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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 1/19/17

The American State of Mind: Apprehension, Frustration, Distrust, Fear

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Message Michael Payne

Many Americans find themselves caught up in a troubled state of mind, possessing a great degree of uncertainty as to what is going to happen when this next administration and its leaders takes charge of this government; and how their lives are going to be affected.

This feeling of great concern and even dread of what may happen is intensified as they watch the current turmoil going on in our nation's capital, even before the new administration takes over the reins of government. They have, for some time, been hoping for a government that exemplifies leadership, resolve, and a vision for the future, but what they see is one that is plagued by controversy, political turmoil, and mistrust between major elements.

Americans are watching the struggle between the CIA, FBI and various U.S. intelligence agencies on the one hand and the incoming Trump administration on the other. At a time when these elements should be closely working together they are, quite visibly, pulling in different directions.

On the surface the struggle seems to be directly involved with the accusations by these agencies against Russia; that it, and its leader Putin, interfered with America's election process in order to try to influence the outcome; namely, to help to get Trump elected. But looking below the surface it appears to be one e involving control over the direction of America's foreign policy, specifically related to Russia; and if it will be a cooperative or an adversarial relationship.

While we all can speculate as to what's really going on and what the specific motives of each side may be we really don't know; it is far too complex to determine at this time and so we can't predict how the situation will be resolved.

Let's talk about the current state of mind of the American people and the emotions that are triggered by what they see going on in Washington DC.

Apprehension and Uncertainty: for some time many Americans have been extremely displeased with the direction into which this current government has been taking their country. They are more than concerned that things could grow even worse as they listen to Trump and the Republican leadership outlining the plans by which they intend to govern this nation.

What exactly is Mr. Trump going to do, will he make rational-minded, carefully thought-out decisions or is he going to "shoot from the hip" as many expect him to do? They have never seen an incoming president that is surrounded by so much controversy. And the greatest apprehension about what he is going to do has to exist among this country's minorities, African Americans, Hispanic immigrants and, especially, within the Muslim community.

Muslims, no doubt, are fearful about what Trump might do to them and how will adversely affect their lives. Are they going to find themselves under continuous government surveillance, is Trump actually going to make good on his promise to create a Muslim registry?

Fear: instead of seeing the House and the Senate Republican leadership in the process of developing a plan with specific objectives and key priorities to solve this country's many problems we hear them stating that they fully intend to repeal Obamacare even though they have no plan to replace it. Millions of Americans fear that this will happen and then the next targets of the GOP will be Social Security and Medicare.

Distrust: Americans have little to no trust in the U.S. Congress or most of the members of both parties that refuse to work together for the good of this country and its people. They have watched in frustration as the Republican Party has used tactics of obstruction, including the continuous use of Senate vetoes, to try to control the legislative agenda. They are also very disillusioned when they see weak-kneed Democrats cave in to these tactics and refuse to stand up and fight for what is right.

Controversy and Confusion: When in its history has this nation seen this government in such a state of turmoil and confusion? What has happened since this presidential election ended is absolutely incomprehensible.

The Congress, Republicans in particular, clearly have a lot of contrasting opinions about whether or not the Russians directly interfered in the election. Significant doubts exist about the evidence presented by U.S. intelligence agencies, together with great concerns over the possibility of collusive activities between the Trump and his advisers and Russia. Many Americans want to be supportive of Trump but they are troubled by his staunch support of Russia and Putin who they consider to be highly dangerous to America.

In this question of possible Russian involvement James Comey, head of the FBI, could be exposed as having deliberately taken misguided actions that placed him in the center of the election process when he, once again, brought up the issue of the Clinton emails at the last minute. To think that someone with his highly important responsibilities could possibly do this to pave the way for Trump's election is hard to believe but is not inconceivable.

Frustration, Disillusionment:

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