On looking over the various comments I have made about Mr Trump, perhaps I have a very biased view of the current political situation in the United States. To begin with, I have a very simple approach to the general situation. Wherever one goes or looks around the world, there are urban and rural settlements formed by a diverse group of people. These settlements vary in numbers of inhabitants and in scope; but whatever the size of their population or acreage, they all have some form of marketplace together with a variety of housing and eateries, as well as places of entertainment and relaxation. There will be places of worship to accommodate those who have some form of religion in their lives. There will also be places to deal with the sick, the infirm and the elderly, and to cap it off there will be edifices for organising and keeping the peace. The organising will either be under the auspices of a single individual or a group. How those organisers come into being will vary according to the history and evolution of the settlement. As the settlements expand or come together to form larger groups, either by linking some settlements together or amalgamating into a single large settlement, so the organisation of the populace will change and expand.
How certain individuals come to be organisers of the group will depend on the general makeup of the whole group. Organisers will have either imposed themselves as leaders or have been chosen by others within the settlement. It appears inevitable that some form of hierarchy may develop, again depending on the size of the group and the power some organisers, who have become leaders, exert over the settlement. Some leaders may force themselves on the settlement and choose a variety of individuals to help in organising the community. Other leaders and organisers may have been chosen by the population in general or by a select group of members of the settlement.
In short, however the organising takes place, it will require political decisions. Those decisions will declare by what political system the settlements will be organised. Thus the nations of the world have evolved over the centuries, having lived with and tolerated a variety of organisers and systems, into the current conglomeration of countries. We have dictators, both despotic and benevolent, simple monarchies, constitutional monarchies, republics, federal republics and in general, various forms of democracy with varying degrees of sophistication.
Whatever the size and political system concerned, the general population have come to expect certain propositions as central to their lives: access to decent housing, the ability to work, a sustainable living wage, access to markets, access to health care, freedom of movement, freedom of thought, equal treatment and justice. Nations have decided in their own way as to how to provide those general requirements to their citizens. Some do it better than others, some only provide a part of it and some fail to provide it altogether.
In every nation, given the variety of citizens within their borders, there will be differences of opinion as to how to provide those basic requirements. Those holding differing opinions gather into groups expressing views as to how to go about organising the provision of those necessities. Those groups develop preferences for the type and style of organiser they would prefer to have doing the organising. Some people put themselves forward as organisers, and as the saying goes, some people are born great, some people achieve greatness and some people have greatness thrust upon them. In any event, coming to agreement as to how things will be organised can be problematic, and when the problems between groups become overwhelming, there can be a split in the general population as to how to proceed. That split can be anything from a hairline fracture to a crevasse. One can be sorted with a bit of filler and paint, the other can require major excavating, underpinning and rebuilding.
In dealing with a subsidence of that sort, one tries to ascertain the cause of the fissure in order to be sure that the underpinning and rebuilding will hold. The causes of subsidence can have as many opinions as there are surveyors, but on the whole, usually, a consensus is reached. The choice of investigating surveyors can, of course, make a difference. One usually tries to find as impartial a professional as one can to do the work.
So in looking at the current situation in the United States, there appear to be a multiplicity of cracks in the political edifice. There can be little doubt the cause is Donal Trump. That is a fact, not an opinion. ( My bias). The Republican Party representatives in Congress are currently divided as those who still support the outgoing president, those who are dismayed by the actions of the outgoing president and are hesitant in their support, and those who actively wish to see the back of him. The Republican Party at large is roughly divided in the same way, save that there are die hard supporters of the outgoing president, some of whom subscribe to the Republican Party, but many, of no political party, who are merely supporters and acolytes of Mr. Trump. They are the believers, and amongst the believers are many fundamentalists no less committed than Islamic fundamentalists and perhaps just as dangerous. Those citizens are strongly conservative and, on the whole, tend to favour the Republican Party as their organisers of choice. Given that the Republican Party is in such a state of confusion, is it any wonder that they are in a state of paralysis, not knowing which way to turn in order to maintain the structure of the party. At present they do not appear to even have a leader. There are various seniors in the party, but they are finding it difficult to take a stand against the fundamentalist Trump supporters, for fear the whole structure will crumble. So they do not know how to deal with the pressing matter of the impeachment.
The Democratic Party is to some extent fairly united. They have just won elections and are riding high on the prospect of running the Government. There are hairline cracks to be sure, but nothing like the other major party. Their big problem of dealing with the pandemic and consequential economic fallout is more than somewhat the major issue. The impeachment of Mr Trump, although essential, is really a side show, but an important one. The Party will have to bring the country at large towards some form of co-existence, having been vilified during the last four years by Trump and Co.
The real job of unifying the country and bringing it back from the abyss is down to the Republican Party, bringing its splinter groups back to normal, whatever normal is. They must repair their own cracks. It is their job to rebuild and re-educate those lost souls, as Mit Romney said, by telling them the truth and making them believe it. Those people will never listen to President Biden or Vice President Harris, but they might to a real Republican leadership; a leadership that will work hand in hand with the new Administration to show that wayward group they have nothing to fear.
Biden and Harris will of course have to make the effort to get the Republican leadership on side and that is not impossible, at least I choose to believe that. Despite the fears engendered by Frank Shaeffer and others, I still choose to believe.
It would be nice though to paper over Donal Trump, apply a little filler and paint and make him disapper into the wall.
I think you have a very biased opinion.
ReplyDeleteNot wrong though.