Pogo May Have Been Right: We Have Met The Enemy and He Is Us

Eight years ago, I quoted Pogo that we have met the enemy and he is us.  Little did I imagine that our political arena would devolve to a point that even George Orwell would not have been able to imagine what exists today. 

Who would have thought that we would have a President/ Former President  that:  

• Thinks nothing of telling lies on an almost daily basis;
• Asserts that the press is the enemy of the people;
• Claims that any news which points out the falsity of his statements is simply fake news;
• Asserts that Courts can't be trusted and that any ruling contrary to his view is because of a crazy or biased judge;
• Threatened North Korea with annihilation and then calls its leader Kim Jon-Un a very good fellow;
• Says that a white supremacists march chanting racists slogans has some fine people;
• Claims that Mexicans who want to immigrate are murderers and drug dealers;
• Says he wouldn't mind serving five terms;
• Actually tried to engineer a coup of our democracy and still is viewed as the ostensible voice of the Republican Party.

We as a Nation are better than this but are now in a battle for the Soul of America. 

• Are we a society built on welcoming immigrants and people of all backgrounds or are we a society that fears any people that may look or act different?
• Are we a society that believes in protecting the weak, the sick and the elderly or are we a society that treats any kind of government protection as irresponsible socialism?
• Are we a society that believes in the importance of a free press to assure our freedom or are we a society that considers reporters and the press as the enemy of the people?
• Are we a society that believes in the integrity of science or are we a society that believes that science is simply someone’s opinion that can be ignored?
• Are we a society that believes in freedom of religion for all faiths or are we a society that believes in religious freedom only so long as it involves our religion?
• Are we a society that can distinguish fact from fiction and truth from falsehoods or are we a society that accepts only what is consistent with our preconceptions?
• Are we a society that believes in the rule of law and access to justice for all or are we a society that believes justice is available only if one has money and power?
• Are we a society that believes that education for all is a foundation for our future which needs improved funding or are we a society that believes that education is a commodity that should be available to those who can pay the price?
• Are we a society that believes that being a citizen of the world makes us better citizens of America or are we a society that believes that we must focus on America first to the exclusion of the rest of the world?

As citizens of this great Nation we need to be the the best that we can be.