Founding Fathers, Sacred Honor

“…for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” This is how the signers of the Declaration of Independence acknowledged that they assumed and shared the risk of signing it.

Can you imagine any billionaire broligarch taking a risk like that now? Do you believe that any of the billionaires who have purchased influence in the current administration even know, or care, what “sacred honor” is, or what it means? Do you think that any of them would pledge their fortunes to defend the principles of the United States’ foundational documents, when they spend so much of their time trying to avoid paying taxes that would support the the operation of government programs that provide essential services to their fellow citizens?

Major Jason Watson, a many-times decorated twenty year veteran of service in the United States Air Force, knows what sacred honor is. In a news conference at the U.S. Capitol, he courageously demonstrated his understanding of it. In so doing, he knowingly risked his career, his retirement benefits, his security clearance, and his opportunity for an honorable discharge from the Air Force. He did this in service to the oath he took to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and bear true faith and allegiance to the same.”

While misdemeanor charges of “crowding, obstructing, incommoding, and demonstrating on the Capitol steps without a member of Congress” were dropped, Major Watson has been confined to an air force base and subjected to a military gag order.

And the incompetent, demented, malignant criminal narcissist sociopath that Major Watson says should be impeached, convicted, and removed, is in Turkey (Türkeye) right now, insulting our allies (soon to be, if not already, former allies), making up new countries (“the Islamic Republic of Japan”), and making everything about himself, as usual.

Why is he like this?

I think it’s a Daddy problem. We call the signers of the Declaration founding fathers for a reason, not just because they were all men (white men, and many of them slave owners) but also because “Father” implies not just participation in an act of procreation, but an ongoing loving authority that engenders respect, and a desire to accomplish something that will make Daddy proud.

But what if Daddy didn’t love you, and nothing you ever did would make him proud? Trump’s father was a brutal man who treated Donald as a useful tool. Trump’s maniacal need to plaster his name all over everything and steal trophies won by others, comes from still needing his Daddy’s approval and love, knowing he is never going to get it.

And what if Daddy left you when you were six, and your addict mother, who has been married five times, abused you, and you’ve had three different last names, like JD Vance? Trump, Vance, and the monumentally vile Stephen Miller are what happen when your family disowns you, ignores you, abandons you, or disparages you.

Evil is born from a lack of love. Unloved people lash out. They crash around through life trying on different personas, different political parties (Vance was raised by grandparents who were labor union democrats, and once referred to Trump as “America’s Hitler), and different religions (Vance’s conversion to Catholicism seems to have caused him to believe that he can argue Catholic theology with the Pope). In fits of self-loathing, the unloved betray their own family history (Stephen Miller has said that problems with immigrants persist for generations – and he is a fourth generation immigrant).

So when you meet an asshole, a malignant narcissist, or a titanic hypocrite, consider that they may have become who they are because they have never been loved, and they know it. It doesn’t excuse them, but with the exception of lost causes like Trump, Vance, and Miller, recognizing them as unloved might create a tiny bit of understanding that could lead to the beginning of a concept of a plan for reconciliation.

Now, our beloved country needs reconciliation: even if we have very different ideas of what America is, we can at least agree on our founding ideals and that there are certain violations of those ideals that cannot be tolerated.

It’s time to rededicate ourselves to the Declaration (and maybe list some new grievances toward our wanna-be king and his Court) and to realize that what unites us is greater than what divides us. Major Watson is a hero. He’s also right.

Hoping you had your best Fourth of July weekend ever, celebrating the sacred honor that won and has preserved our nation, and ignoring the shrieks of “ME! ME! ME!” from our Unloved Tantrum Throwing Toddler in Chief, I remain,

your hoping-the-tide-is-turning-while-trying-to-find-the-love,

Ridiculouswoman