THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS.....

     The fact of the matter is that this has been the most dangerous year for America ever. Yes, war years were awful for soldiers, for civilians, but this year was an existential threat to the very lifeblood, the very corporeal body of America. It threatens to destroy the democracy known as the United States of America, particularly as the "United" part has been dragged through the mud of lies and corruption, greed and selfishness, and split the country into tribal confrontations.
     It seems that now we are no longer Americans first and foremost. Nope, for now we are Republicans or Progressives or Democrats or any other political designation and the first step is to deny the humanity and the possibilities of truth being found in another tribe. There is no longer discussion, but rather threats. There is no longer bilateralism, but partisanship, a vicious one at that, too. We have forgotten how to be people first and foremost and have almost become gladiators in a vicious and life of the country threat.
     We find out that there is a program "Quiet Skies" which watched innocent travelers, and kept dossiers on them. Stasi, anyone? KGB, anyone? A return to the thinking of the mid 20th century where dossiers were kept on so many? Observe, sure, but records and files on plain old Americans who happen to be taking a flight to their grandchildren and happen to go to the bathroom twice? What were they doing in there? Think about it! Had we no better ideas how to keep our skies and our people safe?
     But the biggest threat to us is the President. Asked about their fears for America, CEOs, 134 of them, stated that the first worry was Trump himself. He has impacted, negatively, on business, intruded upon justice and business, wrought great damage with his dangerous tariff wars. These are people that Trump would like to believe are part of his base - but danger lurks ahead for you, Donald. You are losing them. 
     Over 6,000 lies and counting. The biggest turnover in the shortest amount of time in the administration. Insults flying out of control. And here is one - I have been warning about the possibility of civil war, Trump, the dangerous fool, has just about called upon his supporters to 'revolt' should he lose in 2020, and yesterday, an ordinary person, in a random and casual conversation stated to me that she hates the news, hates the violence and the anger and feels that if nothing is done and the situation escalates, there will be civil war. She said it, not me. Frightening.
     We find that the Russians have been sleeping in the same bedroom, if not the same bed, with Trump and his minions, continuing even into the administration as they targeted Mueller and tried to pull Trump's nuts out of the fire. Since when have we ceded our country to the Russians? Is the Trump Moscow Hotel so important to us, to the Republican Party, that they would all become Manchurian candidates? What the hell!
     We are mistreating immigrants or migrants, forcing them into dangerous situations and then blaming them for it. We are ripping holes in the social safety net of our citizens. We have lost sight of the basis of our country, to be a place of hope, of welcome, an amalgam of people and cultures.
     We ignore the growing power of China and its influence on countries of the world, even as we began a tariff war of truly dangerous outcomes and possibilities. We have an illiterate president who cannot write nor spell, not even a "smocking"  thing and bored is not board! He sulks, watching TV and comes out with announcements word for word from Fox News! His own attorneys sell him out trying to save their own skins as they get caught up in the whirlpool of his lies and yes, even alleged treason. And Giuliani is an idiot, along with his client. Not a crime, he says. But if it is, not such a bad one. And if it is a bad one, it is one that can be settled by a fine. And besides, the President appears to be above the law. Hmmm. Lots of rank odors here, friends, a stink that will disgrace us down through history.
     The fact of the matter is that we are at a crossroads of history. Will we remain the United States of America, or will we devolve into four or five countries out of one or will we remain as one but under a dictator whose family thinks it belongs to them. What will we do? How will we act? How will we counteract this danger? Do we even care? Do we?