Are we living in Iran?
How do you feel?
There have been a whole lot of crazy things going on in Washington in the last 2 weeks. I may mention a few, but I want to focus on how all this has been making me feel. How does it make you feel?
How do you feel when you hear that Elon Musk has shut down the United States Agency for International Development, USAID? How do you feel when Elon Musk and his computer-geek minions break into the Treasury Department and get access to America’s checkbook and all the information about everyone? How do you feel when you hear that the Trump Administration ordered departments to stop all payments to everyone everywhere? How do you feel when you begin to get overwhelmed by the scope and complexity of what is happening?
I know how I feel. I feel like a Palestinian living in Gaza. Ordinary, hopeful Palestinians elected Hamas in 2007 and within a few years they were living in a totalitarian nightmare and then in the middle of a war they didn’t want. The people in Gaza have no control over Hamas and Hamas has total control over the people. It must be a terrible feeling of powerlessness.
Another way I feel? I feel sympathy for any woman living in Afghanistan. When the US left Afghanistan, the Taliban took over. Were they elected? It doesn’t matter. They are in control now and they are increasingly taking away rights from women. In Afghanistan today a woman can be punished for being seen looking out a window! She can’t go out of the house or ride in a car without a male companion. She must wear the hijab. She can’t go to school. She must obey all the men in her life or suffer punishment.
I now understand how it feels to be a person living in Iran. In the beginning the people supported the Islamic Revolution and they celebrated victory, but decades of power have left ordinary Iranians with no control over their government, and both men and women live in despair.
It feels like we have just lost control of our government. Whether you have been a Trump supporter or not, you may have voted for the last time. Your elected representatives are no longer able to protect you from the whims of the ruling junta, the President and his oligarchs and loyal supporters. He can do what he wants. Compared to Trump and Musk, your Senator is a joke (I know mine is).
Sharia law gives women few rights. A totalitarian state gives no one any rights. The Trump administration is beginning to make me feel that I am powerless; that I am no longer living in America. Trump is acting outside the law to establish his own rules about what is right or wrong. In his world, he can define what is a crime and then exact punishment.
Take this quote from USA Today about closing USAID: “Trump discussed the moves with reporters in the Oval Office. "I love the concept," he said of USAID, "but they turned out to be radical left lunatics. The concept of it is good but it's all about the people." He disagreed that an act of Congress is required to do away with USAID. "I don't think so. Not when it comes to fraud," Trump said.”
Trump defines what he sees as fraud, a crime, and that allows him to do things that would otherwise be forbidden. He can do what he wants if he is stamping out crime.
Take this Musk quote on his platform, “X”: “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,"
It is no longer up to Congress or the Courts; Elon Musk and Donald Trump can define a crime and then exact punishment as they see fit. This is very efficient government!
For most of Trump’s first presidency I waited for my opportunity to vote, along with most Americans; I waited anxiously to express my opinion about his activities. When I had the opportunity, I voted against him, and he lost. In 2024, we may not have a chance to vote against him.
As of the last few days, people are beginning to take action, and that action may be able to stop the Trump/Musk juggernaut. This is still a democracy, after all.
Can I get your reaction? Feeling helpless is just a feeling. It is still possible to take action, and people are taking action. How do you feel?