I am a Republican—Donald J. Trump is not

This is one of those moments when we, as a nation, must strive to push aside fear, evil and hypocrisy.”

The time has come to call out those who continue to support a person who, as an impeached President, continues to unravel decades of progress with vitriol hatred, paranoid animosities and no accountability to anyone as propagandized by his imploding administration, even as our republic heads into oblivion.

No pandemic, no civil unrest, no action by Congress has swayed them from their delusional mission to destroy and weaken the foundations of the 44 predecessors who led this nation and whom he berates at every opportunity.

After another horrific death of an unarmed American male at the hands of police, a nation exhausted of the divisive rhetoric after took to the streets. To hold up the most sacred text in Judeo-Christianity for a photo opportunity, Trump had people under peaceful and constitutionally protected gatherings tear-gassed in front of the White House. The person who invented “fake news” and “the deep state,” who tweeted his way to the White House, was laughing and berating governors from coast to coast for not being tough enough.

How much more can our republic take with 40 million out of work, more than 104,000 dead from a pandemic which could have been stopped cold? With an administration removing inspector generals from every department, whose non-partisan job is to make sure no one is above the law? Every facet of what we as a nation domestically and internationally have paid for with our most dearest blood is being tossed aside. Even as his enablers in the GOP Senate ask him to be more sympathetic and address the issues, his only action is the call for the military to take to the streets to quash the citizens into submission.

Ironic how this coward hid in the Presidential Bunker as National Guard surrounded the White House, as thousands of police officers across the country prayed and walked with peaceful protestors, as Republican and Democratic governors ignored his lunacy, as people from every walk of life became conscious of the reality that we must chart our future together. He ignores everyone as he continues to threaten and scorch this nation, having in just three and a half years causing more damage than any war, terrorist, human-made or natural disaster, and we are all to blame for letting it get this far.

I was reminded this week of Apollo 8, which was the first human spacecraft to orbit the Moon on Christmas 1968, as I watched Space X Capsule Endeavor proudly climb into the heavens as our nation returned to space. 1968 was a year of so much sadness, lost hope and violence, but when Commander Frank Borman read from the Book of Genesis as it orbited the moon, it brought people hope, it brought them a sense that no matter how dark it may be, no matter how much despair and injustice there was, that we all had it within ourselves as a nation to strive to do better. This is one of those moments when we, as a nation, must strive to push aside fear, evil and hypocrisy.

The time is now to realize the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and together we must solidify the words of Lincoln: “that a government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the Earth.”

Ned Sader has more than two decades of public affairs experience working for corporate and nonprofits with a specialty in the development of public/private partnerships (P3). He has served on numerous regional boards and is a lifelong resident of Wayne County.