Saturday, May 12, 2018

"I believe America is going to be fine"

The most important part of James Comey's book, in my view, is the three page epilogue.

Donald Trump's presidency threatens much of what is good in this nation...[He is] is unethical, and untethered to truth and institutional values. His leadership is transactional, ego driven, and about personal loyalty...the forest fire that is the Trump presidency.

What is happening now is not normal...It is not okay.

Without...checks on our leaders... our country cannot sustain itself as a functioning democracy...[Not] enough [people] are speaking out...Their silence is complicity.

But I choose to be optimistic. Yes, the current president will do significant damage in the short term.

This [forest] fire also offers an opportunity to rebalance power among the three branches of government, closer to the model the founders intended. There is reason to believe this fire will leave the presidency weaker and Congress and the courts stronger, just as the forest fire of Watergate did...

Far from creating a new norm where lying is widely accepted, the Trump presidency has ignited a focus on truth and ethics.

The next president, no matter the party, will surely emphasize values--truth, integrity, respect, and tolerance...The fire will make something good grow.

Far from seeing a new country, "America 2.0," as I call it, Comey reassuringly sees the same good ol' U.S.A. as a forest going through a regenerative "forest fire." Comey well-articulates his reasons for optimism and they are reassuring. They give pause for thought and I have paused and thought. I know what I want to say now but I want to sleep on it.