Raynine
Diamond Member
- Oct 28, 2023
- 1,115
- 1,714
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To my generation, not all, but many:
President Trump is seen as a dangerous man, but who is he dangerous to? Some Americans living out their gray years as Baby Boomers want Trump stopped. Do they want a leader who makes grand statements and does nothing? This is the way it has always been. Changing now may be seen as too strict a move that could herald discomfort. I watch some in my generation waving canes at cameras and wonder what do they fear? With Trump the status quo is certainly under threat but is the status quo the solution or the problem? Everyone wants today to be just like yesterday; it’s easy, it’s predictable.
When someone comes along and does not just talk about change, but does things to bring about change, that is scary to many. Congress is full of people who bluster change, but few do anything big to enact it. If you do something big, you are going to be a target. Trump was elected a second time because the people wanted something different and they are getting it.
Since many in my generation of Baby Boomers recall a time when things were very different, some looked for a reset because leadership appears to be getting very close to a third rail for our freedoms. Why is there suddenly a rift between federal and local governments? There appears to be an ongoing cross-purpose tension loose in our society that is new.
Our separation of powers is not working as designed; far from cooperation, there is confrontation and it is escalating. Government agencies are being villainized locally to score political points, and violence is fomented against them. This is very dangerous. As Boomers, we recall Kent State, so it’s not like we haven’t seen it before. But that was a 1970’s factional moment. What is happening now is much more complex and nuanced—and it is not factional; It’s a 50-50 split.
Trump is doing work for his side in a conflict of visions, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that the family of our country is one and the same. We cannot let our country descend into a political Hatfield-McCoy divisive long-standing squabble with no resolution.
We are the grandmasters of our society, and we need to show those who follow we can work for that resolution peacefully and respectfully.
It starts with us.
President Trump is seen as a dangerous man, but who is he dangerous to? Some Americans living out their gray years as Baby Boomers want Trump stopped. Do they want a leader who makes grand statements and does nothing? This is the way it has always been. Changing now may be seen as too strict a move that could herald discomfort. I watch some in my generation waving canes at cameras and wonder what do they fear? With Trump the status quo is certainly under threat but is the status quo the solution or the problem? Everyone wants today to be just like yesterday; it’s easy, it’s predictable.
When someone comes along and does not just talk about change, but does things to bring about change, that is scary to many. Congress is full of people who bluster change, but few do anything big to enact it. If you do something big, you are going to be a target. Trump was elected a second time because the people wanted something different and they are getting it.
Since many in my generation of Baby Boomers recall a time when things were very different, some looked for a reset because leadership appears to be getting very close to a third rail for our freedoms. Why is there suddenly a rift between federal and local governments? There appears to be an ongoing cross-purpose tension loose in our society that is new.
Our separation of powers is not working as designed; far from cooperation, there is confrontation and it is escalating. Government agencies are being villainized locally to score political points, and violence is fomented against them. This is very dangerous. As Boomers, we recall Kent State, so it’s not like we haven’t seen it before. But that was a 1970’s factional moment. What is happening now is much more complex and nuanced—and it is not factional; It’s a 50-50 split.
Trump is doing work for his side in a conflict of visions, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that the family of our country is one and the same. We cannot let our country descend into a political Hatfield-McCoy divisive long-standing squabble with no resolution.
We are the grandmasters of our society, and we need to show those who follow we can work for that resolution peacefully and respectfully.
It starts with us.
