Trouble in paradise

Chances are you’ve heard someone refer to the United States as God’s own country. If not, now you know. Not that everyone will agree, and that’s okay. Even those who disagree, concur secretly in their minds; they just don’t admit it publicly. The rationale of the statement is simple. The United States is a land of prosperity and opportunity where anyone can achieve success if they want it, mean it, and work for it.

This is why a lot of the world’s population want to immigrate to God’s own country. What’s more, the saying that anyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps resonates in the U.S more than any other country in the world. For these would-be immigrants, the hardship or financial expenses incurred to make it to America is viewed as a necessary price for a pilgrimage to paradise. However, all that is about to change for the worse if nothing is done to stem a wave of vicious political wind now blowing across the United States.

The two main political parties of the land (the Democratic Party and the Republican Party) are to blame as they are currently locked in a fight-to-finish political war. Consequently, the nation’s political system is under immense pressure, and unless something is done very quickly it is likely to cave in and disintegrate. Indeed, that America’s political fabric has not turn into pieces yet is a testament to the resilient American spirit. Many are hoping and praying that the American spirit which, over the years, has endured and overcame many adversities, will again rise up and prevail.

It all started when President Donald Trump (Republican) in November 2016 emerged victorious over his Democratic rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Unless in 2016 you lived in a cave and cut off from civilization then you are aware of the shock and disappointment which gripped Clinton’s supporters and some political pundits both in the U.S. and around the globe. These supporters and pundits wrongly predicted a landslide victory for their candidate. When their wish did not materialize they, in conjunction with about 80 percent of America’s news media, which is liberal, waged a war to resist the Trump presidency by any means necessary. Their strategy was and still is, to oppose whatever President Trump stands for regardless if it is for the benefit of the country.

To make things worse, President Trump has put up a counter fierce resistance of his own and refuses to capitulate. Like a wounded lion, he has fought back and remains defiant. If the Democrats found an ally in the liberal news media, President Trump found his own ally in social media, which he has effectively used to counter opposition propaganda directed at him, his presidency, family or inner circle of friends. To be fair, Trump too has used social media sometimes to launch political attacks at his political enemies although, if you ask him, he will say he is only defending himself from what he calls fake news media.

Enter the battle for Bret Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee for United States Supreme Court. The position became vacant and available because Justice Anthony Kennedy, an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, announced in June that he would retire in the summer of 2018. No sooner had the President unveiled his choice to fill the position than the Democrats pounced like a pack of hungry lions diving for red meat. They vowed openly to oppose the nomination. You could read the tea leaf that the opposition and resistance were not due to Kavanaugh’s academic and professional qualifications which, by the way, are impeccable. Rather, it is part of a well-coordinated strategy to resist President Trump in whatever he stands for. This is sad because the opposition (or lack thereof) of a nominee by a President should be based on intellect and sound judgment rather than emotions.

Suddenly, the Kavanaugh battle took a sharp ugly turn when Senator Dianne Feinstein (Democrat) of California state announced toward the end of the nominee’s confirmation hearing that she had a secret letter from a California woman which alleges that she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh thirty six years ago. According to the letter, this happened when they were both in high school at an off-campus house party. This allegation caught members of the Senate off guard, especially the Republican senators. Later the author of the secret letter was revealed as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ford claims she does not remember the exact location where the alleged incident took place, does not know how she got to the scene of the alleged crime, and she does not remember how she got home or who took her home. The three boys (now men in their fifties) whom she stated were at the party have denied knowledge of it. Dr. Ford’s lifelong friend, Leland Ingham Keyser, through her attorney, Howard Walsh, stated that she does not know Judge Kavanaugh and doesn’t recall attending a party with him. “Simply put,” Walsh said, “Ms. Keyser does not know Mr. Kavanaugh and she has no recollection of ever being at a party or gathering where he was present, with, or without, Dr. Ford.” Kavanaugh, on his part, submitted to an interview by the Senate Judiciary Committee and under penalty of perjury categorically denied the allegation.

You see, I had a lot of respect for Senator Feinstein. But after she waited for two months to reveal an alleged scandalous sexual assault letter on Kavanaugh in the 11^th hour of his confirmation hearing, my respect for her evaporated quickly like steam from a boiling pot of water. If Senator Feinstein believes the allegation, why did she not make it known to her Senate colleagues two months ago when she became aware of it? This was the right thing to do, but she did not do that, instead, she weaponized the letter for a political hit job on Kavanaugh.

Even a middle school kid could see that this move on the part of the Democrats is a political stunt intended to derail or delay Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing until after the November 2018 midterm election in which the Democrats believe they will regain control of the Senate and Congress and, consequently, block any of President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court.

A confirmation hearing that was supposed to be a civil discourse turns into a political charade. Democrats and the liberal news media could care less of the damage an uncorroborated sexual allegation was doing to the image of Kavanaugh, his family, and his professional life. This politics of character assassination must stop otherwise good men and women will shy away from public service. Regardless, when it’s all said and done, I am confident that the U.S Senate will do the right thing and confirm Judge Bret Kavanaugh to become Justice Bret Kavanaugh. I believe that the men and women of the U.S Senate are of reasonable intellect and, consequently, will see through this deceptively political smoke bomb which the Democrats have dropped.

Well, the much awaited November 2018 midterm election is around the corner. The question on the minds of many Americans is: Will the outcome of the election douse this raging political inferno or will it make it worse? Only time will tell.