Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 | 2 a.m.
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I have a nightmare.
I used to dream about an America, growing and evolving from the world’s most enviable democracy to an even more perfect union in which every American felt a part of the dream that brought their great-grandparents their grandparents, their parents or themselves to our shores.
I still dream, of course, because that is what gives us power during our waking moments to pursue that which is difficult yet worthy of our enterprise. But, lately, those dreams during whatever sleep I do get are interrupted by the same nightmare.
It starts with the Founding Fathers gathered around me asking over and over again, “How could you let this democracy turn into something we never envisioned, couldn’t have conceived of and certainly wouldn’t have fought and died for in 1776? How can you let the people of the United States of America betray our ideas and the ideals that have saved this country from the likes of another King George III? How could you have let this happen?”
Besides meeting, however ethereally, the likes of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and George Washington just to name-drop a few, the idea that those great men of history would pay a nighttime visit to my subconscious should be part of one of the greatest dreams of all times.
And, yet, it was one of my worst nightmares because I have to live in the real time of its unfolding.
The impeachment trial of President Donald John Trump, whose outcome has never been in doubt, is not about one man’s quest for absolute power, or one man’s failure to understand how a democracy works, or one man’s desire to fulfill his dreams of monarchical power at the expense of American democracy.
Our republic has been designed to withstand the election and, with some luck, the defeat of a rogue, ill-equipped and malignant actor in the White House. Trump may be the worst of them, but he is by no means the first of America’s presidents who should never have had the job.
The nightmarish part of this whole thing is the way the Republican-controlled Senate has abdicated its responsibility to perform under the plan conceived by the founders to prevent a return of anything like a King George. That plan is called the Constitution of the United States, and for it to work, everyone has to play his or her part.
By the way, if people are interested they can read the Constitution for themselves. It is written in English — albeit a bit different from the language used today, but it is easy to understand. In it we learn the roles we are required to play as citizens.
And when one branch of our divided government (the legislative) fails miserably to hold another branch (the executive) in check in order to balance out the competing interests in a democracy like ours, then it is up to the third branch (the courts) to sort it out. Unfortunately, the courts have their own timetable and a built-in reluctance to get involved, which means that the first two branches of government need to be awake and working at all times.
And that is where our country has been failed.
In a Jonestown-like fashion, the GOP-controlled Senate has consumed the Kool-Aid to the extent that it no longer can see or hear the evil that is growing inside an authoritarian White House. Whether it is a desire for power, for re-election or for the financial benefit that could result from being close to the people in power, the fact remains that the expected implementation of checks and balances in government has not happened.
What is most personally disturbing about all of this is the burning question in my mind: Why are the Founding Fathers blaming me for this breakdown in American political society?
I think I have done and am doing all I can to advance the public interest across any number of fronts, all in an effort to make more perfect this union that is still far from perfect.
So, why me? It makes me wonder if other Americans are having the same nightmare. That would seem fair since we are all in this experiment together and no one person should bear the brunt of a Republican failure to act — except those who continue to support this madness.
I am certain it is my lack of sleep — because of these continuing nightmares — that makes me question why I am so concerned for this democracy when it is obvious that there are so many people who don’t really care.
I am pretty sure, however, no matter what I do that nothing will change until the voters of this country wake up and do their part. For when all else fails, when checks aren’t balanced and when oaths lose their meaning and senators lose their souls, it is up to “we the people” to act.
That opportunity will come in November, 2020.
Until then, maybe I will go fishing. I hate fishing.
Brian Greenspun is editor, publisher and owner of the Sun
