2020.12.30 10:42
I know many of you to read Guardian but in case you missed one recent article, I would like to share this with you;
Most of the 74,222,957 Americans who voted to re-elect Donald Trump – 46.8% of the votes cast in the 2020 presidential election – don’t hold Trump accountable for what he’s done to America.
Their acceptance of Trump’s behavior will be his vilest legacy.
Nearly forty years ago, political scientist James Q Wilson and criminologist George Kelling observed that a broken window left unattended in a community signals that no one cares if windows are broken there. The broken window is thereby an invitation to throw more stones and break more windows.
The message: do whatever you want here because others have done it and got away with it.
The broken window theory has led to picayune and arbitrary law enforcement in poor communities. But America’s most privileged and powerful have been breaking big windows with impunity.
In 2008, Wall Street nearly destroyed the economy. The Street got bailed out while millions of Americans lost their jobs, savings, and homes. Yet not no major Wall Street executive ever went to jail.
In more recent years, top executives of Purdue Pharmaceuticals, along with the members of the Sackler family that own it, knew the dangers of OxyContin but did nothing. Executives at Wells Fargo Bank pushed bank employees to defraud customers. Executives at Boeing hid the results of tests showing its 737 Max Jetliner was unsafe. Police chiefs across America looked the other way as police under their command repeatedly killed innocent Black Americans.
Here, too, they’ve got away with it. These windows remain broken.
Trump has brought impunity to the highest office in the land, wielding a wrecking ball to the most precious windowpane of all – American democracy.
The message? A president can obstruct special counsels’ investigations of his wrongdoing, push foreign officials to dig up dirt on political rivals, fire inspectors general who finds corruption, order the entire executive branch to refuse congressional subpoenas, flood the Internet with fake information about his opponents, refuse to release his tax returns, accuse the press of being “fake media” and “enemies of the people”, and make money off his presidency.
And he can get away with it. Almost half of the electorate will even vote for his reelection.
A president can also lie about the results of an election without a shred of evidence – and yet, according to polls, be believed by the vast majority of those who voted for him.
Trump’s recent pardons have broken double-pane windows.
Not only has he shattered the norm for presidential pardons – usually granted because of a petitioner’s good conduct after conviction and service of the sentence – but he’s pardoned people who themselves shattered windows. By pardoning them, he has rendered them unaccountable for their acts.
They include aides convicted of lying to the FBI and threatening potential witnesses in order to protect him; his son-in-law’s father, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion, witness tampering, illegal campaign contributions, and lying to the Federal Election Commission; Blackwater security guards convicted of murdering Iraqi civilians, including women and children; Border Patrol agents convicted of assaulting or shooting unarmed suspects; and Republican lawmakers and their aides found guilty of fraud, obstruction of justice and campaign finance violations.
It’s not simply the size of the broken window that undermines standards, according to Wilson and Kelling. It’s the willingness of society to look the other way. If no one is held accountable, norms collapse.
Trump may face a barrage of lawsuits when he leaves office, possibly including criminal charges. But it’s unlikely he’ll go to jail. Presidential immunity or a self-pardon will protect him. Prosecutorial discretion would almost certainly argue against indictment, in any event. No former president has ever been convicted of a crime. The mere possibility of a criminal trial for Trump would ignite a partisan brawl across the nation.
Congress may try to limit the power of future presidents – strengthening congressional oversight, fortifying the independence of inspectors general, demanding more financial disclosure, increasing penalties on presidential aides who break laws, restricting the pardon process, and so on.
But Congress – a co-equal branch of government under the Constitution – cannot rein in rogue presidents. And the courts don’t want to weigh in on political questions.
The appalling reality is that Trump may get away with it. And in getting away with it he will have changed and degraded the norms governing American presidents. The giant windows he’s broken are invitations to a future president to break even more.
Nothing will correct this unless or until an overwhelming majority of Americans recognize and condemn what has occurred.
We are in deep shit, aren't we?!
Worrying,
BB Lee
2020.12.30 12:41
2020.12.30 13:46
You are right, doc, we all know there is no such thing as ‘idealism’ or utopia for fairness. Those are plain 'dream'. But what a disappointment, I started to have these days, to America, I chose proudly as my country!
Such profound disappointment to accept/admit the reality- the overwhelming majority of Americans, or at least 72 million (47% of voters) peoples, are stupid enough to fail to recognize and condemn Trumpism - brought me more anger and hatred these days.
Indeed, as you remind us, these are the same peoples, only in a different generation, who proudly(?) massacred Lakota Sioux Indians with no hesitation, barely over 100 years ago- I lived 82 years so that I know how short 100 years!-. So, ‘Proud Boys’ are proud of?
BB Lee
P.S. One of the few books I read three times is Dee Alexander Brown’s ‘Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (An Indian History of the American West). Each time I read, my blood boiled over!
2020.12.30 15:03
One thing that I learned by reading the Pioneers by McCullough was that
there was a continuing cold war between the British and the Americans,
even after the revolutionary war was won by Americans.
The British were supplying weapons to Indians who were willing to fight
Americans so indeed Indians formed a federal army among the tribes and
ambushed and killed the American army which was poorly prepared and,
settlers cruelly by scalping, etc., which woke up Americans to revenge.
The British not only governed Canada but also controlled the entire Mid West
of America. After the defeat of the federal army of some five Indian tribes in
Mid West by a properly trained, large American Army,
the British had to give up Mid West America at the Paris Treaty
which was the result of a tough negotiation by John Adams against the Brits.
The Indians were moved to a faraway reservation territory.
So this is how the state of Ohio and the other Mid Western states were born.
General Anthony Wayne was the general who led the army that defeated the Indian army
decisively. Wayne State University in Detroit where I was on clinical faculty and my wife
got her BFA was named after him.
All of these happened in the 1780s while George Washington was the first president of the USA.
2020.12.30 20:40
Oh I am sure David McCullough wrote based on the facts with no doubt but it should be a part of story to give them the chance to excuse for their inhumane brutal massacre! Indeed I had a unique chance to visit to Macon, Georgia every three years to Mercer University to give lectures and workshops to the medical school as well as biomedical engineering school together since I got back home to the States from Korea in 2004. And I enjoyed Southern hospitality but also learned a lot about not only Civil War but also the local Cherokee Indian tribes- I forgot the names - which was brutally kicked out all the way to Oklahoma with Floridan tribes, to give me a special feeling. So sad! That's human nature, isn't that?
BB
2020.12.30 17:33
If one feels mea culpa after whatever misdeed he has done, he could be forgiven.
But the president of the USA, who is also a white person, does something bad
and doesn't even feel mea culpa, it is a horrible thing. This is their land after all.
Now, the white people are teaching us crimes and also tell us not to be even sorry for that.
In that case, we all go out and do horrible things with no impunity.
Koreans have plenty of capacity to do things much worse than what they have done with impunity.
Koreans shall match what the whites have done. Why not?
We could do something really bad far exceeding their imagination
because we had been suffered and trained in our sad and cruel past.
We are one of the cruelest people in the world by birth and training.
At least, however, in our past, we felt guilty after having done something bad.
Now, in America, as we have learned, or the white people have taught us,
that we shall not even feel guilty about our misdeeds. That's fine with me.
We used to love and respected America as our second home
but, now, we can forget all about it, shall we ??
As Trump wanted and preached the nation to be divided into colored and white,
we can gladly handle that. Let's do it. We are supremer than the white in doing so.
We won't be the helpless American Indians or Chinese coolies of the bygone era.
The only relief or restitution of the white crimes of the last 4 years can be obtained
by putting Donald Trump, a so-called ex-American president, in front of a firing squad,
and pulling the triggers, and finishing the execution !!
2020.12.30 19:53
As Trump's niece warned, this bastard wouldn't leave quietly but will remain giving the damage to the country till the last, as long as he could fool his followers. So, the problem is we cannot put 70 million Trumpists in front of a firing squad with him!
BB Lee
2020.12.30 19:20
Fairness never settles anything because one thinks it is fair if it works for oneself.
That's why we have a judicial system that applies the law. If American judicial
system fails to punish Trump, I think it is the beginning of the downfall of American
Empire.
The problems that we are dealing with in the world now are caused by Europeans.
British was the worst. British helped Japan to defeat Russia. Indirectly it resulted in
the colonization of Korea by Japan. British sold opium to China and ruin many lives
and the country. It ended the Qing dynasty and threw the country in turmoil. British
exploited India in the name of trade through East India Co. French and British
divided Mideast and made countries for their own interests. These countries
became the source of terrorism that the world has to deal with. Not to mention colonization
of Africa and the atrocities that indigenous people have to deal with. How about what
the Spanish did to South American Indians.
Same people from Europe made a home in America at first. The new world gave them prosperity.
They have been generous because they have had enough. All of sudden, they began to feel
not so rich. Obviously, it was their own fault, but they thought their wealth was taken away
by newcomers from foreign countries. They thought that the US has been giving foreign aid
and other countries became richer. The US was buying too much stuffs from China and China
did not buy enough in return.
These prejudices will not go away from ex white middle-class people even though Trump
is gone. They are almost half of Americans. It won't be easy to govern for any president
from now on. That's why Senate has a Republican majority. If the American people understood
how bad Trump and Republican senators were, Democrats should have won the Senate majority.
2020.12.30 20:04
Precisely, Dr. Ohn, precisely!!!
They wouldn't back down quietly. They rather woke up in a sense now, and black president Obama became the last straw to have broken the camel's back! Trump simply took the opportunity at right time.
So, such division is the price we pay back now. Indeed, there are hundreds of thousands of Trumps among 70 million MAGA people. We knew it will happen but we didn't know it would become such a serious risk to the minority. So worrying for the future of our children!
BB Lee
2020.12.30 20:19
Addendum
The history you brought up reminds me of my first experience to encounter European colonialism through the trip to Africa to attend the World Assembly of Youth held in Ghana in 1960. A further trip through Europe and the Middle East and India, etc after the Congress gave me an eye-opening opportunity to see how much those world dominant powers sucked out the blood from the rest of the world to accumulate the wealth!
My first feeling to visit Louvre and British Museum, etc in 1960 was my deep resentment to colonialism rather than the admiration! Indeed, Zionism is also one of the British products, bringing so much misery through the innocent Palestinians, we still see, don't we?
After all, the winner writes the history, and poor weak Koreans were always it's victim, even now! Bless poor Koreans!
BB
2020.12.31 11:27
Doc, Koreans are not necessarily weak or poor. We should get rid of that idea.
Somehow, we have gotten into the fixed idea of inferiority and being slaves that have been
brain-washed into our minds. The whole thing originates from the Lee Dynasty and the forced
Japanese occupation when we were the helpless slaves of China and Japan.
As you see, the Moon regime is resisting the U.S. command and wants to go on their own way.
Of course, Moon seems to be a communist but that really doesn't matter
when considering if Koreans are still weak and poor. Their latest behavior shows certain
independent ideology for the first time in our history after the collapse of Kokuryo.
We are no longer in the primitive old habit and psychology of the early 20th century.
I do not necessarily agree with Moon's way but I am watching them with some kind of desperate hope, and new curiosity. Whether they embrace the communist idea or not,
it doesn't matter for me or us sitting on the U.S. soil. Let them choose whatever they prefer.
They will suffer or enjoy the consequences.
There are not many choices for Koreans. There are only one of the three directions,
pro-U.S., pro-China, or going all alone. Just hoping that God bless them.
2021.01.01 09:26
Perhaps, you are right, doc, but I simply turn off my brain whenever Korean things should come up either on the TV or newspaper, etc. Like Jewish saying, 'I don't want to know about it'! I had enough through my near full 10-year endurance during my stay in Seoul from 1994 through 2004 - my wife booked ONE WAY ticket out on very next day after my official retirement ceremony from the university to come back home to the States with NO chance to giving the excuse to go back to Korea!-. Though partly related to my abuse of the term they hate most, that is '조선놈', I felt they hate me as much as I hate them since I know '조선놈' mentality than anyone else like 'biting the hand that feeds you' with no hesitation. I couldn't tolerate and was so upset about their ungrateful behaviors with full of jealousy and cursed them till the last minute I left Korea. So be it, doc! It's over, no more! God bless Koreans!
BB Lee
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So what else new, Professor?
To someone like a historian, David McCullough,
Donald Trump probably is not a great exception to the
history of America which began with systematic elimination
and destruction of native Indians and their culture by the European
immigrants who were running away from their tyrants at home.
"Who said life is fair?"
Obviously, Americans need many more clones of Martin Luther King,
I suppose, to maintain some semblance of what their founding fathers
dreamt of, the most ideal democratic government human mind created
in the world history of man at the expense of so much blood for the revolutionary
war, then the civil war, etc, to be followed.
It is a never-ending struggle, indeed. Donald and his gang surely made it a little harder,
yet in my view, it is no big deal when we compare it to the Civil War Lincoln dealt with.