Is Trump sleeping through a revolution? Why we must mobilize and unify as Americans to protect Democracy.

There is evidence that Trump has slept through the “revolution” and is confused. As citizens, our individual destiny is tied to the destiny of America. The world is one brotherhood. What affects one person or country, affects us all. This is a world perspective. Trump acts like he does not have a world perspective, proper sense of war, poverty and racism.

Dr. Martin Luther King used to tell a story about Rip Van Winkle who went to sleep for 20 years and woke up and realized that he had slept through the revolution.  When he went to sleep, King George ruled. When he awakened, George Washington was President of the United States. There is some indication that Trump has lived the life of a rich boy who has slept through the revolution and never felt the pain of the poor. Remember the biblical parable of Lazarus.  In Lazarus, the rich man went to hell because he did not use his wealth as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the haves and have nots. In the Bible, the rich man went to hell because he did not use his wealth as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the haves and have nots. Instead, he made them invisible. He did not see their need. He went to hell. To Trump, the poor are invisible and need less or nothing.

Trump does not have a world perspective, proper sense of war, poverty or racism.  First, we know that he does not have a world perspective evidence by his statements of America first. He also wanted to drop out of NATO, put up a wall and ban muslims and refugees. As an American President, he lacks a world perspective needed to govern this country. Since before the Vietnam War, we have realized that what happens to one nation has an effect on all nations. “No man is an island. No man lives alone.” This is also a basic concept of family therapy.  We are all a part of the family of humanity.  America first no longer applies. We are our brother’s keeper and he does not realize it. The destiny of the United States is tied to the destiny of the world. Secondly, Trump does not have the proper sense of war. He wants to increase the spending of the military. His plan appears to be to gut the State Department, the government’s apparatus for diplomacy and understanding.  Trump is unable to highlight the brotherhood–our connection to each other and the world; a need to eliminate racial injustice and poverty.  His lack of a world perspective means he is incapable of recognizing that the destiny of the United States is tied to the destiny of the world. He talks about winning a war as if he does not understand that this would possibly involve the destruction of civilization as we know it. Thirdly, Trump has a disconnect with the poor of this world.  He plans massive cuts in poverty programs, planned parenthood and healthcare. He wants to give massive tax cuts to the rich while ignoring the needs of the poor, disabled and the ill. He has also made massive cuts to programs for women and children in third world countries. Additionally, he wants to change our democracy by trying to destroy our branches of government and place all control in one branch of government. The Republicans appear to be afraid to challenge him. He is trying to make this government totalitarian instead of democratic. Republicans do not appear to have the strength to protect our democratic form of government. We, the people, must step up and protect our democracy.  Fourth, Trump takes a racist perspective and embraces the worse and darkest parts of Americans. He associates with White Nationalists and Supremacists who espouse separatist views. He does not acknowledge how destructive racism has been in this country.  He does not see racism as a disease that poisons a whole body politic. He does not encourage the notion of nationalism or worldly brotherhood. He further appointed an attorney general who has been a racist for a lifetime who tries to cover up injustice in the past. He tends to defend historical racism. Trump himself appears to encourage racism as it has been a way of life in America for most. He sees no need for change.  He lacks the ethical committment to make it a brotherhood. We must learn to live together and stop war all over this world. I can never be what I ought to be unless you are what you ought to be. John Dunn also said, “No man is an island.”

Trump and the millennials have failed to develop a new attitude, new responses  and new way of coping with technology, automation, changes taking place in the world and human rights.  His solution is war and bombs instead of diplomacy.  He made campaign promises of freedom, health care for all and jobs. He had no intention of fulfilling those promises. He promised to make America great again. He does not understand that a great America or a great nation is a compassionate America or nation.

John Kennedy used to say, ” mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.” We cannot afford to play at war with all the arrogance that war indicates by dropping bombs. America can end poverty and racism but it lacks the will. Power does not lie in bombs or the mother of all bombs.  Power lies in unity—the unity of the people. Power lies in the people saying we are not going to take this anymore. As a united people, we can transform yesterday into a bright tommorrow. This should be our goal. We must move beyond this alleged “white backlash”and become united. War cannot solve the social ills facing us, war will put an end to mankind.

The goal of America should be justice, brotherhood and peace in order to achieve freedom for all. We must learn to live together all over this world as brothers or we will die as fools. Whatever affects one,  affects us all. The world is one. We must begin to view ourselves as a brotherhood.  We are our brother’s keeper. James Dunn was correct when he said, “no man is an island. No man lives alone. Each man is my brother ………” MLK used to say, “We have the will to change. Life has no exit signs. Life has long corridors without exit signs.”  We, the people, must demand that government address itself to the issue of poverty,health insurance and other issues.  Without jobs or income—campaign promises– citizens have no possibility of happiness. This should not be a partisan issue. We are divided  and not unified at this time. James Russell Lowell stated in pertinent part in his poem, The Present Crisis, …Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne– yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown, standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch over his own.”

It is obvious with the firing of Comey that this President has something to hide. He appears to be sleeping through the revolution. He fired the first female usher at the White House depriving this woman of a job and lifetime pension which she had earned. This evidences paranoia when added to the fact that he wants people who are loyal to him to work in the White House and he wants to get rid of career employees. He and his staff were using some type of communication which disappeared after a short time.  He does not want to list people who enter the White House or the Florida Hotel. He and his daughter are doing everything he complained about with Hillary. He does not appear to be draining the swamp. He brought a new swamp with him and he wants to hide his actions. Now is the time for Americans to unite to fight this threat to our democracy. Trump may have been asleep through the revolution. He thinks we are willing to return to the fifties. We must show him that we will not go back. We are marching forward.