I don't feel much like celebrating our nation's independence today. I'm not feeling
very independent, I suppose.
Make no mistake about it — we are in the clutches of a predator. A man
who serves himself first and foremost,
whose ego is completely unhinged,
and who knows about "fake news" because
he threatens others with it.
In their service to our nation, politicians have been placed at the top
of multiple federal agencies — where they absolutely do not belong.
Perhaps most famously,
former Governor of Texas Rick Perry as the head of the EPA,
and
Betsy DeVos as the Secretary of Education. (Okay, DeVos is the billionaire wife of a politician.)
There are two things that weigh heavily on me about the state of our country: Money and Russia.
The first
is that everything seems to be about money —
some by way of loopholes and technicalities,
others by
legislation,
WAY more overtly than ever before. Hell,
even the President's advisor was busted adding
sales pitches for the President's daughter's fashion line during an official interview
(the Seal of the White House can be seen in the background). Perhaps the most egregious
to date being
the Republican "Wealthcare" bill,
which is widely criticized for providing
massive tax cuts for the rich at the particular expense of women and children
(Planned Parenthood),
and those who cannot afford private insurance plans
(Medicaid).
Secondly, all of this stink about Russian involvement in meddling with the
national elections process. As more information has come to light about
hacking campaigns against politicos
and even
social engineering campaigns against voting machine equipment manufacturers,
the actions of the Trump Administration in covering their tracks
just seem to get dirtier and dirtier. (Speaking of a US-Russian connection, Wikipedia reports
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "has previously been the director of the joint US-Russian
oil company Exxon Neftegas.")
We've hit a noteable low.
Allies who looked to America as the great "guarantor of liberal market
economics and democracy" are having serious doubts.
Ours is the greatest country in the world. I believe that. I served
this nation with pride. But today, I am very troubled by the direction our nation is taking.
Where we are today is not our ideal. I'm worried the middle class will disappear. I'm worried
about health care. I'm worried about the country I fought to protect.
I don't feel much like celebrating today.