It's About Country, Not Politics

I've been a Republican since I was old enough to choose sides. My opposition to all that's going on is not driven by partisan preferences, but by the exact opposite - the commitment to put party aside to view events with an eye to what I see as truth.

Note that I have not quoted "Fire and Fury." I have not commented on Stormy Daniels. I prefer to share hard journalism pieces, rather than opinion pieces, though when I do share such pieces, they tend to be from voices that have a demonstrated history of conservative or non-partisan pedigree.

People like to denigrate me as a "liberal," and there is no doubt I hold some liberal beliefs (protecting our environment, taking a humane view of immigration, gay marriage, stricter limits on gun ownership), but that in no way makes me a Democrat. I have attended anti-Trump rallies and protested his appearances with my hand-made Republicans Against Trump sign, but there is much that Democrats espouse that I do not agree with (identity politics, the shutting down of opposing viewpoints on college campuses, what I view as the shortsighted insistence on higher minimum wages that make hiring the least employable more unaffordable, thus dooming many to a life of inconsistent employability).

No, my opposition to what is going on in Washington is due almost exclusively to what I see as the systematic undermining of our institutions of democracy. I've said it many times, when faith in banks is destroyed, banks fail. When faith in currencies is destroyed, currencies fail. And when faith in the institutions of democracy are destroyed - faith in a free press, faith in a robust and independent system of justice, faith in fair elections and faith in the rule of law - democracies fail. This president, now with the acquiescence and outright assistance of an obsequious Congress, is systematically working to destroy faith in all these and more.

So, no, my opposition does not rise from partisan prejudice but out of what I sincerely believe to be principled patriotism. I have been a student of politics and U.S. history since Nixon, Humphrey and Wallace battled each other when I was eight years old. I have never been so concerned about what is being done to our country and I place blame for that squarely on the president and those he has enlisted in his effort to protect himself at the expense of our country.

That being the case, I cannot and will not remain silent.