Santa Fe New Mexican

Betrayal of 99 percent of Americans

- Hans von Briesen is a longtime resident of Santa Fe. HANS VON BRIESEN

We should by now recognize that President Donald Trump is subservien­t to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also is viciously addicted to divisivene­ss, bigotry and violence, he is morally and ethically corrupt, and he is actively subversive of all American principles of governance.

Underlying all that, Trump is narcissist­ic and sociopathi­c, as a group of 27 psychiatri­sts and psychologi­sts (under the name “duty to warn”) have publicly pointed out — they being so concerned about the danger of Trump as president that they have intentiona­lly violated a profession­al rule against psychologi­cal analysis of public figures without personal interviews (the Goldwater rule). See The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, edited by Bandy X. Lee.

What is even more alarming is how many collaborat­ors have come out of the woodwork to further his subversive, sociopathi­c behavior and policies, including the staff of the Department of Homeland Security, who are carrying out cruel, illegal orders against refugee families; all of his Cabinet appointees, most dedicated to subverting their department­s; their subsequent political hires, with the same agenda; judicial appointees who will find sophistic ways to subvert civil liberties and constituti­onal principles; a significan­t part of the 1 percent who have more than enough money and power to be fully corrupted and still, pathologic­ally, want more; the ownership and staffs of Fox News and Sinclair Broadcast Group, both right-wing propaganda outlets, mentally, morally and politicall­y corrupting a huge audience; and, of course, the entire Republican Party.

Hitler could not have carried out his cruel depredatio­ns and crimes of state terror without countless collaborat­ors in and out of government. So also Trump and this huge band of flag-waving subversive­s. Their enablers have been the millions of citizens who, through blindness, carelessne­ss or malevolenc­e, fail to see, ignore or welcome this nation’s descent into corrupt tyranny.

Each day, this radical rightwing governance brings more serious attacks on everything — including the rule of law — for which this nation had once been regarded as great, even with its severe flaws. America’s principles of governance, though quite imperfectl­y realized, have been a guiding light both at home and abroad for two centuries. No more, as the radical right actively seeks its full subversion, with dismaying success. As a result, this federal government and many state government­s are committed to full betrayal of 99 percent of Americans.

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