Don't Be A trump!

Donald Trump's actions to hide history are well documented. He signed executive orders directing the National Park Service to make sure that information at parks focused on American successes and not on facts that, in his mind, might inappropriately disparage Americans (at least white Americans) or our history. He wouldn't put Joe Biden's picture on the wall outside the Oval Office with all the other presidents. He made sure the free days at national parks no longer include MLK's birthday or Juneteenth. His unbelievable hatred of and attacks on DEI. The list is long.

All of my life I've known there are good presidents and some not-so-good ones. There are great presidents and there are terrible presidents. But until Trump, most, if not all, wanted to make America better. Not Donald Trump. No matter what he says, his goal in leading is not to make America great again; it is to make America Trumpier. Trump's goals in life have always been to do what pleases Trump, especially if he can antagonize or harm his enemies. He also loves to put his name on things. The more consequential the building or action, the better.

Since Trump is the worst president in the history of our country, I think that once he is no longer president we should reverse, as much as possible, the damage he has done and paint a truer legacy of his presidencies. His name or likeness should be used only in cases that document what happens when you elect a president who is ignorant of expected presidential behavior, incompetent, lawless, corrupt, and seemingly incapable of normal human emotions.

I don't mean just reversing his many anti-history actions and executive orders. I mean taking his name off everything his demented ego forced him to put it on. First on my list are the buildings and institutions that bear his name. His presidential portrait should be hung in the basement, where people will only stumble upon it when they get lost. Tear down any monuments he has built, like the ballroom and the triumphal arch if it gets built. Take down all the gold, melt it, and use it to pay off the national debt.

We all know the name Mudd (the doctor who treated John Wilkes Booth). That name carries a stigma to this day. How about a new saying? I suggest, "Don't be a trump." Depending on the context, it would mean something like, "Don't be an idiot," or "It doesn't always have to be about you," or "You're not as smart as you think you are," or "Stop lying," or "You stink."

I'm OK with putting his name on buildings that would make him mad. How about "The Trump Sewerage Treatment Plant"? Or, "The Trump Memorial Hospital for the Criminally Insane"?  I would like to see an executive order acknowledging that DEI has been and should be an important goal of our country and calling it "The Trump Memorial DEI Restoration Act."

Trump should be included in the history of this country, but that history should truthfully document what he did—the good (there must be something) and the bad (the Smithsonian will need a new wing to hold it).

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

No DEI For Republicans

Republicans have been complaining for years that higher education in the U.S. is too liberal and has been treating conservative scholars and students badly.

They want to see more conservative faculty, students and administrators in higher education.  They want more respect for conservative thought and policies.  They want a full seat at the table.

Sorry Republicans, that sounds like DEI. 

President Thinks Midshipmen At Naval Academy Are Incompetent

In the newspaper this morning I read an article by the AP about 381 books being removed from the library at the Naval Academy.

The article said Navy officials used a key word search and identified about 900 books that looked to be problematic and then pared that number down to 381 which were removed from the library.

According to Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, Navy spokesman, "Nearly 400 books were removed from the Nimitz Library to comply with directives outlined in Executive Orders issued by the President."

So the President believes that future leaders of our military and country are not competent enough to make their own decisions about what they should read.   I think I know who is not competent and it is not the Midshipmen.  

 

Below is a definition of DEI.  Given that U.S. military members come from all over our diverse country and often have to work shoulder to shoulder with allies from around the world, does DEI really sound like such radical ideas we need to hide them from people?

Diversity includes all the ways in which people differ, encompassing the different characteristics that make one individual or group different from another.

Equity is the fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups.

Inclusion is the act of creating environments in which any individual or group can be and feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate.