They’re dangerous—all of them. Trump, his collaborator, Mitch McConnell, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and a caucus of red state governors with their small-minded, ineffectual leadership that ironically will likely end up killing people who voted for them.
Aren’t you sick of it: the relentless cruelty; the obsession with wanting to deny Americans healthcare even in the midsts of a raging pandemic? The bickering and snide remarks; the insensitivity and weakness of the President of the United States. Listen to a Republican trying to defend the Trump administration and you might find yourself scratching your head and wondering if they’re for real, if there really are people who just don’t give a shit about others.
Their commitment to false narratives. The coldhearted and odious way they bend the truth in support of a sociopath. Pence’s obvious tone of insincerity and lack of integrity. McConnell’s missing humanity. Their never-ending attacks on the poor, the sick, the people who pick our produce, wash dishes in restaurants, care for the elderly in nursing homes—the immigrants he so desperately needs everyone to hate.
I’m exhausted by all of them. I’m worn out by stupidity. I’m fed up with the meanness permeating their view of America. Their shameless defense of hurting the helpless, kicking the disadvantaged in the nuts, making life harder for immigrants. I am fatigued by their arguments. I am weary of their cruelty and the way they try to justify their indifference—the missing sympathy and kindness that should come from living in a free society.
I am tired of the press having to give an ounce of credibility to our soulless president and the party he leads. That they still try to present his arguments in the spirit of being newsworthy. As if what Trump says actually contains something of value to the nation he has mismanaged from the day he took office. As if his flip flopping commentary, his vagaries, his ill-tempered attacks on those who out perform him are useful in a time of crisis.
I don’t blame the press. They are in the midsts of a hurricane of fact-less blather. A tsunami of misinformation. They have been on the front lines of this assault on truth, this campaign to short circuit reason, make us doubt what we see and hear, question what we know to be true. They have been overwhelmed, battered by lies, caught in the conundrum of informing a sixty/forty America.
One can argue that the office of President is an institution that must be respected. I quit that argument the day Trump took office and he has justified that decision every day since then. The day after his election to office I wore a pin that said “Not My President” and have never wavered from that opinion. He does not speak for me. He does not represent me. He does not lead me. Just the opposite. He appalls me. He makes my skin crawl and soul shrivel whenever I hear his voice or see his face.
Political arguments aside, I expect more from a leader. I expect more from the man in charge. I don’t respect people who can’t accept responsibility for their actions. I am offended by cheaters and people who violate my trust. I have no tolerance for petty vindictiveness and schoolyard bullying. I taught my own children the value of telling the truth and the President of the United States is teaching millions of adults to lie.
I have never cared for Republicans, simply seen them as a necessary evil in our two party system. I never agreed with most of what they used to stand for, but I could accept their right to an opinion different from my own. Yet underneath their favoring of small government with no regulations and their right to selfishly profit no matter the cost to others or the planet, they seemed to be missing important “people” qualities like compassion, kindness and generosity.
But this version of the Republican Party, the party of Trump, is even more venal. This iteration of Republican politics reeks of obsessive cruelty. Seems driven by lack of conscience. Appears bloated with bigotry and meanness. They champion an anti-science, anti-intellectual world that bears no resemblance to the twenty-first century. Their policies are out of step with the majority of Americans.
Worse yet, they have turned their backs on democracy, divided America into a country of winners and losers, red states and blue states. They have morphed into a political party so busy genuflecting at the feet of their handlers—be they Russian or American oligarchs—they are unable to recognize the toll it’s taking on the rest of us. Either that or they just don’t give a shit. I am exhausted by all of them.