Real Facts

Taking a brief look at presidential history over the last half century is most interesting.

Fundamental to almost all political activity is the constant economic struggle between those who would enrich themselves at the expense of others and those who would have a more egalitarian world. The takers and the will shares, if you please. Many seemingly unrelated actions compound over time with other events to shape the struggle for power, privilege, and prestige. (To use Gerhard Lenski's terms.)

A republican administration, Nixon's, even in the midst of recession and national turmoil over the Vietnam War, created the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up our air and water and to protect our natural resources for future generations. Today, that agency is in jeopardy of being dismantled or at least silenced because the traditional energy lobby views it as an obstacle to short term profits, health of the nation be damned.

Despite recession, and the Iran debacle, when Jimmy Carter left office the US was the largest creditor nation on Earth. Despite the fabulous wealth created for a few, from 1981 to 1989, when Ronald Reagan left office the US was the largest debtor nation on Earth and when adjusted for inflation, the purchasing power of US citizens was less than it had been in the early 70's. Interesting contrast.

Under Bush the First we had a recession that was staved off by the gigantic tech boom of the 90's, and perhaps by the Gulf War.

Think what you will of Bill Clinton's proclivity for philandering, his last couple of years in office his administration made unheard of payments to reduce the national debt, not the deficit mind you, the long term national debt.

Bush the Second and his warmongering Vice President ran up trillions of dollars of debt in wars that couldn't be won and filled the coffers of some mega companies. This unsustainable spending, combined with the debt burden, run up by businesses, banks, and the government during the 80's brought us the the recession/depression of 2008 -2011, a situation that lead our nation to the edge of financial ruin.

Barack Obama's administration performed near miracles to keep the country's finances afloat and fought valiantly to bring health, social and economic opportunities to not just a few, but to millions of Americans. This occurred in the face of our national struggle with underlying and seldom acknowledged racism, and a congress so polarized and paralyzed by hatred in their quest to wrest power from the 'other' side, that they seemed ready to cut their own throats, before cooperating with each other or with a black man, who espoused reasonable and needed solutions for our national woes.

Now our antiquated electoral system has allowed a man of highly questionable, well documented sexism, and criminal financial behavior to become President. A man who uses fear, nationalistic rhetoric, fascist talk, bullying and outright lies to get whatever he wants at the moment. A man who would prey on our inflated fears of those who are different and our greed to live a lifestyle that comes at the cost of basic needs for billions around the world. A man who would sacrifice our national environmental treasures and our health for the profit of a few. A man who would push America First at the expense of the delicate balance of world peace. These ideas and actions fly in the face of the teachings of every major religion and humanitarian atheism alike.

The last 45+ years have been most interesting. The next few look to be more so, Perhaps we should be afraid, not of the things that Trump wants us to focus on. Those things will distract us from the truth and allow him and his cronies to further enrich them selves as our freedoms and opportunities for a more open, charitable world erode away. But most frightening of all what Trump's election tells us about ourselves and our bitterly divided country.