As is customary on the first day of the New Year pundits, politicians and mere mortals are busy making predictions and resolutions for the upcoming year.
It should not be a surprise that, this year, most of these are Trump-focused.
E.J. Dionne Jr., in his “This new year, tell Trump: Enough,” predicts, “In 2018, Trump’s abuses of power, his indifference to truth and his autocratic habits will be the central issues in our politics. Nothing else comes close,” and resolves:
This means there is no more vital business than containing Trump and, if circumstances demand it, removing him from office. This applies not only to progressives and liberals but also to everyone else, from left to right, who would defend our democratic values and republican institutions.
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The priority of 2018 is for our nation to rise up and say: Enough.
In “2018: The Year in Preview,” Washington Post writers make a whole ‘slew’ of predictions, from “What to expect from our unpredictable president” (guaranteed to be unpredictable) to how “[t]he opioid crisis will become even more deadly,” and even to how the recent sexual harassment and assault “prevalence” will result in “more cautious relationships” and “less sex,” hopefully meaning that “sex in 2018 will be more consensual and collaborative, too.”
Of course, many will say, these are all liberal prognosticators, especially when it comes to wishful thinking about the many perils Trump and Republicans may face in 2018. Perhaps. But even “sources close to Trump say he’s finally recognizing a harsh reality: If Republicans lose the House in 2018, it will pose an existential threat to his presidency, with endless investigations, legislative obstruction and a likely move toward impeachment.”
Anyway, this is how my friend looks at 2018 by looking back at history and foresees the implications of Trump returning the USA to an Isolationist Nation:
With all of Trump’s bragging of being a Deal Maker
He is setting new records of being a Deal Breaker
He’s impulsively tearing down years of win-win international cooperation
Returning us to a pre-World War isolationist nationPrior to War One: we stayed isolationist until it was almost done
And after it was through: what did we do?
We put our heads back in the sand: while wars were started by Germany and Japan
Again we stayed away from the fray: until the tragic Pearl Harbor DayWe were fortunate to be protected by two oceans wide
And we grew rich, despite our brave men’s losses: as weapons we did provide
With most of the world in rubble: our factories and economy did rise: not tumble
We then took a multi-national approach: with moral leadership beyond reproachOrganizations like the United Nations and NATO were sponsored by the USA
We, as a country, learned the hard way: isolationism didn’t work: it simply didn’t pay
While these organizations don’t work like a clock: they seemed to have helped a lot
For over 70 years nations have avoided World Wars of the past: it’s concept easy to grasp“America First”, Trump asserts: all our agreements and trade deals aren’t worth dirt
Get out of the TPP, NAFTA, the Iran Nuclear Dear and the Paris Climate Accord
We’ll just build a wall and reap all the benefits for ourselves: we’ll have more
The only way to get things done: is to go for the juggler: it’s all zero-sumTrump should be reminded that we’ve taken his approach before
I’m afraid if he continues to take it, we’ll have big problems in store
It’s really not a mystery: simply look back at history
There are dire implications of returning to an isolated nation!
As to a New Year’s resolution, well, we have a choice:
Now let me add a New Year’s Resolution
Let’s all work hard to find a workable solution
To change Trump’s miss-guided isolationist trajectory
Let our votes in 2018 keep him from further treachery
Keep him from the worst policies in living memoryOr
Support Mueller’s efforts to put him in a penitentiary
Perhaps a little bit of both?
Lead image, credit: Marco Verch, flickr.com
