By Keith Townsend

The issue in this year’s election is singular and goes far beyond a dispute over political policies. Instead, we now find ourselves facing an existential crisis in which the survival of American democracy is at stake. Some may find this statement to be melodramatic and, until recently, I would have agreed. Others have heard this warning so often that by now it may seem almost trite. I believe it is repeated over and over because it is true.

It is worth reminding ourselves of the chaos, the lunacy and the harm that the Trump administration inflicted upon our country when he did have power. Some of his actions were simply idiotic. Here are just a few examples: 1) Trump promised that Mexico would pay for a border wall. As we know, the wall was never built and of course the U.S. has yet to see a peso. 2) He proposed buying Greenland from Denmark. The Danish government wasn’t interested. 3) He suggested using nuclear weapons to stop hurricanes. 4) Trump famously recommended that COVID patients should inject themselves with bleach. While this struck most of us as ridiculous, it was also terribly dangerous.

Other of Trump’s policies did great damage to America’s standing in the world. Here is a list of some of those: 1) His continuous praising of Putin and the Russian intelligence services. The Helsinki news conference with Trump standing alongside the Russian dictator was an especially humiliating affair. 2) The crude and obscene disparaging remarks calling African nations S-hole countries. 3) Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accords. 4) He also claimed that he had a “great friendship” with the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. Trump even revealed that they had exchanged love letters.

Of all of Trump’s misguided policies, none was more cruel than his Zero Tolerance order which included the separation of immigrant families at our southern border. It is estimated that at least 5,000 children were forcibly taken from their parents. The ACLU immediately brought suit to rescind Trump’s order. Only two months later, a federal judge ruled that these children must be reunited with their families, but many were unable to do so. This was primarily because the Trump administration was largely uncooperative. Many of the parents had already been deported and even the whereabouts of some of the children were unknown. A hallmark of many of the Trump administration’s policies were not only their cruelty, but the mindless incompetence with which they were often carried out. Even now, almost six years after the separation policy was initiated, an estimated 1,000 children have yet to be reunited with their families.

One month after taking office, President Biden issued an executive order that created the Family Reunification Task Force. They have managed to reunite nearly 700 children with their parents. It has been such a struggle because the Trump administration often didn’t keep proper records, misplaced them or possibly even destroyed some of the documents that are needed to find these children. 

Clearly, the Republican Party is in a state of collapse. It has been hollowed out by the MAGA extremists that are the base of Trump’s political support. If he is somehow able to regain power, we can expect far worse than before. Trump now predicts a blood bath if he is not elected. He refers to others as vermin which will “pollute American blood.” We have not heard political language like this since the rise of fascism during the middle of the 20th century.

The contrast between the candidates in the upcoming election could not be greater. I believe the choice we make this year will impact America’s future for generations to come.   

Keith Townsend lives in Mt. Ulla.