One of the weirdly persistent contradictions in our current state of affairs popped up in Admiral McRaven's Op-Ed piece and it remains somehow under the radar.
(summarized in Business Insider):
McRaven said that despite the apolitical nature of various military branches, intelligence agencies, and public-service organizations, the people employed by these groups had witnessed "the assaults on our institutions" under the Trump administration.
Here's the bit I'm talking about:
"They have seen our leaders stand beside despots and strongmen, preferring their government narrative to our own," McRaven wrote. "They have seen us abandon our allies and have heard the shouts of betrayal from the battlefield. As I stood on the parade field at Fort Bragg, one retired four-star general, grabbed my arm, shook me and shouted, 'I don't like the Democrats, but Trump is destroying the Republic!'"
"Those words echoed with me throughout the week," McRaven added.
McRaven pointed out what he said were examples of the US neglecting its duty to be the "the protectors of the less fortunate" — including Trump's recent decision to withdraw troops from Syria as Turkish-backed militants wage assaults against the once US-backed Kurdish militia.
When you hear "protectors of the less fortunate", it's not possible for you to convince me that what springs immediately into your mind is The Republican Party. C'mon now.
There are people in our government working diligently to consolidate power in the Executive, and to make POTUS into what would be effectively a Daddy State emperor. Those people are almost exclusively Republicans.
There are people in our government working just as diligently to revitalize the system of Checks & Balances so we can be a little more sure that power will be held to account. Those people are almost exclusively Democrats.
When the guys in the brass hats are speaking the language of the Democratic Party Platform, we know the GOP has gone completely 'round the bend.
No comments:
Post a Comment