Accept Responsibility

To me, the question is not when those who voted for Trump will realize that he is inimical to American values, but why they have not shouted to the proverbial rooftops during his first year as president. The signs are there. The actions are evidence. The global worry is everywhere. The foundations of what is right are being eroded, and the world will suffer.

I know, I know you think I'm a liberal, a Democrat, a Trump hater, choose any label you want, but that is not accurate. I have supported Republican causes as I have argued Democrat causes. I always look for the greater good, the common-person advantage and the value added to our citizenry and our Democracy.

I think the executive powers of the Presidency must be re-evaluated given the actions of all presidents, past, and present, who have used the presidential script to alter the law, the norm and the will of the people. The power of the presidential pen should not be able to disrupt, to deport, to disenfranchise, to demand a billion/trillion dollar wasteful wall, to input tariffs without congressional approval, or even, via Twitter, to call individuals with derogatory names.

But to the big issue facing America. Let's lay the influence responsibility where it belongs. If Russia has interfered or influenced our last presidential election then whose fault is that? It is OURS. It is yours. It is mine. We Americans have abdicated their civic responsibility to be informed for we are a lazy lot, and it's time we changed it.

It is the responsibility of every citizen to check the accuracy of what he or she learns and then believes. It's not hard to do. A few clicks here and a different source there, and enough information can be ascertained to make a fair judgment. IF YOU WATCH JUST ONE NETWORK - YOU ARE NOT INFORMED. IF YOU READ ONE NEWSPAPER, YOU ARE NOT INFORMED. IF YOU JUST DON'T CARE. YOU ARE THE PART OF THE CAUSE.

If you want the 2018 mid-terms to be fair, to be accurate, to be the collective will of an informed people, then read widely, watch widely and listen widely and then participate. That factor alone will screw any Russian or clandestine attempt to influence our votes with fake information.