Thanks, Don - Kru's Control

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“Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”

Joni Mitchell, 1970

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I know it’s a stretch, but today, the day after Thanksgiving, I want to give thanks to Donald Trump, the man who would pave paradise and put up an office tower. My reason for giving thanks to our Presidential deal-maker relates back to Joni Mitchell’s first line. There’s this little thing called democracy that I’d been taking for granted for lots of years, and, Mr. President, you almost succeeded in making it gone. So thanks for making me appreciate it.

For years I took free and open elections as a given. I assumed the winner would declare victory and the loser would concede and make every effort to hand over the reins of government to a successor, no matter how much or little they liked each other, no matter whether they agreed or not. Sorry, electoral process, I took you for granted.

For years I understood that leaders ruled based on the premise of the greater good. I often disagreed with national leaders about what served the greater good, but it never occurred to me that a national leader would rule for the purpose of self-interest and self-aggrandizement. Sorry, integrity, I took you for granted.

For years I always assumed that a system of checks and balances really worked. I believed that senators and congressman, regardless of party, might actually speak out against injustice or violations of law or decency no matter how much someone might try to intimidate them. Sorry, backbones, I took you for granted.

For years, I assumed that Presidents actually put in long hours doing their job, that they read and studied and worked the midnight oil to be informed and to make decisions based on careful thought and reflection. Sorry, information. Sorry knowledge. Sorry effort. I took you all for granted.

For years I took honesty and truth-telling as self-evident in a democracy. I never imagined that “news” could be preceded by the modifier “fake.” I never imagined that fake news would be defined as any news you didn’t agree with or like. Sorry, facts, I took you for granted.

So, on this day, Donald Trump, I give you credit. American democracy has never quite been “paradise,” but by trying to pave it over—and luckily, not quite succeeding or making it gone—you have made me realize how much I have presumed about my rights and my freedoms. American democracy has always been a far-far-less-than-perfect system, but it certainly has come to look good as it almost slipped away from us.

Sorry, democracy, I took you for granted.