A national embarrassment

By Neal Priest

People who risked their lives to fight for this country, including my ancestors, simply would not believe what is happening in this country.

My father Carl Priest, a medic in Europe during WWII, stepped up to turn the tide against an evil and expansionist Nazi Germany. My grandfather Alva Sholty, an intelligence officer in the Pacific Theater, helped to crush Japanese imperialism. I’m pretty sure your ancestors would also be aghast at President Trump's dangerous belligerence. This novel U.S. bullying via Trump’s outrageous threats has created a mockery and a collapse of American foreign policy. Anti-U.S. sentiment is already rapidly rising worldwide.

Trump has threatened to swallow up Canada. That’s insane! He’s casually said we would “buy” Greenland from Denmark against the wishes of its inhabitants. He wants to “take” Gaza and turn it into a high-priced destination resort, exiling millions of people from their homeland.

Trump’s disgraceful threats serve as a green light to other superpowers who want to expand their spheres of influence without risk of retaliation. China will feel empowered to seize Taiwan. Russia is likely to finally roll over Ukraine and other Eastern European countries as well. Trump seems perfectly willing to divvy up the world like the Axis powers did in WWII, relegating hundreds of millions of people to live under tyranny.

All of us should be ashamed by Trump’s bullying tactics. GOP senators and other elected officials should be ashamed that their cowardice is allowing fascist practices to thrive in this great Democracy. And the Cabinet picks are atrocious and embarrassing!

GOP-appointed judges should be ashamed to have allowed the decay of the judicial branch of government to the point that it is ineffectual as a check on executive power. In the name of my patriotic American ancestors — yours, too -- shame on the people allowing this to happen. We’re going to have to stand up for American ideals because shame and the laws enshrined in our Constitution are not working.

Dr. Neal A. Priest is a retired mergency medicine physician formerly affiliated with St. Mary’s Health Care System-Athens.