This year is the 250th anniversary of the founding of this country and should be one of celebration and pride. Instead, Trump and his MAGA sycophants continue to wreak shame upon the United States and are doing everything in their power to destroy the very foundation upon which this country was established. On this day 5 years ago, Trump and his followers tried to mount what is nothing short of a coup for the first time in the history of this country in order to stay in power, completely obliterating the democratic ‘peaceful transfer of power’ which has been the hallmark of this country since its founding.
Just for a moment, reflect on the preamble to the United States Constitution. It reads, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The simple fact is that Trump and his sycophantic circus do not give a plug nickel about what ‘We the People of the United States” want or need. The majority of people want the Epstein files released – hasn’t yet happened. The majority of American people do not want to invade and go to war with other countries – doesn’t matter. The majority of Americans are deeply concerned about the cost of medical care and medical insurance – the Trump administration doesn’t care. The majority of Americans do not want non-violent, immigrants torn from their families and deported simply because they are not white. And the Republican-led Congress which is supposed to represent and be the voice of ‘We the People’ have just become supplicants to Trump.
The only people who can possibly believe we are in the process of forming ‘a more perfect Union’ are the white, Christian nationalists whose idea of a perfect union is to convert the United States into a theocratic, Christian state in which white people are the privileged class. The fact is, the United States is drifting further and further away from anything resembling ‘a more perfect Union’ as envisioned by the nation’s founders.
The phrase, “establish Justice” has become a joke. The president is a convicted felon who hands out pardons like lollipops to people who support him regardless of the crimes they have committed and uses the power of the government to go after his real or perceived enemies and critics. ‘Justice’ has nothing to do with any of it.
Although the government is supposed to ‘provide for the common defence,’ it is clear that Trump only cares about helping and defending Republican led states. He routinely withholds disaster relief funds from Democrat-led states. There is no ‘common’ in Trump world – it is clearly ‘us and them.’ The same is true for promoting ‘the general Welfare.’ The only welfare Trump cares about is his personal welfare and the welfare of those who support him – all others be damned.
Perhaps nothing is under attack more than the phrase “secure the Blessings of Liberty.” Hard won rights for American citizens are being stripped away on an almost daily basis. Trump sues and threatens media outlets and journalists who criticize him in direct violation of the protections under the First Amendment. Voter suppression laws are being enacted wholesale around the country. Laws limiting the rights to abortion, transgender people and LQBTQ people are becoming commonplace. The rights of unions are being stripped away. Protections for non-white people against unreasonable search and seizure have been eviscerated because of the Supreme Court ruling resulting in ‘Kavanaugh stops.’ Anyone who believes they have more rights now than they did when Trump took office is clearly not paying attention.
In short, on this day of January 6th when we should be celebrating the 250th birthday of this country and things like the preamble to the Constitution, we look back at the attempted coup five years ago and when we read the preamble to the Constitution now, it is apparent how far we have fallen. It is not a time to celebrate. It is a time to stand up and fight for the promises that were made and believed in when this country was founded.
