Where are we? by Barry Rosenbaum

I have this stone that I keep on my desk. I sometimes cup it in my hands when I’m meditating. It says, “This too shall pass.” It’s an adage with ancient origins that I use to remind me that everything is impermanent. I, of course, find it the most comforting when I’m in a bad space. However, truth be told, it doesn’t work only in that direction, no matter how much I wished it did. So, as to our democracy – it too shall pass? Is that where we are? Or do we have it within us as a country to stop this insanity. I fear it is the former, not the latter. I pray that I am wrong.

We are far from being loud, being noisy, and I wonder why. Don’t we see what is happening here?Musk is literally in control of the Treasury. Senior staff is being wiped out in all federal departments, including the Security Council, Justice Department, Treasury and military. Trump surely knows that his worst instincts will be challenged. But if there is any lesson that Trump has also learned it is that the courts move excruciatingly slowly, particularly when the defendant has the financial means to leave no challenge untried and a majority at the top of our judicial system are unchecked in their determination to overturn past bedrock principles. It’s hard to keep up with a devious, corrupt felon. Now that felon has the wealth of the country behind him. The courts were previously unable to hold Trump accountable for his unmistakable efforts to overthrow democracy and my gut tells me that the opportunity for accountability has now been lost.

It appears quite evident that the Republicans have decided that there are simply no society guardrails worth saving. The one whose name shall not be spoken (oops, I think I named him repeatedly above) is only about pure power and its exercise. It doesn’t really matter how or why. Brute power is the end that he seeks. He is similarly surrounded by far too many others who are quite prepared to do his bidding without qualm if they also get a taste of that apparently intoxicating power themselves.

I’ve been thinking that we desperately need our Lech Walesa to step forward and we need that to happen quickly. We do not have the time or luxury for the old politics. 2026 is looking so very far away. I understand that we all have and will play some role, but we need someone who somehow can break through and provide a clear, forceful, passionate voice of the alternative in a way that most people can understand and through mediums that reach the people that need to be reached. That person also needs to inspire us to step out with vigor and purpose. Far easier said than done, but I’m ready to heed the call.

So, where are we?