Amok Time<\/p>\n
Star Trek debuted in 1966, when I was ten years old (I heard that \u2013 that \u201cOh My God \u2013 he\u2019s a Trekkie \u2013 click off!!\u201d) <\/em>While there is a lot of Sixties history that relates to Trek, that\u2019s not what I\u2019m getting to in this essay (whew!!) <\/em><\/p>\n Perhaps the most famous character from Star Trek was Commander Spock, the first officer. Spock was from a planet where the Vulcans had given up emotion in order to save their civilization from self-destruction. Spock, half human and half Vulcan, constantly struggled to maintain his Vulcan composure, submerging his human side.<\/p>\n Except during \u201cPon farr,\u201d the time when Vulcans were biologically drawn \u00a0to their planet to mate. Then Spock took over the ship, took it to Vulcan, and damn-near killed Captain Kirk in a battle over a prospective mate. It was \u201cAmok Time\u201d \u2013 the time of Insanity.<\/p>\n Ok, that is enough Star Trek. But the United States is approaching our own version of \u201cpon farr,\u201d our Amok Time over the Presidency of Donald Trump. Here are the headlines of Fox News (or sort-of news) on Friday, January 24th<\/sup>:<\/p>\n Meanwhile on CNN:<\/p>\n The news broke last night that President Trump was planning on firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller last June, only stopped by his White House Counsel threatening to quit. Meanwhile Trump\u2019s lawyers are negotiating with Mueller on if\/when\/where Mueller will question Trump about \u201cRussiagate.\u201d And the Trump loyalists in the House of Representatives are touting a four-page report on the purported \u2018coup\u2019 plot by senior members of the FBI.<\/p>\n It\u2019s getting near \u201cAmok Time.\u201d And while it\u2019s crazy, to some the fate of our Democracy is at stake. A somber Congressman Jerry Nadler (D \u2013 New York) said last night:<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026Democracy can slip away into another form of government. I hope the Republicans and the people won\u2019t allow that.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n That is the great danger that we all face. Whatever Mueller finds, it is clear that the nation will be divided over the results, and the consequences. Trump supporters have done their best to delegitimize the investigation and the institutions behind it. Congressional Republican leaders have done nothing to alter that perception, and in their silence, have lent support. Americans will be faced with stark alternatives.<\/p>\n If Mueller comes back with tangible evidence that President Trump actively participated in crimes, including obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit felonies in the election (the legal term for collusion), what will America do? Many Americans, myself included, will expect the Congress to move forward with holding the President accountable for his actions; impeachment.<\/p>\n But the Republicans in Congress have shown no inclination to consider such an option. It seems that they are willing to accept and excuse any actions of the Trump campaign or administration. Just as the Evangelical Christians were willing to give Trump a \u201cmulligan\u201d on his morality, the Congressional GOP seems willing to accept whatever he did for whatever they can get.<\/p>\n And the opposite Democrats will demand impeachment, not just for what Trump may have done, but for what he stands for. They want his removal for Russiagate, and destroying the Consumer Protection Bureau. They want his head for laundering money and Russian mobsters, and for \u201cMaking America White Again.\u201d I find myself in that camp, but remember that after Trump comes Pence, and after Pence, Ryan, and after Ryan, Hatch; like some Biblical curse.<\/p>\n We are headed into \u201cAmok Time.\u201d It will determine the outcome of the Trump Presidency, it will determine the future course of our nation: but more than any of that, it will determine the fate of the Republic. We, all sides, should keep that in mind, as we lose ours.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
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