger sign, including their ability to stay in office and squash dissent. How one uses their communications to demeans not only public figures but also private citizens, ia a blaring sign of arrogance.
It should be no surprise that Trump's cabinet officials are trying to get away with corruption, graft and aggrandizement. As unesteemed Communications Director for ten glorious days, Anthony Scaramucci said, "the fish rots from the head". Yeah. Ain't that the truth?
Unfortunately, the arrogance of power is not limited to the national administration. It can fester at any level of government.
It can be in a Mayor who doesn't feel subject to the rules the rest of us are. Who feels like he can use a cell phone in a courtroom where no one else is allowed it, that he can go through a metal detector with it loudly beeping and not have to slow down. Or it can be in a City Councilman driven by a personal vendetta to destroy a volunteer civic organization. Or a City Attorney who callously names volunteers, who have done nothing but donate incredible amounts of time and effort to a good cause, to a civil lawsuit for the sole purpose to bully and intimidate.
Yes, the arrogance of power can show up anywhere. I love our American system, and the checks and balances that hold it in place. But we are in danger of losing it all, and devolving from a democracy to a greed-infused oligarchy.
We must remain vigilant. We must stay informed and become knowledgeable voters. We must insure the existence of a free press, one acutely aware of its role as watchdog.
We're losing, folks. But we still have the power to check them, to slow or stop the arrogance of power.
Let's not waste what we may be our last opportunity to save the democracy we all purport to love.
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