Silver Lining of a Second Trump Presidency

 The Silver Lining of a Second Trump Presidency

A stretch, maybe, but if there’s any silver lining to a second Trump presidency, it’s the sheer extent of public engagement. I am in awe. How else would we even begin to push back against the overreach of the wealthiest—those who define themselves by their wealth rather than their humanity?

We’re a country founded on the principle of self-rule—government for and by the people—and on the inalienable rights of everyone to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, with citizenship never a precondition.

And while, in reality, this ideal has fallen woefully short since our founding, we have lived through undeniable progress—from slavery once enshrined in law to the gradual recognition of women’s rights (though notably, the ERA has yet to be published in the Constitution, and women’s autonomy remains in dispute, as it’s dependent on state laws).

Moreover, while we haven’t yet fully embraced our duty as citizens, we have never been closer to a fundamental shift toward our ideals—precisely because of the Trump administration’s legally dubious overreach, with its brutally blunt aim to rewrite them.

So I encourage people to value their outrage—outrage at the wealthy, who seek to entrench their power, expand their privileges, and extract more from the economy at everyone else’s expense. And who are trying to rewrite our Constitution to bend it to their vision of society as laid out in Project 2025—because regardless of whether politicians embracing these policies are true believers, they see its implementation as worth its costs.

Let that outrage fuel you—wield it; don’t let it dissuade, paralyze, derail, or break you.

The most powerful thing anyone can do to resist oligarchy is to self-reflect:

Freedom means choice. So ask yourself, honestly: “What do I want to do that I can do?”

There’s no right answer to what you want to do—ever. Always—because we are free—you have choice.

At this moment in American history, kindness is the vaccine—against fascism, racism, misogyny, and patriarchy. Against the Trump administration and its weaponization of blatant cruelty and genuine harm to individuals as an intimidation tactic. Against the coalition of the wealthiest. Against the true believers of Project 2025, who seek to restructure America into a patrimonial patriarchy. Against Trump himself, whose focus is cruel, unyielding retribution and personal aggrandizement.

Kindness is the principle missing from our Declaration of Independence. That document articulates the ideals of equity of worth and fundamental rights—but it lacks the moral framework of a genuine goal to expand the quality of basic life and dignity for its citizenry, necessary to support our equity ideals.

Without this moral clarity—that governance is designed for all its people—we have failed to hold our government accountable. We now find ourselves floundering among norms and oaths that are hollow, without consequences, and easily corrupted.

Ironically, that’s what the 14th Amendment, Section 3 was intended to prevent—barring someone like Trump from governance again.

© Leslie Bianchi

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Why Kindness Matters — for Self-Reflection

Why Kindness Matters — for Self-Reflection

 “If you can run a deficit to go to war, you can run a deficit to take care of veterans.” 

 — Chris Hayes (2014)

Eleven years ago, congressional republicans were arguing against expanded veteran benefits. Today, they’re doing the same.

Why does anyone believe the lies that these republicans actually care? Why the pretense? imho a truth about all politicians: some intentionally lie; others lie to themselves—conveniently acquiescing when pressured by the moment; and still others see expansion of government benefits as lower in their hierarchy of values because of its costs, without necessarily weighing relative value of its expense. Too many politicians see war expenses as more legitimate than investing in the quality of life for war’s survivors. While today, republicans are in the crosshairs, politicians, even the most caring, tend to sacrifice the most vulnerable and least heard, even children, first. For politicians, kindness is more easily forgotten, ironically so, as it’s Jesus’s focus.

Often, though, when the immediacy of society’s safety subsides, priority naturally focuses on wealth acquisition—for whom and how unfettered that acquisition should be. Who gets how much? And what excess, aka taxes, is reinvested in society and for whose benefit? What’s the excess’s purpose—should it be used for what improves life in society or for what enriches the wealthiest—and, more importantly, how is this determined? What rises to the surface among the myriad of values we hold dear?

All I know for sure is that we yearn for what seems simple: freedom, safety, and probably, were we to look into our heart and soul honestly, privilege aka justice/fairness (worth we feel entitled to because of who we are). Yes, as our comfort rises, so does our desire for fairness/justice; yet that’s truly circumstantial and dependent on one’s POV. 

The truth of fairness and justice is its inherent relativity; key is both one’s own reflection and consideration, and never assuming or relying on authorities, institutions, oaths, or norms for assurance.

So should we frame society’s purpose in terms of whether we want to reside in an equitable constitutional democratic republic, or something else—whether privilege is determined and cemented through law; or society’s institutions favor loyalty to its ruler and the ‘nobility’ who ‘bend the knee’ so as to maintain or gain favors? Do we want some people enslaved to others by law, or all equally free? What fundamental rights do we embrace?  Considering these—and likely better—questions helps enlighten and inform us.

Does a thriving economy inherently equate to an ethical society? And why don’t economic metrics of thriving align with how many experience their struggle to improve their lives? Why these questions matter concerns society’s morality—rather than personal morality, where individuals’ choices about religion, beliefs and their own pursuits reside.

Amorally speaking, society’s design is about equity and justice in wealth distribution. Morally, it’s valuing people’s dignity and everyone sharing in the fruits of society’s successes: e.g. scientific research, health care, education, infrastructure, enabling people to live freely to pursue happiness as they envision it, safely and peaceably.

Complexity unfolds from either POV as a fractal explosion when one honestly reflects. When we frame society as about the economy, we sidestep self-reflection:

What does it mean to be kind—for society to be kind? 

  

And what does it mean when we choose not to ask?

© Leslie Bianchi

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