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Trump administration is a menace to the Republic

Melvin B. Miller
Trump administration is a menace to the Republic
“To heck with white supremacy! We want our Obamacare back!” (Photo: Dan Drew)

Generations ago, African American elders opined that the continued racial hostility in the nation could destroy the spirit of America. Ministers and political leaders, nonetheless, advised blacks to embrace the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence — “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Now racial hostility has led to the election of Donald Trump and put him in position to permit Vladimir Putin to damage the U.S. voting process.

Our elders were also confident that the legal status of African Americans would be secured by the Constitution of the United States, when issues of discrimination were presented by competent counsel. Those advocating white supremacy have always maintained a significant political presence in the country. Over the years, wealthy white politicians have been able to convince impoverished white sharecroppers and working-class whites that they embraced them as brothers and would advocate for their interests. Blacks were identified as hostile and inferior to them.

Enough whites living in the states of the Confederacy believed this perspective strongly enough to sacrifice their lives in the Civil War to assure that the great plantation owners have the slave labor required to farm their lands. And, much later, when Barack Obama, a black president, pushed for passage of the Affordable Care Act to provide medical attention for all the poor and the working class, poor whites responded favorably to the entreaties of the plutocrats to condemn so-called Obamacare.

But then people fell sick and 20 million Americans now have medical insurance for the first time. Most are white because the number of poor whites is almost three times the number of blacks in that category. Still, many whites did not connect the dots to perceive the potential benefits of coalescing with blacks. Their enslavement by the concept of white supremacy had become a significant aspect of their identity.

Along came Donald Trump, a wealthy marketing expert and self-promoter, who was able to identify this weakness in white society. He immediately saw that low-income whites would find the presence of a black president inconsistent with their concept of white supremacy. In fact, Obama’s ability to attain the presidency without the backing of a wealthy father was a bit humiliating to Trump who always enjoyed the benefits of white privilege. As head of the birther movement, Trump became a political leader himself.

Trump ran a tasteless campaign for president with a candidacy designed to mobilize the white underclass, the people who have felt forgotten. Those who expect more from a president have had to endure Trump’s fusillade of lies. His unconventional manner appeals to his base. However, one aspect of Trump’s policy should disturb every American. He is using the presidency to enhance his business wealth, perhaps at the expense of the interests of the country.

Trump has refused to reveal his tax returns, a normal practice for past presidents. There is some concern about his business relations in Russia, because Trump seems to be willing to sacrifice the U.S. role as a world leader in deference to Vladimir Putin, the Russian oligarch. Now the evidence is irrefutable that Putin directed digital hacking of computers in the U.S. to disrupt the 2016 voting process. This is tantamount to an attack on the nation and Trump has taken no retaliatory action.

Are Americans of European heritage aware that all of their former homelands now provide universal health care? Is their objective in opposing health care for all to deny service to blacks or those of modest means? Do those Americans remember any of the conflict and hostility with Russia since the end of World War II?

Arise fellow patriots, the Republic is imperiled!!!