U.S. allies and many citizens watch with dismay and fear as the centuries-old citizen directed government of the United States of America is being dismantled under the dictatorship of Trump.
The elected representatives and senators seem deaf to the wishes of those who elected them, and, in fact, many express pride in the actions Trump has taken rather than to honor their oath to uphold the Constitution. The courts that find fault with executive orders are at risk of being replaced by Trump followers.
At issue in my mind are the actions to remove safety nets from the general population while granting freedom for corporations to do as they choose in the name of profit. Safety nets such as health care, food, housing, education, research, worker safety and others have been defunded, destroying decades of proven benefit.
In four months’ time, we see erosion of freedom of speech and are unsure of which government agencies still exist and might be allowed to perform the duties established by past congressional action.
Federal government now claims the right and has the means to arrest anyone, immigrants or citizens, without cause and haul them off to some unknown location with no access to legal representation. A state’s national guard was activated by Trump against the wishes of the state’s governor, and a contingent of Marines has been deployed against the citizens of that state.
We can certainly no longer say in any remark concerning the United States of America — “Under God”. No recent governmental actions give signs of believing in anything but power and money.
Joan Bachman is a resident of West Fargo.