It is Sunday morning at 4:37 AM. I open my computer and quickly scan the news and social feeds for new proclamations from the White House and their corresponding results. Never in my life have I had to hold my breath to see what headlines I’d be faced with on an almost hourly basis. Anything is possible: will it be war, mass deportations, or just another executive order that chips further away at core American values?
In his first week President Trump has signed an unprecedented number of executive orders. Many of these orders have been on the Republican wish list for a long time and do not come as a surprise. The two that are most concerning are building a wall at the southern border with Mexico and banning nationals from a specific group of countries. These are absolutely wrong, very nearsighted and have caused an incredible amount of damage to the core values of what it means to be American.
Political affiliation aside, we’ve always been taught that we’re the good guys, the Shining City upon a hill. Not long ago former President Obama declared that we were ‘exceptional!’ It is utterly devastating to see how quickly and suddenly the reputation of a nation can fall.
Yes, America hasn’t always made the right choices – see Vietnam – but it had stable leadership. Now we have a narcassistic demagogue for President, a spineless and cowardly majority Senate and Congress and there doesnt’ seem to be any safety valve.
