(Submitted for publication in the Fort Collins Coloradoan)
From where I stand, most of the true evil in the world results from just two human states: ignorance and emotional immaturity. Lifelong education, and early childhood training in emotional intelligence, both act to raise individuals from being expressions of their animal nature, to a fuller expression of true human nature – the tendency to express compassion, love and altruism. Stated another way, the value of the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth is not limited to the courtroom.
If you’ve been getting your Covid-19 information from outlets like Fox News or from Trump himself, you were told that Covid-19 was no big deal; that the American outbreak would soon end, that the danger was being severely overblown by the liberal fake news media; that it was all a plot by Democrats to weaken Trump’s election chances.
I trust that everyone reading this is now very clear about whom the actual reporters of fake news were – and are. No organization had done more to spread Trump’s lies than the Fox news channel. There is no force more destructive of the possibility for justice that American democracy represents than the Fox news channel.
We have a right to expect a much higher level of truth, of fact and of integrity from our leaders and news organizations than we have ever received from Trump, Fox News or the right-wing media. Freedom of speech is not a license to use words to lie and manipulate.
Recent investigative reports from highly respected news organizations such as the Guardian and the New York Times detail the willful failure of Trump and his administration to act upon expert warnings that Covid-19 would have a devastating impact on our nation.
Natural disasters, the domain of government response, are tragic. The response, however, becomes criminal when the actions and in-actions of leadership result in thousands of unnecessary deaths.
Supply logistics is not rocket science. We as a nation would have been much better prepared had Trump acted at the end of January when the danger became clear. Here we are on May 1st and yet Trump STILL has not directed a coordinated federal response – to mandate production of needed PPE; to obtain supplies and chemicals needed for nationwide testing, often sourced from China; or to mandate face coverings and other common-sense steps to reduce transmission.
Trump’s words kill, leading people who trust what he says to be more likely to contract and spread the virus. Trumps failure to act and lead responsibly is resulting in the needless death of thousands of Americans. Trump is a murderer.
Trump is effectively waging war against American democracy and against the American people with his continued destabilizing actions and inactions – treasonous activity. Trump deserves to be tried, convicted and executed for high treason.
This is a time when we all must pull together. This is not a time to simply stand by and watch while a narcissistic sociopath is actively causing death.