The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
David Estey is an artist in Belfast and a retired IRS regional manager of public affairs.
I usually send my political essays only to those who share my views, but this one is different. Please bear with me as I appeal to all who love America.
My career as a federal manager of public affairs, plus dozens of books and thousands of articles on politics I’ve read, convince me that our freedom is in danger of being lost. To me, the evidence is overwhelming that we made a terrible mistake in electing Donald Trump. It was our Brexit.
He and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, have taken all but complete control of our government and are systematically destroying our institutions, safeguards, security and alliances around the world. With control of the executive, legislative and even judicial branches of government, they could be a powerful force for good, but despite Trump’s reality show of lies before Congress last week, that’s not what they are doing.
I know that dedicated civil servants are not our enemies and don’t deserve to lose their livelihoods suddenly and without cause. I also know that, except perhaps for huge military/industrial contracts, there is little fraud, waste and abuse not uncovered by inspectors general, many of whom Trump has fired. What he and Musk are doing is what despots have done to gain an iron grip on their countries: take control of all centers of power; replace career experts with incompetent loyalists; create chaos and fear throughout the government, industry, academia, the news media and the general public; eliminate programs and expenditures that benefit “others” at home and abroad; enrich loyal oligarchs while inflicting pain on the masses in every way; ignore the courts and the rule of law; realign the country with other dictators; do it all under the guise of patriotism; and destroy anyone or anything that gets in the way.
This is happening right now in our country. Trump and Musk’s attempted elimination of 1 percent of our federal budget to fund USAID would likely mean millions of children and adults around the world could die this year of preventable diseases and health emergencies.
Staffing cuts and office closings at IRS, Social Security and Veterans Administration can mean the delay or loss of benefit checks and tax refunds that tens of millions of Americans depend on.
Cuts to FEMA and the Forest Service could prevent robust disaster assistance to contain and recover from unprecedented catastrophes.
Tariffs imposed on Canada, China and Mexico will mean higher costs of goods and services, would cripple Maine’s lobster industry and sunk the Dow Jones Industrial Average by over 1,300 points in two days.
Most frightening to me is the unconscionable elimination of national security investigations of money laundering, foreign-bribery, and Russian cyberattacks.
To me there can be only one reason for all this destruction: To grab all the power, consolidate authoritarian alliances and devastate all opposition. This is not the America millions have fought and died for during our 250-year history.
If you think we never could become an oligarchy run by billionaires or that you won’t be affected, you’re wrong. We’re headed there and it will affect everyone.
Taking back our country will mean recognizing this serious threat. I suggest keeping a watchful eye; demonstrating in the streets; pressuring judges, lawmakers and the media to hold leaders accountable; electing responsible replacements; and insisting on arrests, impeachments and prosecutions under the rule of law. We have no choice in this. We have to do it — together.