In Reality, the Dream was Unattainable: It was the Beginning of a Nightmare

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

I was one of millions of America’s children who was privileged to have grown up in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Our fathers, uncles, and in some situations mothers and aunts had defeated the fascist mob attempting to recreate the world in their vile and hate-filled image.

I loved school. First grade was spent at St. Mark’s Elementary School in Venice, California. For the next seven years I attended St. Gerard Majella Elementary School in West Los Angeles.

Across the nation patriotism was the primary emotion. Beginning in second grade we studied the origin of the United States of America. Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and the rest were heroes because their dream created America, and because their lofty ideals were pure. Our country was envied by people all over the world.

We learned about two world wars and how our fathers and grandfathers were eager to fight for their country and for citizens of other nations who were under siege by military forces controlled by men who sought great power and great wealth. One of my uncles lost his life in WWII. Nearly every child in America had someone they loved killed or severely injured in one of those hellish wars.

As I grew up, so did my country. By the time I went to high school in 1960, our young country was maturing as well. In November of 1960, voters elected a leader whose words and actions made us proud to be Americans. John Kennedy’s biggest fans were young adults who could not yet vote.

President Kennedy gave us hope that the dream of our Founding Fathers could be fulfilled. His words were as inspiring as those of our nation’s creators. All men were created equal, and guaranteed the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

This month I reached an age considered “elderly:” an ugly and demeaning label. At 79 my view of America in the 21^st century is far from inspiring. The truth is, I know that the “dream” has been tossed aside.

Our Founding Fathers had enormous faith in mankind. They believed that future leaders would not only continue what they began, but it would be protected and enhanced under the system of government they established in 1789.

Unfortunately, they were idealists who assumed that the men and women who succeeded them would share their same principles, morals, and a deep desire to serve every man, woman, and child in the United States of America. They underestimated mankind’s weaknesses and desires for great wealth, great power, sex, and even fame.

I escaped service in South Vietnam. After I graduated from high school in 1964, I enlisted in the USAF. When young men my age began coming home in body bags, my sadness quickly turned to anger. Not a single person in government could offer a valid reason for sending our military to fight and die in an unwinnable war halfway around the world. When I learned that men and women who invested in the military industrial complex were stuffing their bank accounts with profits made from the war. I was disgusted.

In my early 20’s, I decided that if there was a God, He made one, big mistake: he created man. Pollution of our land, water, and air continued to grow, while our government denied climate change was caused by man. Greed was allowed to cancel reality in the form of scientific fact.

The ‘dream’ has become a nightmare. Living in the White House is a man hellbent on destroying everything which was good about the United States of America. He is a fascist, and his Nazi army is destroying the lives of thousands of good men and women every day.

The first responsibility of an American president is to keep our nation’s people safe, and wherever possible preserve and improve their quality of life. Trump is not an American president.

Trump’s satirical package of laws he calls his “great, big, beautiful bill,” is and will continue harming the most vulnerable citizens in our nation. Millions of Americans will lose healthcare as drastic cuts in Medicare and Medicaid will result in doctors refusing to accept Medicare and Medicaid patients. Healthcare facilities dedicated to serving low-income and impoverished Americans are planning to close their doors.

In 2025, if you are not pure white, Trump’s personal gestapo is ready and eager to kidnap you, place you in a concentration camp, and deport you to the worst nations in the world, regardless of your country of origin. Although the Constitution demands “due process for all,” Trump is eager to deny the rights of many and serve the few: his 813 oligarchs.

For most citizens the American dream has become a nightmare created intentionally by Trump and his hate-filled Nazi Party.

The big question is, “can this be changed?” I’m not sure.

The American Nazi Party controls all three branches of government: the Executive, Legislative, and by a great majority of 6-3, the Supreme Court.

I doubt I will live long enough to see what happens to the only nation in the world which had an opportunity to be “great.” I do know one thing: we have ourselves to blame.

“Ignorant voters of the democracies are always a great threat to the progression of humanity, simply because they give their votes to the people who look like themselves!”

― Mehmet Murat ildan

Trump has been the Republican Party’s candidate for all three of the last presidential elections, and against all odds, he was given a victory in two of them. Think about this. He showed us who he was, and yet he was elected. Something is deeply wrong with the nation created by good men 249 years ago.

Go figure.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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