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Not from anyone

To the Editor,

Speaking as one of a great many around here who were deeply disgusted at the outcome of the November elections, I no longer want to hear, “You lost, get over it,” or other equivalents. This was not a matter of losing an election; in fact we Democrats, living as we do among a majority of Republicans, are fairly accustomed to it. (We are sustained by the knowledge that we are right, but let that pass for now.) The Democrats had an eight-year run, so in the nature of things the Republicans are entitled to have a go.

But this situation is something else. I am 77 and have never before been genuinely afraid for my country, but I am now. All my life I have had faith in the American electorate, and while parties may differ, I believed the People always in the long run could discriminate between diamonds and mule muffins. Since November 8 I no longer believe that. Our incoming president is dangerous.

It will probably be impossible to convince him that governing the largest power on earth requires more than the ability to “make deals,” whatever that means. Government is not just like business.

He is astonishingly ignorant about the most elementary procedures of American government. He shows no sign of interest in anything in the Constitution except the Second Amendment.

He knows almost nothing of history and is apparently uninterested in learning. Our allies of long standing are rapidly losing their conception of America as a pillar of good sense and decency in a dangerous world, because he appears to want to go crashing around in the midst of our current agreements and treaties without knowing how they evolved or what purposes they serve.

The most recent evidence comes from Tuesday on MSNBC, where an interviewer asked him politely if he understood why our NATO allies are nervous about his statements, and he couldn’t come up with a reply that made sense.

He shoots off his mouth repeatedly without knowing the facts of a situation. If he doesn’t like the facts, he rejects them. He lies almost reflexively and then denies that he said what he said. Anyone who criticizes him is an instant enemy. Anyone who praises him is a friend. He has a 30-second concentration span unless the subject is his own wonderfulness.

He is incapable of understanding the danger of his ties with Vladimir Putin. As a Russian language specialist who has spent a significant part of my life with Russians and in Russia, and therefore as a habitual observer of the Russian scene, I cannot believe his willingness to support our chief adversary in what is certainly part of Russian hopes to reclaim the satellite states and “make Russia great again.” Putin will spin him like a yoyo and he won’t even see what’s happening.

If he continues to refuse to divest and to release his tax returns, he will be making a unique contribution to the corruption of our government – because to allow  him to get away with this is to set a precedent. The important intent of the Founders to keep the chief executive from doing commercial deals will no longer carry weight – because Trump did it, after all.

As a woman, I could go on at length about Trump’s attitudes in that area, but there would not be space enough to print it. Nor will I go on about his packing his cabinet with billionaires and those with little or no experience in the departments they are supposed to manage. But enough. In light of the foregoing, I don’t want to hear “You lost, get over it” from anybody.

Respectfully,

Dr. Karen L. Black,

Warren

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