Uncivility Gone Wild

        To all you people of whatever political bent who think it reasonable, even for a moment, to accuse a career Army officer, twice wounded battle veteran, of disloyalty to the nation because you view the president as the nation:

        Donald Trump has fired a number of competent and reasonably honorable appointees for the same reason. Regardless the excuse, usually lame, it always boils down to his mistaken belief regarding his position in the greater picture.  In his narcissistic delusion, he equates loyalty to him with loyalty to the nation. Sadly, many of his sycophant base, including some shamefully toadying members of Congress, have publicly made the same leap of illogic. Oddly enough, the less intelligent and/or informed the supporter, the more firmly held this belief is generally shown to be.

        The oath of office requires loyalty to and support of the Constitution, specifically, not to any individual. There’s a reason for this, which reflects the genius of James Madison, who, believe me, would be mortified by the distortions of his masterpiece which have been applied by some (but not all) of the Republican party.  Having won independence from an autocratic Britain, which frequently used “Treason” prosecute simple differences of opinion with the crown, there was no intent to create a document which would allow the new government to become similar in nature.  The Constitution is a framework, designed to avoid exactly what Trump has attempted to do, which is rule by executive fiat and personal pressure regardless of the legality of those actions.

       It is representative of the train wreck that this administration has become, when an honorable man, deeply troubled by Presidential actions which an Ambassador (and Trump appointee) have now confirmed, and which constitute political extortion of a foreign power for personal gain, reports those concerns and is accused of disloyalty.

         At the same time the subject of this concern, grandstanding and against military Chief of Staff  recommendations, recently pardoned three convicted war criminals and then forced the Navy to promote one of them. I’ve been politically aware through the administrations of the last 15 of the Presidents in our nation’s history (yeah, I’m that old!). Never have I seen anything as base, crude and downright disgusting as recent Trump shenanigans, other than what I remember and have read regarding Joseph McCarthy’s red baiting extortion of the US Army and, even then, members of his own party had the guts to object.

       I recall Dwight Eisenhower, an honorable man, and Republican, and am appalled by the comparatively puerile, vindictive depth to which what used to be simply conservatism, has been reduced.