“Corruption, Corruption”

June 23, 2020

Having been silent these many days, it is now time that I say something more, owing to the fact that the general state of affairs of this nation and its current administration is going from bad, to very bad and now even worse than that; it is becoming obvious that our current “not my president, President” is completely out of control, knowing no bounds to his destructive personality.

His vindictiveness, his inattention to current crises, his rehash of political themes from 2016, his demonizing of opponents, his constant need to find a new “boogey man” to attack, even including former President Obama, and his ignorance of the constitution and constitutional governance speaks poorly for him and for our nation’s future democracy should this ill-prepared man be re-elected as President.

Tonight, the news stories speak of former Republican defense and other Republican advisory officials banding together to support Joe Biden, Democratic Presidential candidate as more suitable to lead this nation than Donald Trump. Even former advisors from this White House are joining in the chorus of criticism of this President, mostly due to his incompetence to the task of the office. Some officials speak of the danger he is to our democracy. Others speak of his general lack of attention to the details of this high office. Still others point to his vindictiveness, his bizarre tweets, which often contradict current policy and his corruption of the rule of law for political gain.

A current and most recent example of the president’s corruption of the rule of law is of his firing of the Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Berman was overseeing charges against Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer and another foreign-born associate of Trump who have been indicted in Federal Court on campaign-finance charges. When William Barr, U.S. Attorney General, found he had no authority to fire Berman, the President was asked by Barr to fire him. Only then did Berman agree to leave his office. But he was able to keep the oversight of the Southern District in his office under his deputy attorney and not have it placed under New Jersey’s jurisdiction as Barr had attempted to do. This smacks of obvious brazen political attempts by the Trump White House to subvert the rule of law of this nation.

The President as law enforcer has become the greatest law breaker of all.

One is prone to ask, can it really get any worse than this? I suspect it will get a lot worse. This president has no restraint on his behavior, owing to the silence of the Republican Senate Majority. Their silence speaks volumes, since only they have the power to restrain this madness. When John Bolton was not called as a witness in Trump’s impeachment trial, and no other witnesses were forthcoming, the Senate shirked their constitutional duty and did nothing to protect this nation from this out of control President. History will lay heavily on these men and women, who for political expediency sacrificed the nation and the rule of law. Since then, this President has become worse and worse, doing whatever he decides will benefit him politically. The nation mourns in silence, having become numb to the incessant noise coming from this White House.

Only the Black Lives Matter protest have awoken us, with George Floyd’s death finally catalyzing us to say something.

I go on record tonight in opposition to this President, his administration and all Republicans and Independents who still support this man in his waning hours. Whatever you may have gained in political expediency is by no comparison equal to the destruction of our democratic way of life, the coarsening of our political discourse and the ignoring of major issues as climate change, Black Lives Matter, the Covid-19 pandemic and the homeless living on our streets. In this greatest of nations, we have lost our way and the consequences unless we soon find ourselves are ominous and disturbing at the deepest level. We have no one to lead us and no one who has been able to articulate our common values as a nation. Joe Biden’s task is daunting, formidable and hard. Hopefully, he will surround himself with wise advisors who can help right this ship and prevent it running aground. Hopefully, it is not too late for us all.

Lord Jesus Christ, God our Father of us all, Blessed Holy Spirit, our Triune compassionate God: hear us as we pray for our nation and for ourselves. We pause to give thanks for your abundant and manifold blessings. We have been given more than we deserve. We are grateful for your friendship, your kindnesses and your mercy. Hear us as we pray in the name of your most holy Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

Remember us, O Lord, as your children, but do not remember our many sins which possess us. Forgive us for our greed, our lust for power and our unwillingness to embrace the servanthood of Jesus Christ and his gospel.

Our Father, we have become coarse, crude, lewd and full of iniquity. We no longer know right from wrong, truth from error, or how to seek the common good for us all. We look for common ground upon which to have discourse and fellowship with one another, but we find none. Instead we are torn apart by bizarre political wrangling, pontifications, tweets and lies. Into this confusion of our minds and hearts, bring clarity of thought, clearness of vision and a new desire for truth, justice, and righteousness among us all.

Let us remember and not forget our fellow men and women. As we struggle daily to survive and to live our lives, so busy we cannot remember why we even began this journey, remind us of those less fortunate than us, so that we may be filled with compassion and kindness even for the strangers among us, no matter the color of their skin, their national origin or their religious faith.

Help us to grow into and to become one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all!

We offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, our God and our Sovereign King. He is our only Lord, our only God, our only Savior, world without end. Amen and Amen!

Let all of God’s people say, “Amen!”

“Amen! We praise you, Lord Jesus Christ!”

Bill Wilson, servant of God by God’s grace and abundant mercies.

“Amen!”