Dr. Krugman writes in the New York Times, reflecting upon Impeachment Day and the stress we’re all under and the delicacy of our beloved Republic; the darkness that threatens to overwhelm all that we love. He says it would have been easy, given the makeup of the Senate, the sheer corruption of Mitch McConnell that makes an acquittal of Trump an all but foregone conclusion, to be cynical. Instead he speaks of the deep emotions of the day, the seesaw between despair and hope.
The reasons for despair are obvious. We could so easily lose everything America is supposed to stand for. The birthplace of liberty may very well be just months away from abandoning all its ideals.
But there were also reasons for hope.
The enemies of freedom are, it turns out, as shameless and corrupt here as they are in nations, from Hungary to Turkey, in which democracy has effectively collapsed. But the defenders of American democracy seem more united and determined than their counterparts abroad. The big question is whether that difference — that true American exceptionalism — will be enough to save us.
I admit to having been shocked by the GOP. I’d thought that enough, a few, perhaps many, would stand up to Trump whose venality and wickedness have always been on full display. He truly is a villain of almost cartoon proportions, backed by the dictator Vladimir Putin no less. But the people we needed to help us stand against the threat he and his anti-democratic cadre represent to America instead have gone all in on his darkness, his evil.
Krugman writes, though, that the opposition to Trump and the Republicans, though they are just like the foul forces of authoritarians everywhere, is not the same.
He writes of the toughness and courage of the new Democrats elected in red and purple districts, the incredible effectiveness of Congressional leadership and unity of the party in the face of evil, beginning with the demonstrations after Trump’s so-called election and culminating last night in the House.
And he finds hope there. He finds hope in our idealism, our unity, our determination.
Let’s hope and pray that it’s enough. And while we’re at it let’s be thankful for the courage and insightfulness of America’s journalists, many of whom face threats, who are called “enemies of the people” by the foul Trump, who are mocked by him and terrorized at his horrible rallies.
What we learned Wednesday, however, was that those who define America by its ideals, not the dominance of a particular ethnic group, won’t give up easily. The bad news is that our bad people are as bad as everyone else’s. The good news is that our good people seem unusually determined to do the right thing.
www.nytimes.com/…