Don't know much about the Middle Ages
Looked at the pictures then I turned the pages
Don't know nothin' 'bout no "Rise And Fall"
Don't know nothin' 'bout nothin' at all...

Song and Lyrics by Herb Albert, Sam Cooke, Lou Adler

America has always been open to business, but it has never, nor should it ever be, open for business. Yet this is what we seem to be rushing toward, an American government focused on cutting costs no matter the effect and formulating domestic and foreign policies that are purely transactional.

If the wholesale destruction of federal agencies or departments saves money, damn the consequences.

If dedicated federal workers lose their jobs in pursuit of saving money, so what? That is the price of efficiency.

If the needy and desperate among us suffer, let them eat cake.

I’ve always found it fascinating that people think we need a business person in the White House when we need statesmen. We certainly don’t need a “businessman” with a long history of failures, bankruptcies, unpaid judgments and creditors, and questionable ethics.

No matter his acumen in wise investing, we do not need an unelected corporate operative deciding federal personnel policies or the necessity of federal programs, laws, or operating parameters.

No one would ever mistake Mr. Trump or Mr. Musk for statesman.

Mr. Trump claims he is acting on a mandate from the electorate. Mr. Trump won 49.8% of the popular vote to 48.3% for Ms. Harris. And while the Electoral College matters, one cannot claim a mandate from the American people when the margin of victory is only 1.5%. That is a significant number of Americans who did not vote for President Trump.

Remember that a former President once rode a genuine mandate to the Oval Office. Richard Nixon won 60.7% of the popular vote and carried 49 states. That’s a mandate, and we all know how it worked out.

“It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.”

Unknown US Army Major, MAC-V 1968

Yet the truly troubling part is the apparent blindness of much of America to what is happening right before their eyes. Mr. Trump is orchestrating a power grab by the Executive Branch designed to quash any resistance and eliminate the balance of power between the three co-equal branches of government.

I recently read an excerpt from an essay written in 1787 by an opponent of the proposed Constitution and published in a Philadelphia newspaper, which seems particularly on point and prescient. These men had just survived their battle with the monarchy, and many opposed any form of centralized federal government. While this opposition failed, it certainly influenced the concept of the three co-equal branches of government as a check and balance against a President assuming the powers of a monarchy.

“To be the fountain of all honors in the United States, commander in chief of the army, navy and militia, with the power of making treaties and of granting pardons, and to be vested with an authority to put a negative upon all laws, unless two thirds of both houses shall persist in enacting it, and put their names down upon calling the yeas and nays for that purpose, is in reality to be a KING as much a King as the King of Great Britain, and a King too of the worst kind;—an elective King...” An Old Whig No. V

Could this be the path we are on? From my perspective, it seems many Americans have adopted an ends-justify-the-means approach. If there is waste in Federal programs, kill them. Once the dust settles, you can rebuild what is necessary.

I am reminded of a quote from an unidentified American Army Major in Vietnam during the war. On February 7, 1968, American bombs, rockets, and napalm obliterated much of the South Vietnamese town of Ben Tre — killing hundreds of civilians who lived there. The unidentified major was quoted as saying,

“It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.”

It seems we have adopted the same philosophy in domestic affairs and personnel management.

But we’re not stopping there. We have expanded into a 180-degree turn in Foreign policy as well. Europe, our staunchest ally since the end of World War II, is now the enemy, and we are embracing the Russians as business partners, looking to divvy up the mineral resource of Ukraine between us and damn the consequences to the Ukrainian people.

Ukraine is experiencing what South Vietnam did because of the consequences of fluctuating US policies. There is a quote attributed to Henry Kissinger in a conversation about the situation in Vietnam,

“Word should be gotten to Nixon that if Thieu meets the same fate as Diem, the word will go out to the nations of the world that it may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.”

For those of you who may not know—see above about “don’t know nothin’ ’bout history”—the US orchestrated the assassination of South Vietnamese Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm to ensure a more friendly South Vietnamese government to United States interests in Vietnam. An example of ends justifying the means on steroids.

As to President Thieu, he had to flee the country after US forces withdrew and the South Vietnamese military collapsed in the onslaught from the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong. President Zelensky might learn from that history and the uncertain nature of current US policy trends.

Are we on the road to a monarchy in everything but name only? That remains to be seen. It is a short time until the next mid-term election when the American people can make a choice. Reinforce the myth of a mandate and leave Congress paralyzed with fear or send a clear message that they value the balance of power in government.

If President Trump and Mr. Musk identify genuine fraud (not programs they deem unworthy as fraud) within the government and bring those who stole from the American people to justice, I will be the first to congratulate them. But all we have seen so far are press releases, backtracking on the claims of the press releases, firing of critical workers, rehiring them once some adult explained the criticality of these positions, and reality TV theatrics.

I’m waiting for the first 150-year-old collecting Social Security to do the perp walk.

Until then, I hope we are around in 1,424 days to celebrate our survival.