This evening, as I write this, is just before we mark Trump’s first month of his presidency, and regrettably, I must comment on the state of our union. For everyone who watched his progress through his campaign, his antics, his insults, the way he incited the anger of his audience, actually prompting it instead of calming them, was a shock. His exaggerated accusations, his demeaning nicknames, perhaps at first humorous, left many shocked.
After a steady and prolonged diet of this behavior, some of his listeners began to tire, although surprisingly, a portion of the large groups still attended his rallies to vent the anger he encouraged, and the rowdiness he made no effort to control.
By the time he was elected, despite all the predictions of defeat, a surprised and apprehensive electorate began to hope that he would adopt a conventional respectable demeanor and vocabulary.
All hope was dashed as the tweets, the exaggerations, the attacks and vilifications of his opponents continued.
And along with this the suspicion that his admiration of a tyrant and authoritarian whose policies, aggression, treatment of opponents is, without a doubt, exceedingly suspicious.
If our president is just naive, that is all the more to be feared.
He had promised to quickly sign executive orders to implement his promises to get rid of all unwanted immigrants, to build a wall, to reduce all kinds of government regulations to control the abuse of our environment, to protect workers, to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and he did.
The first badly thought-out measure, immediately put into practice, was the banning of immigrants from seven Arab countries, so badly administered that legal, vetted applicants were detained, sent back, delayed.
The disparagement of many groups proved that his determination to demean and endanger their lives grew.
He now has had a month to change his path and nothing has changed, and indeed his attacks on the media, which had started along with his attacks on immigrants, have become more vehement and disturbing.
We have in our past, experienced unfortunate attacks on those considered different, or on our outspoken, persistent journalists.
We have recovered, but now, many members of our mental health professions are dealing with symptoms of seriously affected persons.
Children and adults whose resident status and safety are being threatened, as well as those protectors of the free speech so essential to the maintenance and strength of the democracy we have enjoyed longer than any such form of government in the world.
Perhaps some of his supporters are inclined to give him more time to settle into this most powerful position in the world, but I suggest that we need to watch his choices of staff and his interference with their functions, investigate some allegations of huge discrepancies regarding conflicts of interest, ask questions about sources of income and problems with the use of the taxpayers’ money, along with vehement criticism of our intelligence agencies, and attempts to interfere with our independent court system. We were warned!
Esther Confino
New Hyde Park
