For the past 20 or 30 years, we have seen our political leaders, those who we have elected to serve our best interests and the interests of the country as a whole, devolve into extreme partisan conflict; one party against the other, ignoring their obligation to put the country above party politics.
We have also seen the Supreme Court of the United States, that supposed neutral arm of our democracy, an arm historically tasked with keeping the government on an even keel, sliding into the same ultrapartisanship that the other branches have fallen into.
This constant tension in the government translates down to the general public, to the point where ordinary people can’t even have a political discussion without being labeled as extremists of the opposing argument.
Now that we have a candidate for president who openly advocates for an authoritarian form of government and a disregard for our Constitution, the traditional, conservative voices in the Republican Party have left the party, refusing to back former President Trump’s extreme ideology. People remaining in the party who do not believe in this extremism have been silenced by intimidation and threats to themselves and their families.
Observing all this discord, the world’s major dictatorships are interested in helping Trump get elected. The election of Donald Trump is of utmost importance to these dictators because they realize he can be manipulated to do whatever they want simply by appealing to his ego and his immature desire for attention.
Peace in the world for future generations is not what these dictators want. Europe, for the first time in centuries, has been at peace for the last 75 years, due in part to the leadership of the United States. Starting with Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, this country was pivotal in the development of NATO, the United Nations and the European Union, all for the economic benefit and military security of all the countries involved.
We have done the same for our allies in the Pacific, an area has also benefited from a long peaceful period. The only way that these dictators can disrupt this peaceful process and spread their corrupt ideologies to other countries is if we, as a country, back away from our commitment to world peace and prosperity that we have promoted since the end of World War II.
This is exactly what Trump is offering them. The majority of the Republican Party has fallen in step behind him, effectively guaranteeing the decline of this country and everything that we have stood for over the last 250 years.
As an independent voter who has supported mostly conservative candidates over my 55-plus years of voting, it saddens me to say that the Republican Party has abandoned all sense of principle and is no longer concerned with what is best for this country. The party is now only concerned with trying to maintain power and control in a country that is not disposed to authoritarian leadership, but whose people are still susceptible to lies and distortions of what the true situation in the world is.
If the Republican Party is to survive, it will require a massive voter turnout nationally to finally rid the country of the extreme ideology holding us hostage. Voting is more important now than any time in recent history.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Modify your screen name
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.