The Word Is Trust

Trust: A firm belief in the character, ability, strength or truth of something or someone. It is a confident hope.

We see trust every day among a great and diverse group of people in this country. There’s the trust that a child has in their parents to catch them before they fall; both literally and figuratively. There is the trust that Christians place in God or another of “a higher power.” There is trust amongst friends, significant others, family members, trust an employer places in their employee and vice versa and the trust a patient has in their doctor.

There is the trust an entire football team places in their head coach when he decides to go for the touchdown on fourth and one as the final seconds are ticking down and a field goal would tie the game. We call that bad ass, in case you were wondering! There is the trust that we put in our military serving at home and abroad and the trust that they each put in one another to have each other’s back. We place our trust in our elected officials… oh wait…

Oh Wait... Do We? Can We?

Trust is earned. Trust is built, and trust once earned can also be lost. There is that moment when someone or something we’ve placed our trust in shatters that which is both strong and fragile at the same time. It hurts. Depending on the situation, it can be earth shattering and devastating.

How we respond in that moment can make all the difference. There is a very important life lesson to be learned right now: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” President Bush gave it a go a few years ago but famously didn’t quite make it…

"When a man deceives me once, it’s his fault; when twice, it is mine.”—Old Italian Proverb

Charlie, Lucy, Football

Someone needed to explain this to Charlie Brown. You would think that after the millionth time that Lucy coaxed him into attempting to kick the football before she yanked it out of his reach, he might learn it on his own.

America, we stand at the precipice of our own Charlie Brown moment. Will we allow Donald Trump and this acquiescent GOP to con us with the football again, just to cruelly yank it away, laughing as they do before saying, ‘Okay, try again. We won’t move the football. We promise. Trust us…’

Or will we, the American people, rise up and say no more! But ‘how did Donald Trump con me?’ you may ask. Or, ‘I didn’t vote for him—he didn’t con me!’ Here’s how:

• First, did you vote in 2016? If no, then rest assured, you voted for Donald Trump. With your non-vote, you voted.

• Were you ‘disgusted with both candidates’ so you stayed home, avoiding your civic duty? Then you voted for Donald Trump; Charlie, Lucy, football.
• Or maybe you voted with a “protest vote” for neither major party’s nominee, thinking that your protest would make you feel good and you would somehow be making a difference (as opposed to using reasoned thought and understanding based on legitimate information). Uh-uh, you fell for it again!

While one candidate wasn’t ‘charming and personable’ and not nearly close to perfect, she was the most logical choice for a nation serious about preserving the democratic republic. Not good enough? Charlie, Lucy, football.

Who's your daddy?

Perhaps you bought into everything that Trump said. You believed that he would somehow, as some have said be your “Daddy” or that he “was a good businessman” or he just “says it like it is.” How do you feel about that now? With racism rampant, domestic terrorism on the rise, recession-inducing tariffs threatening at the door, a daily dose of lies, did you really win?

He (your daddy) didn’t sleep with Stormy Daniels. He barely knew her. Oh wait, but he did. Okay, he didn’t pay her. Oh wait, he did. He didn’t know it was illegal to take money from his own campaign coffers. Oh wait, but he did. On top of that, he’s an un-indicted co-conspirator in an attack on our presidential election by a hostile foreign power, Russia. Yeah, that’s attractive in a president. But Hillary’s emails…Guess what? Charlie, Lucy, football.

Real patriots choose country over party.

Now we stand at the sheer drop off of a decision which could literally change the trajectory of this nation. We have a SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) nominee who, thus far, has lied, has been accused of sexual assault and now gang rape, plus has said that President Nixon should not have been indicted and that the president is above the law; at least while he’s president. Right, because that can all just be fixed later – ask Turkish citizens how that’s going.

The sycophantic GOP loyally (loyal to Trump that is, not the American people who they are there to represent) twist and turn their words all in an effort to make sure that they stay in power and hold onto the Presidency.

With Congress in their grasp they’re working on the Triple Crown. Thanks to non-voters in 2010 and 2014 the way was paved for the GOP to redistrict the electoral map in such a way that they have dramatically gerrymandered the country in order to ensure that no Democrat can ever win in certain districts again and to effectively control the Electoral College, and thus, the Presidency.

Can't Trust It - The GOP

Obviously, to those of us who think and reason, he was aided and abetted by Russia but we’ll let Mueller do his thing. All that remains is SCOTUS. What do you think is going to happen if the GOP takes over with unchecked complete and total power? Do you think they will suddenly offer tax cuts to the middle class? How about deciding to renew Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act? Or, maybe you think that they will overturn Citizens United.

No? Well then how about making sure that every citizen has affordable access to healthcare. Clean water? A safe workplace? Equal pay? Better yet, maybe you think that they’ll change their stance on education and start making sure that every student has access to quality and affordable education from Pre-K on up. They certainly won’t keep doing as they’ve done since trump took the helm in 2017.

Be advised, if you believe this, you’ve not been paying attention whatsoever. Charlie, Lucy, football. Every “maybe” I just offered, they have done the exact opposite since trump took office. But they want your faith. They demand your loyalty. Just ‘trust us.’ No thank you, I say. I’ll take my ball and go to the voting booth. Why? Because the word is trust and I don’t trust any of them, not even to serve my covfefe.