When I look at the last seven years and
how our country seemed to get more divided than any time since the Civil War,
it's easy to conclude that President Trump is the reason it
occurred. From the moment he declared war on the corruption in D.C.,
he became a target of all those entrenched power brokers who have been able to
hide their venal activities from an unsuspecting public. Trump became the
loudest whistleblower in history when he talked about draining the swamp that
had been operating like an organized crime family for generations. In
order for a Mafia-like mob to operate effectively, it must keep its nefarious
pursuits from public exposure. Hence, President Trump had to be
destroyed!
Like most people, when I was growing up, I
heard the phrase “no one is above the law” many times. It was a saying that
provided a definition of what justice means. If someone punched you
in the nose without provocation, you were confident that you could call a cop
and have the puncher arrested. But suppose the ruffian was related to the
police chief or the mayor? Would his chances of conviction for assault be
the same as if he were the son of the local electrician or
plumber? Nepotism and other forms of favoritism seem to be part of the DNA
in all of us. We want to protect our own, so we'll use whatever resources
we have to keep them out of trouble.
We can apply that reasoning to national
politics as well. Once upon a time, if politicians were caught in a
corruption probe, they would quickly resign their offices and attempt to hide
from the embarrassing publicity, while praying that they would not go to
jail. In addition, when public officials were exposed as incompetent,
reckless, or negligent in the performance of duty, they'd step down amid a
swirling tide of public outrage. Not anymore! These days, it takes a
lot more than bribery, mismanagement, or mendacity during congressional
hearings to remove these reprobates from office. It seems as though we've
arrived at a time in which those in power have rigged the system to keep from
being penalized for their crimes. They'll destroy anyone who threatens
their comfortable position at the top of the crooked food chain.
The foregoing is reminiscent of notorious
racketeers, who would do anything to keep from being exposed. If you were
a witness to a crime by some hoodlum, with ties to organized crime, your
chances of making it to a courtroom with your testimony were slim to
none. Anyone who endangered the criminal enterprise would suddenly
disappear or have a tragic “accident.” Although those tactics may have
also been used in cases of government corruption, these days, there are other
tactics that are more subtle but just as effective in silencing the
conscientious citizen. If you're viewed as a threat to the
established order, you might be labeled a racist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, or
some other “ist” or “phobe.” Even if you're a U.S. senator (Josh Hawley), you
may have your home surrounded by a vicious mob in the middle of the night, or
you (Senator Rand Paul) and your wife may need police protection to leave a
gathering at the White House.
In addition, if you're a Republican who
posts on social media, you're very likely to be attacked by left-wing posters
who will attempt to scare you by destroying your character online, even going
so far as to call your employer and demand that you be fired for having the
audacity to post opinions outside left-wing orthodoxy. If you are a
conservative notable with a large following on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube,
etc., your views will be considered “inappropriate” by the tech giants who have
morphed into tyrannical oligarchs with the power to muzzle your every thought.
All of the foregoing seems to be
indicative of the systemic corruption in the political establishment that runs
this country like an organized crime empire. The FBI, which was the
unchallenged enemy of the gangsters that terrorized large segments of our
country, appears to have become complicit in the crooked machinations of our
government. In the latest display of contemptible impudence, FBI Director
Christopher Wray refused to hand over unclassified documents to Congress for
their lawful probe into corruption by the Biden Administration. When the
federal agency with the responsibility to investigate criminal behavior becomes
unlawful, is anyone safe?
Meanwhile, we see numerous attempts by
highly placed people to keep Donald Trump on the defensive against an
unprecedented assault from phony investigations. That’s a sure sign that they
want to divert the public's attention from their despicable behavior. Why
did so many insiders conspire to keep an outsider from pushing the curtain
aside and looking inside the tent? Is it possible that the level of corruption
is so immense that if uncovered, elected officials from coast to coast could
end up wearing orange jumpsuits? Is it unfathomable to believe that top
officials in our government have created an alliance with corporate giants and
media moguls to make exposure impossible? What they did, and continue to
do, to Trump is a warning to all others who would dare attempt to drain the
swamp that operates in perpetuity on the Potomac.
