Just as Gerald Ford became President without first being elected to the position of President or Vice President after Watergate, we must not wait to impeach the President AND the Vice President, if EITHER was, in fact, conspiring with foreign governments in any way. We must assume that both are painted by the same brush, and tainted by it. After all, isn't the vice presidential candidate's role during the election process to learn, know and support the president position on important matters such as international policy? And if the election was true and fair and the current Commander-in-Chief remains in office and follows the emoluments clause in the Constitution, he must learn to be President and how to act like one. He is OUR President, at least for now, and he represents us all, whether we voted for him or not. (And if you didn't vote at all, shame on you!)
Furthermore, our President must understand that even though the American President has been referred to as the leader of the free world, he is not a king or an emperor or a dictator. I would like to think of the American President as first among equals in world leadership. I would like to, but I can't picture that with our present situation. Our President must realize that other national leaders are his peers and many of them have years of successfully running nations that may have similar beliefs and values to ours, or they may be very, very different. Some of these people are wise and kind and deserve his respect. Some of these people are dictators or demagogues or fascists who suppress their own people, encourage female genital mutilation and in general believe that women are fundamentally less than men, and also may believe that their religious beliefs are the only way to live. Our president must be able to deal with the good, the bad, and the ugly on the international stage and do so in a way that brings our allies closer and does not lead us into more war, more death, more of our young people dying in deserts and jungles and trenches. Diplomacy must be a honed and practiced skill for our President, his or her cabinet, and our national ambassadors.
I am writing this not just to hear myself talk, but because I am afraid. I am afraid to live in the world my father survived. I'm afraid to live in a world where the air is so polluted that asthma rates have gone up six fold in the last half century or where the water contains lead, mercury, and toxins from practices such as frakking and pouring industrial waste into our water table. Suppressing the scientists and suppressing freedom of the press is how Nazi Germany prepared its citizens for World War II. Anyone who believes that another Holocaust can't happen in this modern world has not studied history. And it has been said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Which strikes terror in my heart.
I urge every person who reads this to get involved. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican or Independent, Green party or unaffiliated, our country's future is up to you to protect. Ours is a nation that is not ruled by a monarch, even if it may seem so at times, but by elected officials who lead by the people and for the people, and they are OUR employees, not the other way around! It is our tax dollars that they use to run our country, and each of us should have a say in how our country is run!
Please don't allow our country to be an international laughing stock. Don't allow our country to slide into fascism and to suppress knowledge and learning and science. Don't allow the idea of "alternate facts" to be anything more than somebody's way of feeding lies to the people. Don't allow suppression of the press! We need a free press and freedom of speech and to be educated and informed with regard to what is happening politically, both inside our country and on the world stage so that we can help choose leaders who can represent us and our interests. Don't allow members of one single religious belief to dictate to the rest of the country how we must live our lives. Don't allow our country to become a place where we must be afraid to practice our religions, or not; afraid to show affection to those we love in public and not behind a closet door; afraid to dress and act and live our lives in freedom as long as we follow the laws of this great nation, of which I am very proud to be a citizen! Keep our country safe for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Please make sure you are educated on the issues that affect us all, from education, to our environment, to our beliefs and the beliefs of our neighbours and friends and fellow citizens. Voting is a right and a privilege. It is also, in my opinion, our most sacred duty to our country, and must not be squandered either by staying at home or by voting for individuals who chose to align themselves with any given political party. Take the time to learn about the candidates. There are very good Democrats and very good Republicans, and there are some very bad people in each party as well. There is no shame in being a Republican but voting for a Democrat who may more closely represent your choices regarding how our government should be run, and the same is true for a Democrat voting for a good Republican candidate. I myself am currently registered as an independent and have never - yet - joined either political party because I would rather vote for the more qualified individual in any election, whether local or national, than feel obligated to vote for a specific political party.
Please forgive me if in my passion I have given you run-on sentences or sentences full of commas and clauses! Forgive my typos and my grammar. But believe me when I say we are all responsible for what happens under Mr. Trump's regime. "We, the People" are responsible for our governing and our governing processes. Please write your congressman and your senators and don't stop writing until we have assurances that any possible corruption at the highest levels of our government has been stamped out! The responsibility for what happens in the next few years is ours every bit as much as Mr. Trump's. Please, before something happens that causes us to relive the horrors of some of the darkest parts of history, act! LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! Act! Don't just react - because by then, it will be too late for us all.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
David A. Reich, M.D.
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